Last Christmas Eve, Nicole Ringgold had an inspiring conversation with poet Linda M. Robertson. They pondered how they might encourage increased collaboration between visual artists and writers in the Methow Valley.

Linda had recently completed an assignment for a poetry class – “Ekphrasis” – the task was to write a piece inspired by a visual work of art. Poets have used art as inspiration for centuries. John Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is one famous example, but even ancient poets such as Homer have turned to artwork as a source of stimulation for their writing. Linda said that the assignment allowed her to harness the power of visual images to inspire her own poetry.

So… what would happen if the assignment were reversed? How would it look to have visual artists create work inspired by writing? And the exhibit Visions of Verse was born.

In May Confluence invited writers to submit “shorts” or “flash fiction” and received over 200 submissions. We then posted a call for visual artists to submit work inspired by the selected writing. Visions of Verse is an exhibit that includes the work created throughout this process, a diverse collection of 17 writers and 17 artists, both students and adults. A chapbook with the writing and art will be for sale at the gallery in November.

DATES: Through January 11. CONTACT: Confluence Gallery, 509.997.2787, www.confluencegallery.com