Workshops
Storytelling and craft
Libraries and festivals
Using art and movement, the children and I tell stories physically, with artistic character creations and through spoken word. Activities include crafting elements from my picture books, act-a-longs to the story, creating their own character story to add to my story and retelling their own version.
Creative writing
Primary Schools
As part of the Poetry Ireland scheme, I use my own picture books as a focus for children to imagine themselves in a variety of environments. Based on that to explore how to use drawing and oral storytelling, writing and developing vocabulary. Activities include responding to illustration, students creating their own illustration, reading aloud, looking at language and close reading of picture book spreads, oral storytelling as a vehicle for written storytelling as well as pupils’ own writing. Outputs include character creation and story act along, drawing their own cover and sharing a created story.
Creative writing for wellbeing
In recent years, I have given day-long workshops on creative writing activities for well-being with Masters students of Munster Technological University’s creativity programme. The purpose is often to help people explore their own writing capability, how to access writing flow and how to find inspiration to continue writing. The benefits of personal writing include creative expression but also listening to, orating, and reflecting on a wide variety of literature including stories and poems. Using prompts from art, literature and lived experience, participants can respond through their own creative writing but with other art forms also.
