Wet wintry weather is part of the forecast for aspiring artists seeking inspiration at the next installment of “Green is the New Blue: Creativity Workshops in Nature,” the MTSU community arts workshop series, set Saturday, Jan. 15.

“Bearings and Affinities in Nature: Al Fresco Writing with Fred Arroyo,” a free writing class, is planned 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 15 at Barfield Crescent Park’s Wilderness Station nature center, located south of Murfreesboro at 697 Veterans Parkway.

The course will be limited to 20 participants because of available space. Pre-registration is required at https://bit.ly/MTGreenIsBlueArtsRegistration, and organizers say participants should dress appropriately for potential outdoor time.

Dr. Fred Arroyo

Arroyo is an assistant professor in MTSU’s Department of English and published author whose specialties include fiction writing, brief prose forms, the essay, and Latino and Latina literature.

Margie Hunter

He’ll be joined by naturalist and writer Margie Hunter, a founding board member of the Tennessee Naturalist Program and a member of the Tennessee Native Plant Society and Tennessee Invasive Plant Council.

“We’ll consider Merrill Gilfillan’s sense of al fresco writing: in plain air, before nature, to discover the creative possibilities of our bearings and affinities, as we compose poems or paragraphs situated in the song or story nature offers,” said Amie Whittemore, the project coordinator and the director of MTSU Write, a creative writing program in the MTSU Department of English that offers individualized, from-home coaching nationwide to writers at all levels.

The “Green is the New Blue” workshop series title also plays on MTSU’s “True Blue” brand since multiple MTSU departments are involved, added Whittemore, Murfreesboro’s current poet laureate and an English lecturer at the university.

Amie Whittemore

“Green is the New Blue,” which began last October, is bringing together community teaching artists, MTSU professors, and naturalists to guide participants in creatively connecting with each other, themselves, and the natural world. Led by artist and naturalist duos, workshops are being offered in movement and dance, writing, and visual art.

More monthly workshops are planned through May, and a series-ending celebration is being planned for June.

The workshops are free with funding and support from the Tennessee Arts Commission, the Greater Nashville Regional Council, the Rutherford Arts Alliance and the MTSU Department of Art and Design, Department of Theatre and Dance and the English department, as well as the MTSU Office of the University Provost, College of Liberal Arts and Center for Environmental Education.

Registration also is open now for the February “Green is the New Blue” course, “Movement in Nature,” a dance workshop with Shabaz Ujima set 10 a.m.-noon Saturday, Feb. 12, at Oaklands Park, located at the corner of North Maney and Roberts Street in Murfreesboro.

For more information and to register for the Jan. 15 or Feb. 12 events, go directly to the registration website or visit the “events” page at the MTSU Write website.

— Gina E. Fann (gina.fann@mtsu.edu)

Click on the image to register for the workshop.