I enjoy talking with students and teachers during school visits and encourage questions about my work, why and how I became an illustrator and the way I spent my time when I was their age.
My presentation for 2nd and 3rd graders includes showing how I learned to draw using different shapes. Students get very involved as we create a drawing together and the demonstration shows how simple, learning to draw can be.
My presentation for 4th and 5th graders involves some preparation prior to my visit. I ask the teacher or librarian to have the class work together and write a very short story. When I arrive, I quickly read the story. During the presentation, I make very quick sketches as I tell the students what I look for in a manuscript. As I work, I talk about the illustration process and encourage questions from the students. I create a large, color illustration based their story and leave the finished artwork with the school.
My presentations work best with small groups in a classroom or the library rather than in an auditorium. This enables the students to see, up close, how I work. I need a large pad of white paper and an easel (I supply my own markers) OR an ‘ELMO’. It’s also very helpful if the students are familiar with my work before I arrive. This makes the school visit more meaningful.
My fee is $2000.00* (plus travel and/or hotel expenses) for 3 sessions, lasting no more than an hour per session. Although I answer questions while I draw, I like to have a Q & A during the last 10 minutes of each session.
*It’s possible for multiple schools to team up and book visits for consecutive days thus saving on travel expenses.