Jill Burkey served as the seventeenth Mesa County Libraries Artist in Residence at 970West Studio. The dates of her residency were January 10- April 18, 2022. During the residency, she kept open studio hours at 970West on Tuesdays from 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m, allowing her to showcase her poetry and creative process for Mesa County residents. She also gave three public, educational programs:

Write Your Own Greeting Card (All Ages) (February 3, 2022, 6-7:30 p.m.)
Event description: Have you ever wanted to make your own greeting card, with your OWN words? This is your chance! In this workshop, you will learn how to write two-line poems that you can use to make your own greeting cards for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, a friend’s birthday, or just because. We’ll look at examples, play with words from our word bag, and have fun making and decorating our cards. No writing experience necessary. This workshop is for writers of all ages and either new or experienced writers.

Color Poems (All Ages) (March 3, 6-7:30 p.m.)
Event description: Are you passionate about orange? Or do you think blue is just the bee’s knees? In this poetry workshop, we will let our imaginations run wild as we learn how to write a poem using imagery, color, emotion, and the word bag. We’ll also get to play with art supplies and paper to create a beautiful backdrop that we can copy our finished poems onto. No writing experience necessary. This workshop is for writers of all ages and either new or experienced writers.

Poetry Postcards — Celebrate National Poetry Month by Writing a Postcard Poem! (All Ages) (April 12, 6-7:30 p.m.)
Event description: We all have postcards lying around that we haven’t used – dust them off, bring them with you, and learn how to write a postcard poem on them! Don’t have any postcards lying around? We’ve got you covered. Just bring yourself and a willingness to be creative. We’ll look at examples, play with words from our word bag, and have fun writing poems. No writing experience necessary. This workshop is for writers of all ages and either new or experienced writers.