Welcome. Bienvenidos. Bienvenue.مرحبا.Herzlich willkommen. Benvenuto. Welkom. Vítejte. Selamat datang. Bine ati venit. Karibu. வரவேற்பு. Uyemukelwa
Based in New Orleans, Louisiana, my background as regional and world traveling professional puppeteer became the foundation for my visual storytelling through writing and illustration for children as well as my specialization in arts integrated teaching. I have shared my classroom experience developing and implementing arts integrated projects with educators at the National Art Education Association, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and for the U.S. Embassy English Language Specialist Program in Central America, Asia, the Middle East, and South Africa. A small project sampling:
• Louisiana librarians learning to use puppet theater to augment library literacy incentives
• Classroom teachers in Wisconsin creating a puppet community to teach social studies
• Pre-school teachers in Umlazi Township, South Africa using puppetry to nurture literacy
• English teachers in Bahrain using shadow puppets to encourage natural use of language
• Mothers at a hospital in Chenai, India, making puppets for their children of tailors’ silk scraps
So, my favorite thing is : Evolution - allowing new skills, interests, and opportunities to guide my direction in contributing to the work of nurturing young imaginations in hopes for a harmonious world. My present main focus is writing and illustration, along with school author visits to celebrate and nurture creative writing.
photo credits: Heading: Sergio Ferreyra, in Patagonia, Argentina: Karen en Nada; Headshot: Susan Poag
HOW DID I GET HERE?
I live in New Orleans, Louisiana, with my musician husband, and where our two children have returned with their families.
I have explored and shared in my community and globally for decades as a professional puppeteer and teaching artist, now evolving into visual storyteller as writer and illustrator for children.
I have always written or adapted stories, built all puppets and staging, and have traveled extensively. Presenting in Spanish on numerous tours in Central and South America, I was particularly affected by the strong cultural respect for children and passionate belief in the necessity of making this art form accessible to all, despite income or size of the community.
When my performance work led to requests for hands-on workshops for children, I did a lot of study, collaborated with classroom teachers, and gradually developed a repertoire of formats. All were built around project based, active learning, requiring creative thinking as children adapted familiar stories, researched for school curriculum areas, and came to understand strong story structure.
I insist on use of the most accessible and simple materials, so children can easily. experience the expression of their own thoughts and ideas
As I saw literacy skills as well as learning around science, social studies, and S.T.E.A.M goals strengthen, I was ready with classroom developed projects to share when invited by the U.S. Embassy English Language Specialist program on teaching tours for educators in Costa Rica, Indonesia, Brunei, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and South Africa, as I continued school residency and workshop work at home.
Of course the pandemic certainly changed everything as I remained in my studio without access to travel, live classes, or audiences. But I had been working for years on writing picture books, without the necessary time, and finally I had this luxury!
I am presently particularly enjoying studio time to write and illustrate - mainly in hand painted and textured paper collage. I love school author visits to inspire children to write and illustrate their own story ideas, as well as select professional development workshops for educators, and puppet theater presentations mainly in support of the new book titles.