About the Workshop

This interactive workshop invites participants to explore their identity and emotions through music, visual art, and language. Participants will create a personal word-art portrait using song lyrics—whether from favorite songs, meaningful tunes, or self-written lines—inside the outline of a human head. They may add hair that matches theirs if time allows/participant desires. This exercise fosters introspection, creative expression, and the blending of music-driven storytelling with visual representation.

This workshop is designed for ages 12 and up. All children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Space is limited, and first-come, first-serve!

A Note from Our Instructor, CJ Monét

“My work explores the relationship between words, music, art, and movement. A picture is worth a thousand words, but what if that picture could actually be a thousand words or more? My work has evolved over time from just painting and drawing to portraits made completely out of words.

My background is not in studio art, but in art theory, art history, and neuroscience. I learned a lot about how art and music are perceived by people, both socially and biologically. My art is the madness to the method; my love for method is the routine to the madness found in the art I create.

Above all, I create art to honor moments. Whether that is a feeling that I want to evoke in an abstract painting, or a legendary artist memorialized by the words that they sing—my art is found at the intersection of a moment and what makes the moment unique from another.”

To learn more about CJ Monét, visit https://www.cjmonetart.com.

What to Bring:

Sketch paper or printouts of head outlines
Markers, pens, and pencils
Song lyrics

Additional drawing supplies will be provided.

Word Art & Music Self-Reflection

with CJ Monét & the Hillsborough Arts Council