"Page by Paige" event at THE STRAND

*NEXT SATURDAY*

I'm having an event at legendary bookstore The Strand!

Family Hour Event

Saturday March 17th 3:00-4:00pm

The Strand Bookstore: 828 Broadway

Children's Department on the 2nd Floor

Event website

 

I'll do a reading followed by an activity: Mirror Self Portraits! Who do you REALLY see when you look in the mirror?  Perhaps you have a secret identity or you imagine yourself living out your dreams?  In this workshop, I'll help you reveal you true self by drawing on ACTUAL mirrors with wax pencils. No special artistic skills are necessary! Afterwards I'll be signing copies of Page By Paige.  Please stop by, it'll be fun! 

Now available for SCHOOL VISITS

I am officially available for hire to give school presentations, lead creative workshops, and design/collaborate on murals!

You can see the specifics on my website, but here's the jist of it...

Presentations:

I open by playing the video trailer for Page by Paige, introducing myself, and introducing my graphic novel. I briefly run through my journey from nerdy student to teacher to artist, accompanied by embarrassing photos. I bring one of my sketchbooks, which were the core of my artistic development, to share in person. I run through my creative process of turning a raw emotion into a metaphorical drawing through visuals that show each step.

I discuss my unexpected discovery of graphic novels. I share my early attempts at sequential storytelling, show how my visual style evolved, and what I struggled with. (Like drawing hands!) I explain my intention in making Page by Paige, which was to share how creative expression can teach life lessons and encourage self discovery as it did for me.

Students receive artistic licenses and sign fun permission slips. Then a few student volunteers participate in a live reading of a excerpt from Page by Paige accompanied by the corresponding comic panels. I wrap up by answering questions from the students. In addition...Students also get a Paige-inspired sketchbook activity guide, teachers will receive a Page by Paige discussion guide, I will create a Paige-inspired chalk drawing in front of the school during my visit, and a signed copy of Page by Paige will be donated to the school library.

Workshops:

With smaller groups I can do workshops rather than or in combination with a presentation. These are designed to promote introspection and reflection through creativity rather than technical production skills:
The Art of Sketchbooks: Students either learn how to make their own sketchbook or simply try one of my go-to sketchbook activities.
Mirror Self Portraits: Students reveal who they really see when they look in the mirror by drawing on actual mirrors with wax pencils.
Reprogram Yourself Self Portraits: Students work on changing one of their own perceptions of themselves by creating a drawing completely out of words.
How are You? Self Portraits: Students will identify some of THEIR own personal symbols so they can draw a simple self portrait using their own metaphor.

Murals:

I can draw a mural out for your school and paint it personally, or simply design it with the intention for the students to paint it collaboratively. Fee would depend on size, complexity, and time frame to execute. I have extensive experience doing large scale painting from working as a freelance muralist/scenic painter since 2004. (Portfolio here)

If you have any questions or if you are interested in bringing me to your school, please send me an email: lauraleegulledge@gmail.com

WORD drawings @ WORD Books

This weekend I held my last scheduled workshop for the summer, at WORD Books! (I'll be lining up more events in the Fall) In the spirit of the space I decided it would be appropriate to make drawings out of WORDS.


It was a very art therapy sort of lesson, and since we were a small group we were able to get more personal which was nice. First I shared different ways that I've used text in my artwork and in "Page by Paige," especially as a way to articulate inner fears.

Then we shared the negative things that we each tell ourselves, named the underlying fears, and decided what positive phrase we could ingrain in our head to override the original negative one. Then we made drawings out of the new words, because drawing it/writing it can help new ideas stick in our head.





Since these were all pretty personal I'll just share mine rather than everyone's! My inner fear was that I am a fraud, that people will discover that I'm not that cool or talented or clever and that my graphic novel was a fluke. So the positive phrase I need to "reprogram" in my head is that "I have something to offer."


And congrats Daniel and Annie for winning a copy of my "Be a Revelationary" poster!

Next Week: Workshop @ WORD Books!

Next Saturday I'll be holding my last scheduled book event for a while...and it will be at the wonderful WORD Books in Greenpoint!


Saturday June 4th 4-5:00pm
WORD: 126 Franklin Street
Closest Subway: Greenpoint Avenue G Stop
RSVP on Facebook

What words come to mind when you look at yourself? Do you ever wish you could change who you are? In this workshop, I will help you “reprogram” your perceptions of yourself by creating a self portrait completely out of WORDS! You will work sheets of paper using a variety of drawing tools. No special artistic skills are necessary!


I will be raffling off a signed copy of my "Be a Revelationary" poster! And I'll have my original sketchbooks on hand for you to flip through.

Currently Reading: Lewis & Clark by Nick Bertozzi

Mirror Portraits @ BookCourt

This Sunday I held a signing and workshop at BookCourt here in Brooklyn! I talked about my artwork and invited folks to make mirror self portraits, which was an activity based on my introspective style of art-making portrayed in Page by Paige.


People drew what/who they saw when they looked in the mirror using china markers...


And here is a sampling of the finished ones! People drew themselves as a pirate, an artist, a princess, a baby, etc.




How about me? Well, I drew myself under construction...

Thank you everyone who braved the non-running-subway-schedule and came out on Sunday! And you folks at BookCourt for being supper supportive of the event. You can see more pics from this in my Flicker gallery.

Workshop SUNDAY at BookCourt!

Come to BOOKCOURT this weekend where I will be signing copies of my debut YA graphic novel "Page by Paige," sharing fun freebies, bringing original sketchbooks for you to flip through, and leading a short workshop!

When: Sunday, May 22nd 11:00am - 2:00pm
Where: 163 Court Street (between Pacific & Dean) Brooklyn, NY 11201
Closest subways: Bergen St. FG, Hoyt-Schermerhorn ACG, MNRW2345 Court St./Borough Hall
Here's the Facebok Event.



Mirror Self Portraits Workshop:
Who do you REALLY see when you look in the mirror? Perhaps you have a secret identity, hide behind a mask, or imagine yourself living out your dreams?... In this workshop, Laura Lee helps you reveal you true self by drawing on ACTUAL MIRRORS with wax pencils. No special artistic skills are necessary!


This is a new lesson I've created and I can't wait to try it out! It should be a lot of fun, so if you were not able to make it to the recent launch party then I hope you can swing by on Sunday!

Currently Reading: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins