Storytelling is an Essentially Human Activity and Visual Narrative, the marriage of words and images, both ancient and modern, is a potent mode of storytelling that can often be more gripping than either practice on their own.

Before we learned to write, we drew and early humans painted their dreams, fears and beliefs on the craggy walls of dimly lit caves with charcoal from the fire, ink from berries and ochre from the earth. The mystical power of the image and what it communicated was paramount.

But then, somewhere along the line, Humans decided they couldn’t draw. That drawing was just for a special breed of people called artists. Kids who loved to draw and color as young children, suddenly become stifled by the idea of perfection, or what it means to be a good drawer. And they stopped drawing.

One student at a time…. we are turning that around. We focus on personal stories and auto bio memoir as these are what we know best. Come explore what lies at the intersection of words and images.

Emily Steinberg, MFA, Lecturer in Fine Art, Penn State Abington, Artist in Residence, Drexel College of Medicine, Visual Narrative Editor, Cleaver Magazine