Fall semester

Remember the Dead Festival Workshops

Presented by the Polka Dot Dragon Arts Society
Held at Oxygen Art Centre

sliding scale, $10 – $30
registration required for each class
all materials provided
max. 15 students each

Remnants: transforming ecological grief through community and art 
with Kalika Bowlby
Saturday, October, 25, 2025
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM at Oxygen Art Centre

Using wildfire charcoal, natural pigments, and reclaimed materials, you will be guided in participating in a community art project. These pieces will be installed at ‘Remember the Dead’, on November 2nd. 

All materials and guidance provided.  

Sliding scale registration fee supported by the Polka Dot Dragon Arts Society and the Osprey Foundation.

Letter Writing 
with Rayya Liebich
Sunday, October, 26, 2025
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM at Oxygen Art Centre

Join poet and writer Rayya Liebich to write letters to your departed. In a safe space, explore your grief through private writing and take some time to honour your loved ones. These letters can be delivered to the magical mailbox at the Remember The Dead event organized by the Polka Dot Dragon Arts Society on Sunday November 2nd. 

Luminaria Making
with Myra Rasmussen
Sunday, October, 26, 2025
12:00 PM – 2:00 PM at Oxygen Art Centre

In this workshop, visual artist Myra Rasmussen invites participants to remember their loved ones by making a lantern or paper altar in their honour.  We will provide a paper box, materials and guidance to add collage, text, and line drawings.  We encourage you to bring a black and white photocopy of your loved one(s) to incorporate into the piece.  This will be a mostly silent, introspective class with live music accompaniment to set the mood.  All participants are encouraged to bring their luminaria to the Polka Dot Dragon Arts Society’s Remember the Dead event on Sunday November, 2nd.

Painting OR Working from a Model
Facilitator: Doug Thorburn
Format: 1 class, Sunday
Schedule: October 19, 2025
Time: 12:30pm – 4:30pm
Course Fee: $65

Participants will have the opportunity to work from a model holding a single pose for an extended session (3.5 hours).  No formal instruction is offered. Participants will be asked to bring their own materials in their preferred medium.

Registration deadline: Friday, October 10, 2025

Writer’s Weekend Workshop [WWW]

Preparing your work for submission
Instructor: Deryn Collier
Format: 1 class, Saturday
Schedule: November 8, 2025
Time: 1:00pm – 4:30pm
Course Fee: $85 

Preparing Your Work For Submission: In this first of two classes, we will look at how to prepare yourself and your writing before submitting your work to publishers and agents. Suitable for fiction and non-fiction writers of book-length work. We’ll cover the importance of self-editing and professional presentation. We will also discuss the importance of a healthy mindset and realistic expectations before knocking at the door of publishing.

Submitting to publishers or agents
Instructor: Deryn Collier
Format: 1 class, Sunday
Schedule: November 9, 2025
Time: 1:00pm – 4:30pm
Course Fee: $85

Submitting To Publishers Or Agents: In this second of two classes, we will cover how to submit your book-length work (or non-fiction book proposal) to publishers or agents (and why you don’t want to submit to both at once.) We’ll look at comparable titles, customizing query letters, writing a synopsis, and selecting sample chapters. Students can expect to build on the topics of mindset and expectations from the “Preparing Your Work For Submission” class (Saturday, November 8) to ensure you have the staying power to keep writing while you wait for responses. Attendance in the previous class is not required but encouraged.

Registration deadline: Thursday, October 30, 2025