The Poet’s Voice – Diane O’Leary, Instructor Sundays: Nov. 8 – Dec. 13 (with a break on Thanksgiving weekend). The Poet’s Voice is a series of workshops designed to develop poetic skills and encourage each participant’s own unique creative methods. Focusing weekly on aspects of the poet’s craft (such as voice, imagery, narrative or conceptual arc, sound and rhythm), we discuss the work of established poets through R.S. Gwynn’s Poetry: A Pocket Anthology. With the help of exercises to loosen up the creative mind, we take pen to paper each week to find our own way with these techniques. Beginning workshops allow each participant to share work with the group according to his or her own comfort level. While advanced workshops give more attention to group discussions of participants’ work, both maintain a comfortable, non-competitive creative environment. The Poet’s Voice I (for beginning poets): Sundays, 11-12:30 The Poet’s Voice II (for experienced poets): Sundays, 1-2:30 Diane O’Leary, Ph.D. is a Skaneateles resident who’s published widely and collaborated frequently with artists from other genres. Her awards include fellowships from the MacDowell Colony and Vermont Studio Center as well as artist grants from the Saltonstall and Vogelstein Foundations. Diane has taught at the University of Sydney and Syracuse University.

The Artist's Way - Helen O'Leary-Syers, Instructor Sundays: Oct. 4- Nov. 15 - 3-4:30 PM This 7-week course is based on the international bestseller, The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, widely regarded as the seminal guide on the subject of creativity. The goals of the course are the personal discovery and recovery of each participant's personal creativity. From gardening and interior design, to visual art and creative writing, or simply an interest in a more creative lifestyle, the course is applicable to creative expression in all its forms. Through in-depth readings, lively idiscussion and the use of Cameron's tried-and-true "Basic Tools", participants will have the opportunity to explore insightful ideas and develop practical creatiave disciplines. Helen O'Leary-Syers completed her graduate studies at the Union Institute & University with a degree in the Interdisciplinary Study of Spirtuality and Creativity. She is an adjunct instructor with Empire State College and has been a facilitator of The Artist's Way courses in Syracuse, Skaneateles and Auburn for more than 10 years.