Ladybird Fly

 

At last I have launched a wee story that has been lingering in the form of text, drawings and paintings in my drawers and folders. Thanks to the creative talents of Igpy Kin and Lisa Murphy Lamb at Loft 112 in Calgary’s East Village, I have a chap book to show you!

This is a story that began with a family adventure on our local wilderness hill – the one that is shaped like a nose – Nose Hill. Then the tale grew through workshops with fellow storytellers and through repeated performances in schools and libraries across Alberta and beyond. I did a residency under the leadership of Wendy Passmore at the Kids Creative Museum in Calgary to further develop the illustrations. Renata Liwska who taught a course (at the Alberta College of Art and Design) in children’s illustration gave me more courage to take this project to completion.

I have two hats now. One is as a storyteller who makes images in my mind as I perform my story and I expect my audience to do the same. As a writer/ illustrator, I offer the story twice; once through text and again through new images, that add more to the tale than can be literally interpreted through the descriptive text. It is a daunting assignment for me at first. Once I zero in on a new idea though, I find great pleasure in using imagery to broaden the experience of the story.

For many years Nose Hill has been an important refuge for me. I go there to get distant views of the land all around – to meditate as I walk through the stone labyrinth. I watch the turning of the seasons and marvel at the variety of flora and fauna, I gather saskatoons and chokecherries in late summer and perhaps most important; it is a place where I go to draw and paint and to practice my stories when I am in the rehearsal stage – though not quite ready for an audience. Nose Hill knows almost all of my stories – especially this one.

I must also give great thanks to my husband Ken for his many encouragements and for his excellent editing skills. Thanks to our children Heather, Stephen and Julia for being part of this adventure.