| Program Descriptions: |
Presentation #1: Creating a Picture Book
Where do my ideas came from? I talk about what my brothers and sisters and I did in elementary school to introduce The Grand Old Tree.
I talk about my daughter Kepley and her ballet lessons in order to introduce The Nutcracker Doll.
Everyone has their own unique interests, families, friends, and experiences, and so each student has their own unique story to tell.
Writing/Research/Editing
Write something down—and then you can fix it. Nothing is perfect the first time.
I talk a little bit about the research involved in illustrating and writing picture books. I show some visual research, and the illustrations that I made using that research. We talk about sources of information—field trips to locations, libraries, the internet, experts, etc.
I share my ideas about clear communication: the importance of words, grammar, clear ideas, logical progression, etc.
I talk about editing, and I have a fun visual to show that my editor has a similar role to a teacher in that he helps me to communicate more clearly with my words and pictures.
Book Dummy
How is a picture book different than a story book? We talk about the interdependence of words and pictures in a picture book.
I present my books to my editor as book dummies. A book dummy is a mock-up of the actual book. It shows the action, the location, the point of view. It is like a film strip or a comic strip and it brings the story to life. Sometimes my books go through more than one book dummy stage, I don’t always get things right the first time. I show these various dummies to the class.
Art:
I will show one or more pieces of original art and discuss how they are made.
What is the media?—painting, collage, etc.
How does the media communicate the subject matter?
I will show sketch stages and answer questions and talk about whatever the students may find interesting about the artistic process.
F&Gs, Bound Book:
I show an unbound book, and a finished book and I describe the printing and publishing processes.
Read:
At some point I read and talk through a picture book or two.
Students are encouraged to observe and reflect on what they see and hear in the story and make connections to their own experiences and feelings.
Presentation #2: Illustrating a picture book
Demonstration—character and setting
I write the phrase” A Grand Old Tree” on the board. I ask the students to imagine a picture for this phrase. I then draw on the board four different interpretations of the phrase. There is often more than one good visual solution. This demonstrates that the pictures are really, really, important and can take the words in completely different directions. Also, it shows that it is not always the quality of the illustration—how well something is rendered—but what is communicated, that counts. So students should not stop themselves from trying because they feel that they ‘can’t draw.’ Craft is a matter of practice, and also of boldness—‘just do it!’
I point out that much of the story is told in the illustration: who, what, where...just like a film director, I get to decide the setting, the weather, the mood, emotions, costumes, furniture, time period, etc.
Brainstorming:
I ask the students to name different kinds of hats, chairs, trees, whatever. We list them and talk about how different stories, scenes, or moods could be created from the different answers.
I talk about techniques for brainstorming. Sometimes it helps to think of categories. For example, are there hats that denote particular jobs, or sports? Are there hats for different kinds of weather? Are there hats worn by different nationalities? Think of antique or futuristic hats, children’s hats, handmade hats. Sometimes it helps to think about hats you and your neighbors own. Sometimes a thesaurus or other kind of research aid is helpful.
The students draw their interpretation of a general phrase—‘That hat doesn’t fit!” or something similar.
Page layout involves many different variables. It helps to pretend you are actually there. How does it feel? Can you taste or smell anything? What are your emotions?
Point of view--imagine the scene as though you are the cameraman, or as if you are involved in the action—from above, from below, zoom in, pan out…
Action--is it crowded, solitary, active, noisy, quiet? Is it dangerous, tense, and uncertain? Is it secure and calm? What different page layouts denote these qualities? Molly Bang’s book Picture This is helpful for this part of the discussion.
Depth of field—are you drawing a flat world or one with perspective?
Set Design—furniture, architecture, costuming, props…sometimes involves research, other times just imagination.
Mood can be shown through colors, weather, lighting, media, point of view, etc. We look at illustrations to become aware of these means of visual communication.
Line quality, color, texture, loose or precise rendering are illustration techinques that also contribute to storytelling.
Writing and illustrating a picture book involves juggling all of the variables above, plus the text! We’ll examine a book to see what part of the story we get from the text, and what we learn from the illustrations. Picture books are special in that the words and pictures should be so connected that you need both to understand the story.
Presentation #3: For students attending a performance of The Nutcracker Ballet
I ask if anyone in the class takes ballet lessons. Or if anyone has been to a ballet. Or if anyone has seen a play at a theater.
We discuss the difference between seeing a live performance and seeing a movie or TV show. We talk about performing live, as opposed to on film, which can be edited.
We talk about mistakes that can happen during a live performance, and how the orchestra and the dancers have to practice and work together.
We talk about what a ballet is, we might listen to some music from The Nutcracker and talk about dance, gesture, pantomime, and mood.
We talk about how many people it takes to present a Ballet. What many jobs there are behind the scenes. The lighting, the costumes, the props, the scenery, the carpenters, the dressers, the electricians, the janitors, the children’s supervisors, the dance mistress, the stage manager, the ushers, the orchestra…
I ask if anyone has been on a team, and how that might be like presenting a performance.
We might talk about how making a book is like making a production of a ballet—I have to draw the costumes, the lighting, the feelings, the action…
We read through the book and imagine what it would be like to be Kepley, how she feels and how she achieved her goal.
We talk about having a dream or a goal and how to plan and practice and persist and finally succeed!
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| Program Pricing: |
$250 half day, $500 full day for local presentations. |
| Special Features: |
Because I am an author and an illustrator, I talk about approaching storytelling from both of these perspectives. My goal is to have the students realize that they have their own unique and important stories to tell, and that their work in school helps them to communicate these stories. |
| Audience Levels: |
Preschool; Lower Elementary; Upper Elementary; Middle School; High School; Adult |
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