FREE Networking for Creatives

Leslie Archibald and Holly Lyn Walrath are hosting a free guided networking event for creatives of all practices at Merge Art Studio on Saturday, October 17, from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM. It's open to anyone working in a creative field, and there will be free refreshments on hand.

Merge Art Studio is a collaboration between the two artists, located at 2000 Nance St, Studio B-126, in Houston. They describe it as a space to explore the merging of minds and the merging of arts of all kinds, and they run monthly workshops out of the studio.

Leslie Archibald brings a writer's background to the mix. She writes poetry, flash fiction, and nonfiction from a tiny home office here in Houston, and she took up visual art in late 2023. Her award-winning flash piece "Sherry Baby" appeared in the special section of Companion of the Ash in December 2018, and her chapbook Poems for a Broken Marriage is coming from Finishing Line Press.

This session is part of The Whole Artist Sessions, a project that grew out of the "Art in the A.M." gatherings Archibald has hosted on third Saturday mornings since Writespace closed. Those sessions started in 2021 when Jamie Portwood pitched the idea of using unique artistic spaces around Houston to inspire writers and fill their creative well. This particular gathering is free, though an RSVP is required. It runs from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM on Saturday, October 17, at Merge Art Studio, 2000 Nance St, Studio B-126.