“AMAZING, THOUGHT PROVOKING. So many good ideas! So valuable! Accessible for everyone (e.g. can’t draw). 5 stars. Thank you. This will be really, really helpful for me as I do lots of life story books and life story work with children in care / being adopted (for when they grow up). Such great tools that I will use (I am certain) for the rest of my career. THE BEST TRAINING I HAVE EVER BEEN ON.’ (Training participant)
My book:
Cartooning Teen Stories
Comics are highly effective for broaching difficult social and emotional issues and this book explains how to use them with young people in educational and therapeutic settings. With 5 ready-to-use comics and advice on making them from scratch, learn how to support young people through interactive comics and help them to explore complex feelings.
If you would like to buy a copy of my book, ‘Cartooning Teen Stories’, the link to Jessica Kingsley Publishers is:
http://www.jkp.com/uk/cartooning-teen-stories-33893.html
Commissioned illustrations and comics
I work collaboratively with young people to create illustrations and comics for websites, leaflets, posters etc. This can involve helping young people to create their own artwork using engagement activities, or using ‘comic advocacy’, I will design comics and illustrations based on their ideas and specifications. This will involve meeting the young people involved, gatherings their ideas and designing and producing the images as a digital file. My work is person-centred and I have lots of tools to help facilitate creativity and the generation of ideas. Fees are estimated based on your brief, please contact me for a quote.
Workshops / training:
I offer a range of workshops, training and consultations for education and youth settings. My fees are based on the project, size of the group and expenses – please contact me for a quote. They range from 30 minute sessions about how to use the tools in my book, to bigger projects, such as:
‘Atomic Comic’ – create a ‘zine for young people to tell their stories using text and image. This programme involves a day long workshop for professionals and follow up consultation sessions about how to support young people to generate submissions that tell their own stories – no artistic skills necessary.
‘My Magic Path’ *I currently do not have the capacity to offer this project, although I will be able to run it later in the year* – this is a 6 session long nurture session for children aged between 7 – 11 to tell stories using sandtrays and art activities. Each child will receive a copy of their own digitally polished and produced story at the end.
The Safe Spoken Word – A ‘Train the Trainer’ workshop for professionals who want to facilitate spoken word events for young people to share their own stories. This covers improv games to release creativity, how to share stories and keep emotionally safe using the YESS Plan©, how to turn experiences into stories and how to nurture a supportive space for those stories to be shared with each other.
Creative Confidence Coaching – Training for mentors, keyworkers and coaches working one-to-one with children and young people aged 7 – 21, to learn tools and techniques to increase confidence in using creative approaches – regardless of artistic ability. Sessions will be fun, using games, toys and art materials to communicate – which can then be replicated with children and young people. I have been working one-to-one with the hardest to reach young people for 14 years.
Endorsements for previous workshops:
(NB most of these were drawn as cartoons which is why they may seem unusual in the way they are written)
“AMAZING, THOUGHT PROVOKING. So many good ideas! So valuable! Accessible for everyone (e.g. can’t draw). 5 stars. Thank you. This will be really, really helpful for me as I do lots of life story books and life story work with children in care / being adopted (for when they grow up). Such great tools that I will use (I am certain) for the rest of my career. THE BEST TRAINING I HAVE EVER BEEN ON.’
“Happy and excited! I so loved all the exercises we did this morning. I will certainly be using them in my sessions with families and young people – wonderful ways to build attunement. Thank you. Your delivery is great – so vibrant and natural – I felt comfortable the moment I walked through the door. To have the opportunity of being creative and simply have fun is so profound and we can’t underestimate the value it holds. I have felt inspired and excited to explore more. Being creative is the way forward! Thank you so much for my goody / party bag – I love it!”
“I shall use so much of these creative ideas in my day to day work, also in my personal life. THANK YOU! This course has been the most freeing, uplifting, inspiring, energising experience. I have felt like a huge part of myself has been ‘allowed’ in a group setting to come ALIVE.”
“I don’t like heights but this course took me higher than I thought possible. Not looking down, only up. THANKS.”
“Arrived feeling not quite right in myself…but soon feeling excited, inspired. Inspiring ideas – simple ways to quickly make images / starting points for stories. Lots of thoughts about future projects. Lots of food for thought about myself and my own children. Really supportive atmosphere – feel inspired to make stuff / to plan new projects, ideas for working with current groups. Thank you.”
“I will take these ideas with me and try to implement them in other work… ideas… thoughts generating. I found this workshop to be most informative and thought provoking. I hope we can incorporate creativity workshops into the learning programme we are developing. I would definitely like to do more – please do more. Floating on inspiration. I believe encouraging creativity and self-articulation can change the world.”
“I really dig the scene, at the Atomic Zine,
The therapy just eased through the day,
Made us all want to play,
The room was cool, we were left alone,
Bic’s and fruit – a real chill out zone,
Could do with this at least once a quarter,
To help me meet the daily slaughter.”
“Really like comic ideas…will use this! Sand tray – will try this. Enjoyed day – inclusive / fun. Feel less worried about doing creative work with young people now.”
“Oh dear, I can’t draw, excited though it’s so good to be creative and experimental. Fun drawing with chalks, enjoyed my group – nice people, GREAT NEW IDEAS, original unique Godfrey (guest speaker / cartoonist), resources, handouts, ‘science bits were brill’, warm and sensitive trainers. THANKS, WAS A GREAT DAY!”
“Enjoyable, fun and informative, will use this to help young people who struggle with verbally telling me issues they might have. Excellent workshop, well done.”
“I really enjoyed yesterday’s training. It reminded me that to have a rich dialogue with young people we have to be open to lots of different ways of starting a conversation.”
“FAB! FUNNN!!!!!!! 5 stars. Loved it. Thank you!! Inspiring….”
“Jenny, very well done, the feedback is just about the best I have ever seen from a training course.”