Mindy Hardwick's Blog, page 59
January 15, 2012
Art and Kids in Drug Court
This past Fall, I participated as a teaching artist in a program at Denney Juvenile Justice Center called, PAIR (Promising Artists in Recovery). The PAIR program gives kids who are in Drug Court at Denney Juvenile Justice Center an opportunity to work with an artist for a workshop or a series of workshops. PAIR is part of the National Program based in Portland, Oregon called Reclaiming Futures.
During our workshop, the Everett Herald had a team of reporters who came to write about the workshops.
That article is the front page of the Everett Herald this morning. It's a powerful article and really showcases the individual kids very well. And reading it, I was reminded that I love publishing and writing books, but what means the most to me is this work with the kids at Denney. This is where I find the heart of my stories.
Here is the article link for those of you who don't live in Everett!
And for those of you who only want to watch the video, here it is:
January 13, 2012
Autographing E-books
One of the questions I receive is as an e-book author is, How do I get your autograph for my book?
Well….I am happy to announce that STAINED GLASS SUMMER is now signed up with Kindlegraph! This means that you can request a personal autograph for STAINED GLASS SUMMER. Isn't technology fun!
Here is how it works:
1. Go to Kindlegraph and sign up. (This works if you are requesting for a Kindle Book or a E-pub formatted book).
When you set up your account, you will need to find your Kindle's registered e-mail address. This is not hard. It's located in your Amazon Account under manage your devices and will be something very simple. This is also how people can send you a GIFT BOOK! Yes, that's right. For example, let's say I am giving away a copy of STAINED GLASS SUMMER, and you win! I can send the copy to your Kindle directly if I have your Kindle Address. This works for birthday and holiday gifts too.
2. Next, you want to make sure that if you are using a Kindle or Fire that your settings are set to receive a PDF for free. (I'm not sure about the Ipad. Maybe someone can let me know in the comment section.) Kindle Autograph has instructions at the bottom of the page when you set up your account which will explain how to make sure you can receive a free PDF on your Kindle.
3. Search for STAINED GLASS SUMMER or Mindy Hardwick under the search bar of Kindlegraph Home Page. Click on Request Autograph. If you want to write me a note, you can do it here. Then, I will receive your request and sign for you.
4. Once I have signed, you will get a message saying that you have a PDF delivery. Click on it like you would to download a book in your Kindle, and viola..there will be my note to you with my signature. Pretty cool!
Who is going to be the first to try?
January 11, 2012
Resources for Teens in Juvenile Detention: Art and Writing
When I am working with the kids in detention, I often incorporate art projects to inspire or inform our writing. These are some of the resources where I find ideas:
Creative Expression Activities for Teens by Bonnie Thomas. This is a great book with fun and easy ideas including: Artist Trading Cards (ATC) and Life Maps.
Drawing Lab for Mixed Media Artists: 52 Creative Drawing Exercises to Make Drawing Fun by Carla Sonheim. I'm not an artist, and drawing has always been a challenge for me. But, this book makes drawing fun—even for those of us who are drawing illiterate! Most of the exercises can be done with your basic art supplies (paper, pen, tape, colored pencil). They are short and easy to use with kids.
Chill and Spill published by Art with Heart Press. This little journal has a lot of great topic ideas. One of my favorites is asking the kids to create collages. I ask them to divide a piece of white paper in half. On one side, they create a collage about being powerless, and on the other side, a collage about being powerful. We then discuss the collages and write poems entitled "Powerful" and "Powerless." You can read some of the "Powerless and Powerful" poems on the Denney Blog.
Creative Journal for Teens by Lucia Capacchione, Ph, D.—This book has a lot of great prompts to get started writing from life experiences. For example, write a dialogue with a current challenge you are going through. Draw that challenge. Or, write your autobiography in five minutes, or write about the most important event in your life in the third person. Almost all of the ideas ask kids to draw as well as write.
Playful Way to Serious Writing by Roberta Allen. A great book for writing ideas based on photos! For example, there is a picture of mannequin hands. The prompt says, "Who found these mannequin hands? Where? Why did he or she want them? Set your timer for five minutes and go." One variation to using this book is to bring in photos and ask kids to make up their own prompts.
Playful Way to Knowing Yourself by Roberta Allen. This book is set up in the same format as the one mentioned above, but the prompts ask about your own life. For example, there is a picture of a trashcan and the prompt says: If you could, what parts of yourself would you throw out?
January 9, 2012
Mentoring–Interview with My Mentee and I
One of the things I do when I am not writing is I am a mentor, and today, my mentee and I are on the Musa blog!
You can find the interview here!
Why did I become a mentor? A few years ago, when I was writing my upcoming book, WEAVING MAGIC, I had to do some research about children who have a parent in prison. This wasn't a new topic for me. Many of the teens I work with in the juvenile detention writing workshop also have a parent who is in jail. But, what I didn't know was there are mentor programs designed specifically for youth who have an incarcerated parent. The one I found is the Western Washington Volunteers of America Children of Promise Program. The program is very similiar to Big Brothers/Big Sisters.
At the time, I'd been running the poetry workshop with teens in detention for a few years, but I kept feeling like I wanted to do something to help kids BEFORE they got to juvenile detention. A good friend of mine was a Big Sister for years and years, and another one was a Match Supervisor at Big Brothers and Big Sisters, so I knew a lot about the ins and outs of mentoring. The problem was I didn't know if I was ready to commit to mentoring. It seemed like a big committment. But something was still tugging at me to do it. So, I printed the Volunteers of America application and set it on my desk. It sat there for over a year before I felt like I was ready to commit.
My mentee and I have been matched one year this month! We do all kinds of fun things together. We've been to the Seattle Aquarium, rollar skated, bowled, swam, hiked, and biked. We've baked and decorated a cake, made Christmas cookies, and created Christmas cards. We've carved pumpkins, gone to movies, and seen a Draft Horse Show at the State Fair. She helped me hang Christmas lights, helped me with raking the leaves and we planted flowers in my garden last spring. During Christmas, we took a class at the Schack Art Center in Everett and made glass ornament balls.
My favorite thing we did together was go to pick up my puppy, Stormy. Stormy's breeder was an hour away, and my mentee had an overnight with a friend the night before. On the way home, I looked in the mirror, and both my mentee and my new puppy were fast asleep! Later, Stormy threw up on my mentee because he didn't like his first car ride so much!The funny thing is that my mentee later told me, "I didn't like the car ride. It was too long!"
I get to learn a lot from my mentee. She loves horses and takes lessons about twice a month. I've even attended one of her horse shows. At Christmas, she invited a friend to help us with cookie decorating. Usually, neither she nor I are allowed to bring a friend along, but we made an exception for cookie decorating. I had a good chuckle watching my mentee show her friend around my house and talk about all the things we've done. My favorite moment was when she pointed to the glass ornament Christmas ball hanging from my window, and said, "We made those together."
Glass Ornament Class at the Schack Art Center
January 7, 2012
Young Writers and Artists Contest–First Puppy!
This looks like a fabulous contest for young writers and artists, and as someone with a puppy myself, I only wished I was much younger and could enter something about Stormy!
Write an essay of 350 words or less on the following topic: "My First Puppy". Feel free to decorate the pages. OR Create an original drawing featuring a dog. The drawing should be at least 8 inches x 10 inches big and no larger than 11 inches x 14 inches.
Essays need to be mailed in. Deadline is February 6, 2012. There are four different age groups. K-3rd Grade, 4th – 6th Grade, 7th – 9th Grade & 10th – 12th Grade. The contest is open to all school age children. You do not need to be from Wyoming or present to win.
For more information about the contest click here.
Good luck!
January 6, 2012
Heart of Gold Looking For Submissions by Teen Girls
A great opportunity for girls ages 14-18 who would like to share their creative work with others!
Heart of Gold is for girls ages 14 – 18 who have big dreams and want to impact their world. The site, now in Beta, offers a ton of info, practical tools, and inspiration to help you as you explore and connect with your passion and take creative risks. The focus is on entrepreneurship, social activism, and volunteerism, but there's also a lot of great content that is all about being the best you you can be.
Here are some of the categories which need submissions:
Teen Entrepreneurs:
Video blogs about your venture / concept / product / service
Guest posts about your business
Questions about any and all things entrepreneurship for our expert to answer
Teen Social Activists:
Video blogs telling us about the cause you're most passionate about
Guests posts about an issue or cause you want to spread the word about
Teen Volunteers:
Video blogs telling us about your volunteer life (why you do it, who you do it for)
Guests posts about your volunteer life
Heart of Gold is also looking for a handful of teen girls to review books, TV shows, and movies.
To find out more, including submission information, go here.
