Feeling tired after too much play but happy. Just heard a favourite author speak at the AATE/ALEA National conference breakfast. Graeme Base. You might know him because of his book Animalia but he has done so much more than that. He quoted his sons explanation of his job. ‘My Dad just sits at home and colors all day.’ Love this description and what a great job description. Drawing and play and the child like joy of creativity that acknowledges that in so many ways , we are still kids inside. The joy that our job is what we love. Love creating and teaching but am so hands on in the way I think and make sense of my world. Loving learning but sooo missing my studio right now. Sitting listening to a statistic heavy plenary and want practical hands on, I love the place where words and images connect and Graeme does this beautifully. Too practical to enjoy stats no matter how revered the presenter is. Drawing in my journal and writing this post is. So often draw in meetings…helps me understand and make sense of the words….
I fly home tomorrow after having lots of fun, learning challenges, and inspiration from some amazing teachers, authors and illustrators. I have learnt lots and presented my first National Conference session with my sister Lynnette Bury on sharing stories and how they are central to learning.
My art is all about stories and words. I love the way these areas merge and one feeds the other. Literacy is meaning making and as artists we do this very well as we analyse and look with curiosity and wonder at our world.
So this was 2 days ago…and I am back in Melbourne having learnt lots but now I need to stop and take stock.