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My head is still spinning with your ideas, characters, and story worlds – and as a writer, that’s a good thing. It’s called “inspiration”!

I had an amazing time during my one-week residency at R. F. Morrison School. Over the week I spent time with six classes that included students from grades 2 to 6 – it was a record number of groups for me. (Also, I’ve never worked with grade 2 students before, and was thrilled with their creative ideas and sophisticated work.) I am so glad I had the chance to meet so many of you!

And it wasn’t just about numbers. The diversity of writing projects Morrison students were working on was dazzling. From folktales to special memories, from humour to fantasy, from book series to describing a single poignant moment in time, I heard and read it all!

What stands out the most for me about this school was students’ desire to share what they were working on with each other. This says a few things about you – first, you are energized, inspired and proud of your work. That’s great! Remember that feeling whenever you face a challenge and let it be your fuel to do a wonderful job, like you did during our time together! Second, you respect one another and make each other comfortable. It’s not always easy to share creative work with others. It can be very intimidating! But when you know that you are in a welcoming place, with friends who will listen, and that the zest you bring to your writing will be respected – well, it creates a circle of inspiration where author and listeners (or readers) inspire one another! I was proud of you all and excited to think that you get to work in this environment every day – keep it up!

I was also impressed by the great work you all did with descriptive language – after a few short sessions, the poetic language that was flowing so naturally from your pens and pencils was unbelievable. I could see, smell, touch, taste and hear your stories. Fantastic work! And those hooks – wow! The only problem with working with you on hooks for your stories and creating all that suspense is that now I want to read all the finished stories!!! Maybe I will have a chance one day…

Last of all, I must say that it was incredibly special visiting two classes who had read or who were reading “Lights! Curtains! Cows!”. We were able to talk about Becky Kowalski like she was a mutual friend of all of ours – that was cool! In one class, I heard that they had produced a drama, board game, and other creative projects based on my book – what an honour. I was also able to share some “behind the story” information about earlier drafts of my book, even characters and scenes who I decided to cut from the final version but who were so much fun to revisit with you. This was a very unique opportunity as an author – thank you!

I wish you all very well in your writing and anything you decide to do. Thank you for a wonderful week!

Till we meet again,
Karin 🙂

St.Aidan’s Christian School has a family feeling that you can sense immediately when you step into the building. The relatively small number of students must be a part of the reason – everyone knows each other, from grade 5 right through to grade 9, something that doesn’t always happen at a larger school. For me personally, part of the reason is that I spent some time here last year. I got to know some of the students and staff. I was especially privileged to hear students share some of their writing – a deeply personal experience which I believe brings people closer together. So that’s one reason I felt at home last week during my one-week artist residency at St. Aidan’s.

The other ongoing reason that St. Aidan’s feels like a true community – a family – is that people really care about each other here, students, teachers, support staff, everyone – you can tell! Several times a day during my week there, different students would come up to me in order to tell me about something amazing…that another student had done or created! I thought this was very unique and special – that students were so proud of each others’ art and skills. In fact, because of this community atmosphere, we did more collaborative work than I have ever done or planned for another school – shared creative pieces that were wonderfully, amazingly spontaneous – in other words, the best kind of art! Written stories turned into comic strips created in pairs, personal stories were shared with the class told with zest and vivid description (and even with special photos brought from home), fictional characters were developed with words, then carefully and artfully sketched and coloured and posted in an impromptu class gallery, a discussion about the beauty of language and words turned into a session of sharing words in the other languages that we know, including sign language, a colourful class diorama became the subject of spontaneous tales – the week came alive with art and story according to plan and according to the moment (the best!).

I hope that during our time together, you all learned a little something about creating characters in fictional stories and have been inspired to consider writing as a way to express your creative thoughts – you certainly came up with original ideas!!! (Some of you also had great suggestions for writing activities, too which I really appreciated – and will be sure to use in the future!).

At the end of the week, I was presented with several special cards and artwork from students and teachers and vibrant yellow potted flowers to brighten up the -40 windchill weather (it’s beside me right now as I type!). I was also invited to attend chapel on Friday at lunch, a praise and worship service full of song and prayer. What a special time to share with you all after a wonderful week together. Thank you for welcoming me with open arms into your school family – all the very best with your writing and anything you do!

Till we meet again…
Karin 🙂

A note on in medias res:

in medias res is Latin for “in the midst of things”. In some classes in my last Artist Residency, we were talking about different ways to grab your readers’ attention. One way is to start a scene or even a story in the middle of the action – in medias res – it can really make your readers sit up and take notice, longing to know more… Anyway – I think I may have forgotten to add the “s” on “medias” when I wrote it down. Yes, writers worry about things like missing “s”s!!!

So, the next time you are talking about starting a story in the midst of things and want to use the fancy Latin phrase, or you are filling out the last few spaces in a crossword puzzle, or you are on a game show in the final round and you need to translate “in the midst of things” into Latin, be sure to add all the necessary “s”s to in medias res!!!!

I’ve just completed an artist residency at Constable Finney school through the Artists in the Schools program. My time didn’t just fly by – it zoomed! It got me thinking over the weekend that time may fly when you’re having fun, but it zooms when you’re inspired. I definitely left the school last Friday afternoon feeling refreshed and inspired as an artist, and I will tell you why.

In all ten classes that I visited, I asked: Who enjoys reading? Who enjoys writing? What about writing outside of school, just for yourself? The number of hands waving in the air amazed me every time. Certainly, these students had other talents and interests, too – like science, sports, music, acting, dancing, languages, and much more – and these were quite fascinating to hear about. But there seemed to be a place in everyone’s heart at this school for a good book or a good story. That’s incredibly inspiring to a writer like me!

But of course, the great advantage of doing a residency is that I didn’t just see the hands waving in the air. I saw writers writing. Whether we were building characters, exploring our characters’ storyworlds, or crafting vivid descriptive language in our memoirs, writers were busy at work all around me. I heard writing being read out loud with dramatic flourishes. I was asked wonderful questions about the writing craft, and how to make good writing even better. I saw students take their notebooks home so that they could continue to write, and others come to class with burgeoning books they had been working on at home. Some young writers imagined stories that took place on the fringes of imaginary worlds, while others grasped a special moment from their own experience that only they could describe. Feeling a room buzzing with ideas and unfolding stories is something else that inspires writers.

The teachers at Constable Finney work hard to create classrooms where every student has a voice, and everyone listens to each other. (I was really impressed at how often students spoke proudly of their fellow classmates’ achievements, as in “You’ve got to see what she wrote – it’s great!” or “He’s already written twenty pages, and he draws, too!”). I especially enjoyed collaborating with teachers as we figured out how to best present a writing exercise – sometimes right on the spot – to bring out maximum creativity. I love it when that happens! I’ve left this residency with new ideas to try and new methods and approaches to draw from as I visit other schools- so I want to thank the teachers for being such wonderful creative partners!

Last of all, my time at Constable Finney was warm, welcoming, and fun. I was greeted in the hallways by enthusiastic students, helped by students and teachers when I got lost on my way to various classrooms which happened more than once(!), and shared a fit of giggles with a class who thought my version of “Mark” from No TV? No Fair! was hilarious (ha! ha! thanks for that -Mark’s one of my favourite characters, too!). I even got to read later chapters of No TV? No Fair! to students, in one case the very last chapter (a first for me since I usually only get to read chapters one and two in public!). I was also honoured to attend a special Remembrance Day service with student-led poetry readings and very moving choral music. Thank you!

Thank you for a wonderful artist residency. I start this new week with a bounty of fresh ideas and inspiration from my time with young, creative writers. I am more excited than ever to plunge into my writing projects. I hope that the students of Constable Finney feel the same way!

Till we meet again…
Karin 🙂

On my way to Ecole Margaret Underhill for the very first day of my very first artist residency, I had to stop at a railroad crossing for what seemed like FOREVER.

A very, very, VERY long train was making its way down the tracks. Oh, man! I was hoping I wouldn’t be late. That wouldn’t make for a good impression…

…But just in time, the caboose passed out of view and the crossing was clear. I arrived at the school in time (even early), and everything from that point on for the rest of the entire week was smooth sailing. Of course, things went so well not because of luck, but because of the AMAZING students and staff I worked with at this fantastic school! I want to tell you a bit about it…

I had the pleasure of meeting about 90+ or so marvelous grade 3 and 4 students. In each class, I received the warmest welcome you could imagine – and, as a writer, I’m in the business of imagining! 🙂 In anticipation of my visit, students had been working on creating original, fictional characters – even a few of the teachers did the same! There were galleries of fictional characters – humorous, heroic, bold, complex – often with colorful portraits to match, ready and waiting for creative exploration. As I got to know the students – and their characters – I knew we would be in for a fun week of imagining.

What impressed me most about these students was their eagerness to learn, explore and build on a love for reading and writing that was already there. Students showed a tremendous amount of respect in listening to me and to others, and they were also incredibly enthusiastic to get started on an activity – the perfect combo! Whether we worked in large groups, small groups, in partners or alone, students got right to work – and came up with the most amazing ideas. We also had lots of fun and learned a lot from each other through group discussions (chatting with these students was the highlight of my day!). I felt I got to know students quite well through the insightful questions they asked and the intriguing stories they told. I’m so glad that I get to come back to do more work in March. I am TOTALLY EXCITED to see what these creative students have been working on, and to see my “old friends” again. It will be like “coming home again!”.

Yes – I truly felt at home at Ecole Margaret Underhill. Students made me feel so special by always greeting me in the hall, getting me up to speed on the latest recess news, and of course filling me in on their ever-expanding writing projects. On day one, staff invited me to grab a bowl and a spoon and join in a special chilli lunch (a spicy fundraising event!), and always cleared a spot for me at the lunch table. The teachers I worked with were kind, welcoming, had AWESOME ideas, and helped make the activities I had planned a success. THANK YOU!

I also appreciated how each school day began with a commitment to respect, peace and excellence that everyone recited together (I need to get a copy of the words for myself!). I think the world would be a better place if we all started our day focusing our thoughts and minds in such a way. Way to go!

This was my very first Artists in the Schools residency and I could not have asked for a more welcoming and reception and enjoyed a genuinely creative, fun-filled experience. Thank you Ecole Margaret Underhill – see you in March 2013! (Can’t wait!)

Best,
Karin

It is always special going into a class that has read one of my books. It’s neat hearing what students want to know about the story, what their favourite parts were, which characters they liked (or ARE the most like! 🙂 ) So, visiting with the grade 5’s of Room 15 at Constable Finney was special – and then, there was more!

First, we had a wonderful talk and some great laughs about No TV? No Fair! and about writing books. Everyone had great questions for me – and even some “stumpers”! When I was asked “Besides writing, what are your other dreams?” or “What was the first book you ever read by yourself?” I really had to think. Hmmmmmm….I’m still thinking! (Although I think my first book may have been “Harry and the Terrible Whatzit” by Dick Gackenbach. Then again, I can picture about three other possibilities as I type. See – “stumpers!”).

Then, these exceptionally creative students showed me some of the projects they’ve been working on related to “No TV?” – there was a wall displaying graphs where students kept track of how much “screen time” they has one week, then they tried to reduce it the next week. I must say looking at those colourful charts that everyone did very well – I wonder how I would do? I should try it!

There was also a gorgeous art gallery of “mood” paintings, where students blended colours to express different moods, just as Chloe does. I saw another gallery of beautiful origami art, and a bound book of a whole range of moods. There was also a stunning drawing of Chloe surrounded by some of her best catchphrases – like, “TV is my life!”. I saw so many great things, I sure hope I’m not forgetting to mention anything!

We celebrated our visit with a mouth-watering snack of fresh pineapple, and I was given a lovely card signed by the class and a potted gerbera daisy for my desk (I’m looking at it right now!)

Thank you to the fantastic students of Room 15 and your wonderful teacher for a great and memorable visit – till we meet again…

Karin 🙂