You are about to embark on a journey….
Storytelling may be a gift and drawing may be a talent, but they are also skills that can be taught and refined. The Art of Storytelling & Illustration workshop examines the process of creating a story: imagining characters, settings, plots and pictures. In the summer and fall of 2013, award-winning author, J.L. Kimmel took her workshop on tour and shared her experience and expertise with eager students in libraries and schools along the east coast of the U.S. and in El Salvador.
The Art of Storytelling & Illustration workshop was conceived as an opportunity to share the knowledge and experience author J.L. Kimmel used to create the award winning books The Magic Gown and The Yawning Rabbit River Chronicle. These magical and adventurous stories have resonated with young and adult alike and provide the perfect backdrop to engage the workshop students in an exciting lesson of story creation, art and imagination.
The workshop first went on tour in September of 2013. In a whirlwind week, Kimmel visited libraries in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Richmond and Charlottesville. While it was meant to be a limited engagement; the workshops generated interest and within the next few months, Kimmel took the workshop to Barnes & Noble in Charlottesville,VA, Holmdel, NJ, and Freehold, NJ. She also went across the country and internationally with stops at several schools in El Salvador, and the Hollywood School House in Los Angeles.
“Award winning author Janine Kimmel visited us recently during her whirlwind book tour of El Salvador. Janine is the author of The Magic Gown and the Yawning Rabbit River Chronicles. We were fortunate in that this dynamic author, artist and speaker was able to devote 6 sessions on the art of storytelling and illustration, to our 5th and 6th grade students. During the sessions Janine shared several scrolls and numerous prints of the artwork from her books. The kids were thrilled to find out that many of these paintings were her own. Janine explained how the paintings played an important role as the first step in her book writing journey.
Our students were blown away by Janine’s description of her work, and the writing process she went through when writing her novels. Our staff and students would like to thank Janine for taking the time to work with our students and for inspiring many of our aspiring authors and artists at the ABC. If you would like to see more pictures from these book talks, you can do so at the LRC Facebook or LRC Flickr pages.” – ABC LRC
“The big question is whether you are going to be able to say
a hearty ‘yes’ to your adventure.” – Joseph Campbell
Based on the enthusiastic response to these workshops; Kimmel is actively pursuing the opportunity to present The Art of Storytelling & Illustration to students everywhere. Currently she is scheduled to present at the Barnes & Noble in Holmdel, NJ once again on March 20, 2014.
“One never knows how things will turn out – moment to moment. And yet the willingness to say “yes” brought me the most wonderful gifts…”– J.L. Kimmel
While Kimmel has taught many workshops over the years; her work in Ireland holds a special significance. Kimmel spent a great deal of time there between 2008 and 2011 drawing inspiration from the Irish landscape for The Yawning Rabbit River Chronicle. She returned in 2012 and 2013 (view photos) to launch TYRRC and discuss art, inspiration, music and storytelling with the students there. These events laid the groundwork for the creation of The Art of Storytelling & Illustration workshop which would come to fruition a few months after returning from Ireland.
Connect with J.L. Kimmel online:
www.jlkimmel.com | www.facebook.com/janinelkimmel
For scheduling and fees please contact Sara at Sgarlat Publicity Sgarlatpublicity@comcast.net | www.sgarlatpublicity.com
