fiction submissions

submissions for elementia are rolling in...
the deadline is september 15th.

I am amazed at the high number of partial novel (chapters)
and short story submissions.

Due to space constraints it will be hard to publish such legnthy
submissions....

what do you think about some peer sharing, reading, feedback...
do you know any short story/novel writers that would be interested
in exchanging works?

we could set up a google docs?...

;-)

Ayah is easily one of the most dynamic young writers I know...
Check out one of her stories here:

http://www.jocoteenscene.org/upload/teens/i/programs/elementia/elementia5.pdf

pg. 34.

making time to change lives...

click image to see large view.

After nearly a year of hopes (meetings/discussions) tutoring and programming will be offered to the young adults in Rosedale.

The nearest public library is too far to walk to from Rosedale Middle School. Thus, it has been my push since I became involved with Rosedale Middle School and the Rosedale Development Association that the Medical Library needed to offer services to the young people of the community.

I am overjoyed that Dykes Medical Library will push against the status quo of academic librarianship and offer services to their community.

This paired with the start of the mural at 42nd and Mission Rd makes my heart race and my mind wander within the sweet notion... the only constant is change.

Our new Flickr Group

Kreate and Konnect now has its very own Flickr Group. Check it out. This will be a great place to share images of our respective communities and set creative challenges for group members. If you know anyone who would be interested in taking part, please point them in the right direction!

Arts Summer School

Today, our annual Arts Summer School got off to a flying start. 45 young people, mostly aged 9-11, joined artists from Emergency Exit Arts and staff members from Thomas Tallis and Kidbrooke Schools to prepare for performances at the official start of the Greenwich Cultural Olympiad at the 02 next weekend, The Mayor's Thames Festival Lantern Parade on 15th September and our local midwinter street procession, Eltham Lights Up in November. The theme of this year's summer school is the Elements, specifically Fire and Water. Participants will be practicing a variety of skills including costume making, animation, drama and movement, storytelling, sculpture and drawing in order to create a magnificent street parade. Click here to find out more about previous summer schools. You can also check out a video of last year's parade. Today was all about getting to know everyone, idea generation and problem solving. Tomorrow we begin to work in smaller groups exploring all the available activities.

Photos by Jon Nicholls

the gift

i received the gift via inter-library loan today. ;-)
i hope you enjoyed your time away.
~A

an idea...

i think your ideas are all wonderful & quite feasible...
we should approach the joint flickr page as soon
as we can. the artefact idea...oh, how I love it!

after watching the opening of the olympics last night
we certainly must do something together creatively
when they come your way in four years... we can pine away
at the idea with time though, eh?

my one idea as of now, is to have a creative exchange~ a bridge of sorts.
writers and artists/photographers paired up or paved together on the inspiration road.

a photogragh would inspire a new poem. a poem would inspire a new photo exhibit focus or piece of art work. I would also love to pair a few teen artists with any writers you may know...

I actually picked up this idea this past spring after interviewing two teen editors of high school literary magazine. they sponsored such an event with artists and writers at their school and it was a huge success...

Some ideas to mull over...

Here are a few ideas for joint projects that have been blowing around inside my head for a while:

* set up a shared Flickr gallery and encourage participants to post images on particular themes e.g. community, creativity, my space, room with a view etc. These themes could change periodically and a prize/award could be given for the best image(s)

* produce a book (Blurb?) containing a mixture of writing, art work, photography about the experience of living in a community - dreams and aspirations, fears, celebrations, family life, education, activities etc. It would be great of this could inter-generational and reflect the history of the communities being explored.

* create a postcard exchange a bit like Post Secret but with each postcard describing an unusual aspect of life in the community from which it emerges. This could be a pretty creative, design led project with the message appearing on the front. It could also encourage some amusing/quirky/surreal observations to be exchanged. The postcards could also be videos and posted on either YouTube or Tallis Shorts - a kind of community TV station.

* I'm really keen on the idea of gift exchange (The Gift). Would it be possible to set up a scheme where hand crafted artefacts are exchanged between our communities? Perhaps there could simply be one meaningful object from each community which is passed around between individuals so that they become keepers of the gift for a period of time. Maybe there are additional responsibilities/privileges that accompany this honour?

That's all for now, although there are more ideas bubbling away.
Happy holidays.

thought for today...

"Dearest dumpling, one day your imagination is going to get you into trouble," whispered his mother.

"He would never do that," Pecorino replied. "We're best friends."

--Pecorino's First Concert, by Alan Madison and AnnaLaura Cantone.