Workshops
Improvisation as Creative Practice
The Improv Paradox, The Improv Mindset, and The Improv Catalyst—explore how creative constraints, responsive making, and thoughtful experimentation can transform uncertainty into powerful artistic momentum.
The Improv Paradox — the idea
The Improv Mindset — the approach
The Improv Catalyst — the breakthrough
Each workshop stands alone and welcomes artists working in any medium.
WORKSHOP 1.
The Improv Paradox — How the rules you make set you free
How constraints create freedom in improvisational work.
In this five-day workshop, you will design and construct a quilt top that is uniquely yours. Through daily presentations, interactive demos, and hands-on exercises, we will explore how rules and constraints don’t stifle creativity—they supercharge it. Rules act as a framework, guiding intentional choices and freeing you to focus on what is essential in the design. Structured exercises, tips, techniques, and encouragement will help you awaken your creative instincts. By the end of the week, you will leave with a completed quilt top—or well on your way to one—and strategies for trusting your own creative decisions.
WORKSHOP 2.
The Improv Mindset — How spontaneity creates confidence
Developing the habits that support improvisation.
Improvisational art often appears spontaneous, but the most compelling work grows from a way of thinking that welcomes uncertainty and responds to what emerges during the act of making. In this five-day workshop, we will explore the mindset that supports improvisational practice. Through structured exercises built around simple constraints, participants will investigate how ideas develop in real time, how visual decisions evolve, and how to recognize what a piece needs next. Rather than focusing on technical instruction, the workshop emphasizes habits of attention: curiosity, observation, responsiveness, and the willingness to follow unexpected directions. By the end of the week, you will leave with a completed quilt top or a top well in progress, along with strategies for approaching improvisation with confidence.
WORKSHOP 3.
The Improv Catalyst — How to use creative friction as a catapult
Using improvisational strategies to unlock stalled work and generate new directions.
Creative work rarely unfolds in a straight line. Pieces stall, ideas hesitate, and promising directions can suddenly lose momentum. In this five-day workshop, improvisation becomes the catalyst that moves the work forward. Through a series of exercises, participants will explore ways to disrupt habits, introduce new possibilities, and re-energize stalled work. By the end of the week, you will leave with a completed top, a top in progress, or a clear plan to move your work forward, and tools for generating momentum when projects feel stuck.
Booking Info:
Duration: 5-day immersive workshop (classroom hours typically 9am-5pm)
Format: In-person, residential art retreat experience
Location: Hosted at retreat centers (venue arranged by host organization)
Accommodations & Meals: Provided on-site for participants at additional cost; facilitator accommodations included
Fee: $4,000
Travel additional at standard government per diem rates
Contact Info
susan@susanjlapham.com | www.susanjlapham.net