Birds

A little bit more nature
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A little bit more nature

Sometimes nature can be the inspiration for making new images and sometimes it can inspire new creative writing. Recently I was thinking back to a time about 50 years ago when I was walking the last part of the journey to school and was distracted by a Merlin flying just a few yards away and parallel to the path. I’d never seen one before and it was genuinely stunning. A small bird of prey it was struggling in the face of a very strong wind so I was able to watch it closely for a while. I was a bit late for school but it is a memory I still treasure and I’ve never since seen a Merlin. That inspired the little poem below, and after that I couldn’t resist adding it with drawing into my nature journal.

Nature journal page by Seamus with poem and drawing of a Merlin made with coloured pencils and fountain pen.

Sometimes the idea comes from the image and then the words come along afterwards as was the case with this watercolour sketch and poem about a grey seal.

Nature journal page by Seamus with poem and watercolour of a grey seal

Not everything in the journal includes poetry and the spread below has a few little nuggets of folklore and myth along with 25 additional names for Digitalis, the plant we now call Foxglove. There watercolours were painted from one of the beautiful foxgloves that have been thriving in our garden in the last month.

Photo of a spread from my nature journal with pictures and text about foxgloves.

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New Greeting Cards and Giclée prints for sale

Last week I collected professionally printed greeting cards and Giclée prints from a small printshop in West Yorkshire.

Picture of giclee print go a heron in a frame for illustration

The images on both the cards and prints are reproduced from my own pen and ink drawings of birds including a Grey Heron, a Mute Swan, a Flamingo, a Stork and a Pelican.

Prints are a Limited Edition of 50 from each image and each is numbered and signed. They are high quality Giclée prints on 300gsm acid free paper with Epson archival inks.

Greeting cards are A5 in size and supplied with enveloped in cellophane sleeves. Both cards and prints are now available for sale in my folksy shop at https://folksy.com/shops/onepoetsvision

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“Dinobirds” Creative Writing Workshops

New 2021 Summer School Workshops (2)

Workshops for KS1, KS2 and KS3 (time 1 to 2 hours per group)

Following the success of the Insect and Mini-Beast Superhero workshops for #HAF2021 Summer Schools I have been delivering another brand new workshop for children aged 5 to 12. The topics for this new “Dinobirds” workshop are dinosaurs and birds. The “Dinobirds” workshop is now available for bookings from September onwards – please email seamus@onepoetsvision.co.uk for availability.

In this fun and informative workshop children write either poems or stories after hearing my light hearted poem, “My Pet T-Rex”, followed by discussion about dinosaurs and birds. They will learn about the different types of creatures, what are the largest and smallest, what they looked like, what they eat and how birds evolved from dinosaurs and how their feathers developed to enable them to fly. Children are encouraged to be creative and think beyond the usual constraints they might sometimes have in a classroom setting. By mixing together birds and dinosaurs the poems and stories have a unique appeal with each child given free rein to extend their creativity.

An image of the T-Rex footprint leaned against a microphone stand

To help get ideas flowing a wide range of visual images are available, including a life size Tyrannosaurus foot print and template sheets for poems or stories.

When the children have finished their poems or stories they can read them out, if they choose to, and audio recordings can be made. If children are not comfortable reading their work out they can choose for an adult to read for them.

During the workshops delivered for the Health Activity and Food sessions by YourTrust, Rochdale, young people have created a Golden-Rex that likes to play dodge ball, a Golden Eagle-Velociraptor that likes to ride on the bus and a Golden-Eagle Ostrich that sings like a broken record.

For young people the opportunity to write creatively, without being tied by specific rules, or being limited by their ability to spell or use perfect grammar, helps to develop creative thought and imagination. Working in this way helps with problem solving skills and logic whilst still allowing them to explore the familiar alongside the unknown and magic. Telling stories and writing poems is a highly personal set of skills and children benefit from exploring their own opinions and their own creative voices.

After completing their poems the children have the opportunity to draw or colour images using the range of source material provided.

To do this without being judged, marked or graded, brings a freedom that can rarely exist in the school curriculum. That freedom makes it fun to write, read and in some cases to record of perform their work. Such enjoyment of reading, writing and literature can continue to bring benefits throughout our lives.