THANK you for being patient with me! I just wanted to say that!! The first “Virtual Art Gallery Workshop” was a huge success. As with everything new, things take time to figure out. Just as a river makes a path slowly, and over time. But once that path is established, the course is forever set (with the exception of Pikeville, aka: The Cut-Through Project). I am confident that the bugs the first workshop experienced early one will be worked out this time, and as we move into the selection process for student works, that will move faster as well.

The success of the first workshop is not because of me. It’s all because of the amazing and wonderful educators, facilitators, and most importantly…. students, that have made this what it is.

Now we are gearing up for another workshop. The “Leaders and Legends” workshop kicks off officially on October 19th. I’m so excited about the upcoming program. I believe, if you give it a try, you will be too.

The selected student’s works are being processed for publication and will be available as soon as the typical requirements are taken care of. For this process, each student’s works have to be processed for print. This takes time, but they will all be ready (with God’s will of course) by the Spring summit. However! The remaining incredible works created by students will be ready by the October 28th summit in Pikeville, KY (Expo Center). There were some books that didn’t meet the requirements, but those will be explained as we move forward.

I believe that once everyone sees the new website dedicated to the student’s published works, and the actual BOOKS that are going to be produced, the real value of why we conduct this opportunity will make itself very, very evident. It’s about enabling students to think differently about writing, careers, and expressing their ideas, thoughts, and stories. Combining creative writing and visual arts isn’t just a platform for incorporating fun to the language arts, but it’s also a very real, and very possible, avenue for students to consider in terms of income after college or university. That’s right! A job!