My Sketch-Journaling Workshop for Kids ~ Day 2

The first task on Day II was to look over the homework. Kids came streaming in while I was setting up, eager to share their homework, get advice on their sketching, and ask what was going to happen this second day. As usual, I told them to wait and see!

[NOTE TO ALL YOU SKETCH~JOURNALISTS: To make your pictures look good I had to lighten some parts and darken others, but I tried to not mess with your art. I tried really hard to make each picture look the way it did in real life. I hope I succeeded, but if I didn't, I apologize!]

One delightful aspect of this school is that the children are trustworthy, and I didn't have to take down my workshop at the end of the first day and lug it home (I didn't even worry about leaving my camera untended in the classroom during the day). That saved me at least half an hour this second morning, which I could spend with the kids, chatting with and looking over their homework, which had been to design, sketch, and/or write out a journal page on their own.

(My faithful readers are probably shaking their heads about how I'm going to lose THIS camera, too ~ hey, Tim does it all the time with his camera.)

I asked the kids to leave anything they'd like me to photograph open on the front of their table when they went out to morning recess, and I'd try to get around and photograph it. That way, no one need share their work if they didn't feel like it. So the artwork you see here is of pieces offered by the students for sharing on this blog.

After discussing ephemera (mementos ~ things you want to tape or glue into your journal) and providing an "ephemera pocket" for the students to tape into their journals, we talked awhile about the journaling process and what makes a good journal entry. Our first assignment was to turn a boring sentence into an interesting paragraph, and I was pleasantly pleased at what the kids wrote (one favorite word seems to be "crepuscular").

I handed out the freeform shapes, and had the students design a Sample Journal Page, tracing in the shape the paragraph would take on the page, then creating a contour drawing of their subject (for which I provided photos). The students had a choice of several subjects, but most chose the frog.

I've put up Tim, the teacher's, page (the first Sample Journal Page, above) along with the others. One of the nice things about teachers taking a workshop with their kids is that they experience all the trials and problems the students do, and can determine where they'd deviate from the workshop plan ~ which will make it easier for them to teach a similar class to future students. So here are a few of the Sample Journal Pages. I asked Tim to show his page (just as the other students were doing), to give them an idea of what he felt might constitute a good journal page for their future journaling at their forest site, EarthTeach.

Some of the kids were so enthusiastic that they actually sketched and journaled during their lunch break, coming back with enhanced journal pages, and ephemera ~ a leaf, flower petals ~ that they had collected to fasten to the page.

After lunch, we moved on to haiku (basically, a 17-syllable nature tone poem ~ with a few other rules thrown in for good measure). This proved a challenge for some of the students, as did rhyming 4-line poetry, but everyone improved over the course of the next hour or so, and when I asked for volunteers to read their journal pages, haiku and poems, there were plenty of proud offerings. A couple of kids had written particularly nice pieces but were too shy to read them aloud, so I asked their permission to read them for them. All the kids were very appreciative of each others' work, even applauding a couple of particularly evocative pieces.

Here's a tip, by the way, and I do this with adults, too ~ I like to have people read their haiku or short poems twice. There is often a lot of good stuff ~ a subtle rhyme, an unexpected connection, a surprising idea ~ in a poem and there isn't time to appreciate it the first time you hear it. A second reading allows the listener to really take it in, and discover nuances or ideas they may have missed the first time around.

The poetry and haiku were transferred to fresh pages, and the kids practiced my new Fun Font (I had created at least four, and as many as ten examples of each letter ~ or they could create their own version ~ see on some of the Sample Journal Pages) to fit together into words, sentences, titles and captions. Then they tried an illuminated capital ~ a fun way to dress up a journal page which satisfies the doodler in all of us.

And, oh yes! I showed them how to shade spheres and make eyes that look three dimensional and alive.

BTW, in case you're wondering about all these interminable, upbeat, positive comments and observations about the kids fromTim's class at John Muir School ~ these truly are not exaggerations. Oh sure, sometimes I had to ask them to quiet down, sometimes there was a short session of wrestling or running before class or during breaks, and of course there was some giggling and kid-to-kid restlessness and playfulness that had to be quelled (or sent out to the playground) on occasion.

But a comment like "Okay, now, I want to see 44 eyes [that included the teachers] looking up here at me right now!" (I learned that one from Tim) or "Hey, guys, we're on kind of a tight schedule and if you talk while I'm talking I'll have to keep saying it again and then you won't have time to try this technique..." or "Okay, I'm going to give you a ten minute break while I get ready for the next project, but I want you back in here and sitting quiet at 10:50." Then they'd quiet right down (or shrug into jackets and head for the door). I sometimes heard Tim's gentle reminders when I was occupied with one-on-one coaching. Tim had prepared them well, and they were determined to become good journalers. And they always returned punctually when given a break.

So Day II went well. Now, I had to make it through Day III with spillable water, breakable (and expensive) paintbrushes, waterbrushes and watercolor pencils, and a possibly frustrating new technique for twenty live-wire kids who so far had been VERY well-mannered and focused.

As I promised, I'll now be working on my Journaling/Sketching Workshop "out loud."

It seemed to me that I should probably take a journaling workshop before I finished preparing to teach one, just to see what other people felt should be included in such a workshop, so I was delighted to find an "Outdoor Sketching and Personal Journaling" class being offered through Ashland Parks for June 22.

Gathering up my journal, pen, pencil, kneaded eraser, watercolor pencils & brush and a new sitting pad (one of those seat & back connected with straps, you sit in it and it supports your back), I paid my $45 at the office in Lithia Park (this is a gorgeous, "organic" park designed by John McLaren, who designed Golden Gate Park in SF), then hiked down the trail along the creek to the Madrone Picnic Area.

It was chilly when I got there, but the instructor, Elaine Frenett, was ready to go, with examples of her journals and the supplies she uses to create them displayed on one of the picnic tables. One of her journals, which she had set upright and fanned out so that many pages were visible (possible with a spiral binding), was stunning. (That's a student in the photo.)

Each page was a work of art, with "illuminated" caps, at least one to a page, and brilliant, loose watercolor paintings. The text was also a graphic design element, flowing and meandering across the pages. They were written in an attractive style, somewhere between calligraphy and, well, I can't describe it -- but it really adds to the beauty of the page. She's a real artist! Here's a sample -- click on it for a larger view.

Iwas immediately welcomed and made to feel at home, and the sun started to warm the park as class commenced with Elaine introducing herself and having us do the same. I hesitantly shared the fact that I was putting together a Sketching/Journaling Workshop and wanted to see how someone else presented their material.

Fortunately, she wasn't taken aback by this. After introductions, she passed out her beautifully designed brochures which included a short discussion of why we might want to keep a journal, a list of basic materials useful for journaling, and a checklist of ideas on how we might want to present ourselves in our journals.

I was pleased to see that they closely paralleled the list I had made during my long drive to Idaho a couple of weeks ago (998 miles round trip providing 21 hours of contemplation and note-making for my journaling workshop). Exhausting but productive (more on this later).

Next came a brief introduction of drawing techniques. Students in this particular class, which is held every second Friday through the summer, already had some experience drawing, so Elaine kept this brief.

Then we voted to continue by watching Elaine demonstrate how she creates a journal page, so we gathered around as she roughed in a scene containing a rough stone bench, the creek, and the cool green foliage and trees in the background.

After awhile, still watching, I got out my journal and made a sketch of Elaine sketching, and colored it with my watercolor pencils. Her style is very free and loose, while mine is fairly tight (although when I use the watercolor pencils I tend to loosen up considerably). While we sketched, she continued to point out techniques she was using and tell us how and why she did it that way.

The class lasted from 9-1, so, shortly before one o'clock, Elaine critiqued our efforts helpfully but gently, and we exchanged emails and said goodbye, leaving with a better grasp of this particular style of journal sketching. That was a very enjoyable class and I am delighted to have made the acquaintance of such an excellent new colleague.

I would highly recommend Elaine's class to anyone who journals -- it would really open up lots of possibilities (if you enroll, tell Elaine I sent you -- she'd probably like to know if blog exposure like this helps bring in new students!).

BTW, I asked Elaine for a scan of the finished drawing, and when she sends it I'll stick in here. Be sure to come back and see how it looked!