Metaphors in Motion: A Playful Workshop for Creative Minds with Kirk McCarthy
July 12th, 2pm at ACCI Gallery
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Some journeys begin with a suitcase. Others begin with a sentence.
Step into a world where thoughts wear hiking boots, emotions hitch rides, and ideas swing lanterns to light the way. This workshop isn’t just for artists or writers (though they’re more than welcome); it’s for anyone with a mind that meanders and a heart that wanders. Join us for an afternoon of metaphorical spelunking through the caves of creativity and curiosity. Using a toolkit brimming with hundreds of vivid, surprising prompts, we’ll explore how embodied metaphors shape the way we think, speak, grow, and stumble forward. You might discover your motivation is a wind at your back—or a mule with opinions. You might reimagine doubt as fog, or trust as a narrow bridge. Whether you’re sketching, journaling, reinventing yourself, or simply trying to make peace with the chaos of it all, this workshop offers playful insight, shared exploration, and more than a few aha! moments disguised as detours. Open to artists, writers, seekers, and the metaphorically curious—no experience needed. Just bring your imagination. 
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Kirk McCarthy first tumbled down the rabbit hole in the early ’70s at the Stanford Research Institute, mesmerized by a mainframe screen where “desktop” wasn’t woodgrain and a "file" wasn’t paper—it was a portal to possibility. These weren’t just digital tricks; they were metaphors with voltage. That spark ignited a lifelong fascination with metaphors—not merely figures of speech, but blueprints for thought, bridges between neurons, scaffolds for seeing.
With a BA in Art and a deep dive into cybernetic systems graduate studies at San Jose State, Kirk learned to navigate the feedback loops of both machines and minds. Later, earning an MA in Education with a focus on critical thinking, he found himself equally at home in classrooms and studios—where theory meets texture. He has spent decades refining his craft—quite literally—fashioning titanium into tangible art, where pressure and volts reveal both form and insight. In every workshop and creation, Kirk invites you to explore how the material world and metaphor dance, collide, and co-evolve, forging new pathways for creativity and understanding. |