CLASS | Tuesdays, June 16-July 28 from 6:30-8:30pm EST
>> No class June 30 <<
📍ONLINE delivered via ZOOM
Facilitated by Erin Hallagan Clare (I&A Founder)

Registration is through the Inward & Artward School of Creativity, a sister project to Story Parlor.

“It is by such statements as, ‘Once upon a time there was a dragon,’ or ‘In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit’ — it is by such beautiful non-facts that we fantastic human beings may arrive, in our peculiar fashion, at the truth.”

— Ursula K. LeGuin, from “Why Are Americans Afraid of Dragons?”

What if, at the edge of change, we are not lost—but standing at the threshold of a story waiting to be told? In this six-week online class, we’ll step into the landscape of fairy tales—where the ordinary becomes enchanted, where transformation is inevitable, and where meaning is carried through symbol, archetype, and image. Together, we’ll wander beyond the limits of linear thinking and into the rich terrain of personal mythology, where new ways of seeing—and being—begin to take shape.

Through guided exercises, reflective prompts, and imaginative play, we’ll trace the threads of the stories that have shaped us, listen for what stirs beneath the surface, and begin to weave a tale of our own—one that honors where we’ve been while opening toward what’s possible.

• WEEKLY GUIDEPOSTS

  Class 1 | Mapping the Myth

  We’ll chart the landscape of our personal mythology, uncovering recurring themes, questions, and beliefs that shape the stories we live inside of.

  Class 2 | Crossing into the Dreamscape

  We’ll step beyond logic and into the subconscious, exploring images, fragments, and dreamlike material that reveal what is asking to be seen.

  Class 3 | Working with Archetype & Metaphor

  We’ll work with archetypes and metaphor as portals into expanded possibility, discovering new ways of understanding our roles within our own stories.

  Class 4 | Weaving the Fairy Tale

  We’ll begin crafting our personal fairy tales, using the language of transformation—thresholds, trials, helpers, and change—to shape our narratives.

  Class 5 | Deepening the Spell

  We’ll refine and enrich our stories by working with detail, texture, and symbolic resonance, allowing the deeper transformation beneath the surface to emerge.

  Class 6 | Stepping into the Epilogue

  We’ll gather to witness and celebrate our stories, reflecting on what has shifted and imagining what unfolds beyond the final page.Class 1 | Mapping the Myth

  We’ll chart the landscape of our personal mythology, uncovering recurring themes, questions, and beliefs that shape the stories we live inside of.

  Class 2 | Crossing into the Dreamscape

  We’ll step beyond logic and into the subconscious, exploring images, fragments, and dreamlike material that reveal what is asking to be seen.

  Class 3 | Working with Archetype & Metaphor

  We’ll work with archetypes and metaphor as portals into expanded possibility, discovering new ways of understanding our roles within our own stories.

  Class 4 | Weaving the Fairy Tale

  We’ll begin crafting our personal fairy tales, using the language of transformation—thresholds, trials, helpers, and change—to shape our narratives.

  Class 5 | Deepening the Spell

  We’ll refine and enrich our stories by working with detail, texture, and symbolic resonance, allowing the deeper transformation beneath the surface to emerge.

  Class 6 | Stepping into the Epilogue

  We’ll gather to witness and celebrate our stories, reflecting on what has shifted and imagining what unfolds beyond the final page.

• WHAT TO EXPECT

  What to Expect

  • We’ll engage in guided creative exercises, prompts, and reflections each week

  • We’ll work within a gentle structure while leaving space for curiosity and surprise

  • We’ll prioritize process over perfection, while still creating a complete personal fairy tale

  • We’ll be invited (but never required) to share in a supportive, non-judgmental space

  • We’ll practice listening to imagination, intuition, and symbolic language

  • We’ll be entering a creative space for exploration and meaning-making—which can feel deep and resonant, but is not therapy

• Who This Class is For

  Who This Class Is For:

  • Those of us standing at a threshold—navigating change, uncertainty, or becoming

  • Creatives, writers, and wanderers drawn to story, symbolism, and imagination

  • Anyone who senses there is more to their story than the one currently being told

  • Those curious about archetypes, personal mythology, and nonlinear ways of knowing

  • Those who feel caught in overthinking and long to access a more intuitive, creative voice

  • Anyone open to exploring their inner world through metaphor and image (no writing experience needed

• About the Instructor, Erin Hallagan Clare

  Erin Hallagan Clare is the founder of Story Parlor, a narrative arts space based in Asheville, NC, and (as of the fall of 2025) co-owner of the Battery Park Book Exchange & Champagne Bar. Launched in 2015 (formerly known as “Story Bar”), Story Parlor offers community-driven events and workshops designed to bring audiences and artists together through the universal language of creativity and story. Erin is also the founder of the Inward & Artward School of Creativity, a sister project to Story Parlor, which offers global classes, trainings, and resources that invite participants to reclaim creativity as an essential part of how they live, reflect, and make.

  Erin is currently pursuing her PhD in Creativity at Rowan University where her dissertation is focused on the ontology of story and creativity. She studied film and theatre at Temple University, and earned her Masters in Psychology with a Creativity Studies specialization, with her thesis focused on creative facilitation. She holds graduate certificates from Pacifica University in Applied Mythology and the Narrative Psychology of Fairy Tales and certifications as a creativity coach (Kaizen-Muse and advanced training with Dr. Eric Maisel), an Enneagram practitioner (Narrative Enneagram and Integrative 9), and yoga instructor (Yoga Alliance with over 450 hours in training). Prior to these projects, Erin served as the Creative Director of the Austin Film Festival & Writers Conference (where she currently remains on the board), in addition to producing the PBS and PRX-affiliated project, On Story, for which she received a Lone Star Emmy for Best Arts/Entertainment Program in 2014.

  A writer and storyteller, Erin regularly teaches creativity and personal mythology workshops at both Story Parlor and the Great Smokies Writing Program at UNCA. She has shared stories and written work at The Moth, Listen to This, NC Writers Network, The Great Smokies Writing Program, Jazz Hybrid, Testify, One Page Salon, and is a Moth Story Slam Champion. Her writing can be found in The Cleveland Review, Psychology Today, Thrive Global, and others, and she is a contributing author to The Coach’s Guide to Completing Creative Work published by Routledge.

  Erin believes everyone has a story to tell, and that we are all creative. She is dedicated to making a difference through the transformative power of the arts. 

  >> You can watch Erin’s Creative Mornings talk on “Parallel” here.

Facilitated by Erin Hallagan Clare (Story Parlor & the Inward & Artward School of Creativity Founder)

---

The Inward & Artward School of Creativity—a sister project to Story Parlor—launched in the fall of 2025 with the intention of expanding the workshops and classes offered to a broader, virtual community.

The school takes its name from a guiding philosophy: that one must go inward in order to go “artward.” Creativity, in this framework, begins with reflection, personal narrative, and an honest reckoning with the stories we carry—about ourselves, about others, and about the world. I&A helps participants explore those stories, untangle limiting beliefs, and cultivate sustainable practices that foster creative growth. The aim is not to teach a singular technique or discipline, but to provide tools and frameworks that allow individuals to discover their own pathways to expression.

Programming at I&A spans a range of offerings, from short-term workshops to extended creative facilitator trainings. These trainings are particularly impactful, equipping artists, educators, and community leaders with the skills to guide others in creative exploration. Through this work, the school cultivates a new generation of creative leaders committed to fostering inclusive, meaningful, and transformative arts experiences.

Together, Story Parlor and the I&A School of Creativity form a dynamic ecosystem of creativity aimed at dismantling the barriers and silencing that so often accompany early creative experiences, and to invite participants to reclaim creativity as an essential part of how they live. They affirm that creativity is not the province of a chosen few, but the birthright of all—a force capable of bridging divides, deepening empathy, and helping us see ourselves and one another more fully.