@ Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009), Her Room, 1963, tempera on panel, 24 ¾ x 48 inches. Farnsworth Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1964.1313. © 2026 Wyeth Foundation for American Art / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY *This class meets for three consecutive days, June 24th, 25th, and 26th from 10 am – 4 pm each day. Come immerse yourself in the design world of Betsy Wyeth for an intensive three-day memoir workshop. Drawing upon the landscapes, houses, archives, and objects that Betsy created and preserved in Maine for three generations of Wyeth artists, as well as her own James family, this workshop will explore the relationship between personal memory, family history, and creative legacy through writing. You will be guided in developing an overall vision for a memoir of your own, along with crafting two chapters or longer narrative pieces about your life. Through several shorter writings each day, you will begin building the larger work by exploring themes, time periods, events, and relationships that define your personal history. The foundational core of memoir will be explored through both a traditional journey lens and the integration of sensory elements. You will write from the senses, as you tap into elements that inform Maine’s unique sense of place. Participants will write from the senses contained in their own day-to-day lives, both past and present, drawing connections between memory, environment, and storytelling. By drawing on the expansive exhibition at the Farnsworth, you will get a detailed look into the objects and materials for the exhibition, offering insight into how personal histories are preserved and interpreted. In response, participants will write about the personal and family items that make up their own life histories. You will also learn about archival materials and objects that informed Betsy’s work and the creative life of the Wyeth family. After visiting, you will be guided to reflect upon and record materials from your own life and explore their meaning within your personal story. Just as Betsy Wyeth strove so elegantly and diligently to express her creativity and sense of purpose through carefully created vistas, structures, and design, leveraging elements such as doors, floorboards, and wainscoting, you will explore the places, houses, objects, and memories that populate your own history in order to begin shaping your life story on the page. Materials: We ask each participant to bring the following items: Photo that reflects the essence of who they feel they are A small item that may seem inconsequential to an outsider but one that carries meaning to them personally A small item that may see inconsequential to an outsider but one that carries important family meaning to them A notebook, pencil for journaling in the galleries and laptop or other device to write with Teresa Piccari is a lover of the written word across all genres. She is a career journalist and columnist, feature writer, and writes both fictio...
