Available for virtual visits in : British Columbia, Newfoundland & Labrador, the Northwest Territories and Ontario
Home Province: Quebec
Craft: Author-Illustrator
Genre: Picture Books
Target Audience: Ages 6 -12
Cost for School and Public Virtual Presentation with CCBC subsidy: $200.00, plus applicable taxes
Website: www.toddallanstewart.com
Virtual Presentation/Workshop Information:
I am proposing a one-hour long workshop for children in grades 2-6 (approximately ages 6-12).
I would present and read my book, The Wind and the Trees, and I would give a short presentation of my work and process – writing / illustration / silkscreen printmaking. I have two workshop options, each of which would take up the second half of the workshop.
Note: I am also working on a short animated film of The Wind and the Trees; it is scheduled for completion by the end of 2021, so we could show the film right after reading the book, or at the end of the workshop. The film itself is 8 minutes long.
Part A- Presentation, book reading, questions (20 mins)
Includes
-Introduction: Who I am, how I work. (Visuals / slide show / video)
– The Wind and the Trees: The idea for the book, how we created it
– Book reading: (Accompanying slide show of the page spreads / video)
– Discussion: Questions / Answers
Part B. Workshop- Hands-On (40 mins)
Option #1 for Workshop- ILLUSTRATION- Drawing Personalities in Objects
The trees in this story are moved by the wind, and at various moments almost have personalities (seemingly tired after a heavy storm, or happier on a sunny breezy day). There are moments where the trees are older or younger, and I have drawn them differently depending on what is happening to them at that time.
Time to draw a tree. Think: if this tree did have emotions or a personality, what could they be? Is this tree young or old? And how would you go about drawing it to make other people understand its character, without using words? Without drawing a face on an object you can still give it a personality. (As an example, a tree can look older if its branches are drooping, or more crooked from beingblown by the wind. If a tree is healthy and full of life, its branches reach straight up to the sky and its canopy is full.) If everybody’s drawings could be cut out and assembled together, it could be a forest of trees, each with hopefully its own character and personality.
Option #2 for Workshop – WRITING- A Conversation Between Two Things
The heart of the story is a conversation between two pine trees, over a long period of time. Find two objects in the room, or that you see outside, or that are even in your imagination. Imagine a conversation between these two objects. What would they say to each other? What relationship do these objects have to each other in real life? What could two objects have in common that they could begin to talk about?
Take time to write down a few lines of dialogue between these two objects.
We can go over our stories one by one, at the end of the workshop.
Book List
2021 – Sous un ciel sans plafond (Author: Charles Quimper) – Editions Québec Amérique
2020 – The Wind and the Trees – Owlkids
2019 – Quand le vent souffle – Comme des géants
2019 – Pipo (Author: Amélie Dumoulin) – Editions Québec Amérique
2018 – Flow Spin Grow – Looking for Patterns in Nature (Author: Patchen Barss) – Owlkids
2015 – See You Next Year (Author: Andrew Larsen) – Owlkids