A Mythical Land

I've been thinking about my grandpa who took up painting when he retired. I keep one of his works of art in my office to remind me that you are never too old to learn something new. And also, because I love looking at the soft, imaginary world he created and imagining his gentle spirit being there -- in a land of mythical snow-capped peaks and impossibly blue rivers. 

Over the summer, I've been taking a few art classes myself -- dabbling in pastels, watercolor, charcoal, and portraiture at a local art gallery tucked above an antiques store in Castle Douglas, Scotland. (I've shared a view I sketched of the main street from the studio window). 

What I like most about doing art is how it creates a spirit of "flow" in my soul. I lose track of time and place and all the worries that constantly cycle through my mind -- and just focus on what I'm making.

I believe that having access to these creative experiences -- the arts -- are critical for all of us as human beings. Creativity helps us process those too-big emotions, make sense of the world around us, connect with each other, share our common humanity -- and sometimes, the arts help us "escape" and relax. 

In two of my books, The Seventh Most Important Thing and Things Seen From Above, art is central to the story and helps to save the main characters in different ways. As James Hampton says in The Seventh Most Important Thing, art is about creating beauty from the broken things...

If you are looking for ways to bring more creativity into your classroom this school year, please feel free to visit my website for ideas, as well as find more information on my books and 2024-2025 virtual programs. www.shelleypearsall.com

Growing Beyond the Book

Is a book a permanent object? Or does it change and grow with each reader?  

Maybe this is a radical idea, but I believe a book is an ever-changing thing. As an author, my job is to plant the first seeds -- that's it. Then I let the story go. As each reader brings their own experiences, emotions, and imagination to the page -- my book and its characters always evolve and change and grow. 

Although it doesn't happen often, sometimes I get the chance to see how the seeds of my stories take root with readers and grow in wonderfully-new and unexpected directions. Earlier this year, the fifth graders in Mrs. Cohn's class at Dunwoody Elementary in Georgia read my novel, The Seventh Most Important Thing and gave me a glimpse into their own impressions.

After finishing the book, they created works of art inside plastic lightbulbs to share their personal connections with the themes of the novel (which is based on a real artist who used lightbulbs to create his own museum masterpiece). 

One student used orange and yellow paper inside his lightbulb to recreate the eternal flame of JFK's memorial which he connected to the book's theme of grief and healing. Another student managed to fit a tiny clock into her lightbulb because "time is the reason why we age and to me that is important." 

Others included water and soil and plants -- the vital building blocks that sustain our lives on this fragile planet we call home. Other readers turned their lightbulbs into airplanes and angels and dreams for the future. The lightbulb pictured above is designed to represent how "ideas can grow into beautiful things" and to "show the beauty of creativity."

Pretty incredible connections and creativity, right? That's what happens when books (and readers) are allowed to grow. 

Thanks to Dunwoody Elementary's fifth graders for sharing your creativity with me!