Oceans alive at PIE

Posted by on Mar 4, 2013 in Book: Here Come the Humpbacks, Peaks Island, School Visits | 0 comments

What a treat to visit the amazing kids at the Peaks Island School on Read Across America Day! I brought along my latest book, Here Come the Humpbacks to talk about reading pictures. Color and composition are part of the visual narrative. Color can tell us about time of day, temperature; how cold is the water? Scale can show us size relationships.

HCTHtrash_blog

I showed this spread to talk about why I take a plastic bag to the beach: first, there’s the poop business to pick up. Then, always some plastic: a bottle, a coffee cup, part of a shoe. Every little bit I carry away makes a better habitat for our marine friends.One way of helping is adopting a whale from any of these organizations: the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, the World Wildlife Fund, and Allied Whale. I adopted a whale from each of them.I shared my plush whales, tokens of my donations, and their curious octopus friend. They proved ready prompts for eager artists.

octo_blog

One girl drew a manatee from memory!

manatee_blog
Lots of blue pastel dust, urgent mark-making, textures, blending, and more…

 

isabella_blog
Thing 1 drew with great concentration.
thing1_blog
This octopus has a lot of personality.

 

atticus_blog
Another girl drew her favorite part of the ocean: jumping in off the dock!
bella_blog
This artist drew his favorite character from Sponge Bob, a fun scale paradox here, big Plankton and small humpback together.
plankton_blog
Sometimes the joy is in the act of making a color, as this artist demonstrates:
nikolai_blog
All together, the Peaks Island Elementary artists created a vibrant ocean of colorful creatures.
PIEwall_blog
Thanks for letting me be part of your day!
I’m in the process of making a new website, so please stay tuned for my launch news.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.