Moving...

Hello, New Neighbour! Thanks for bringing a moment of calm into our moving chaos.

Happy Birthday Canada!

A couple of weeks ago I was at a Catholic School in Toronto, Our Lady Of Victory, where a very industrious teacher took on a project that would celebrate Canada's 150 Birthday, involve the entire school and include me! Her idea was to make a mosaic Canadian flag that everyone in the school would contribute to.

I arrived first thing in the morning and set up in the school's atrium. The project, a large Canadian flag, was ready and waiting for each class to come through, listen to a quick condensed version of my 'The Magic of Mosaics' presentation then add their small paper cross (one per student) to the project.

It was meant to go like clock work and thanks to that very industrious and uber organized teacher it did!

Doing the quick condensed version of my presentation ...

The flag before ...

The flag during ...

The day finished with a reading of Six Owls and A Party, for the primary students, with the aid of a big screen:)

Six Owls and A Party goes to Brampton!

I spent the last 2 days at Hewson PS, in Brampton, with seven of their JK/SK classes sharing my book, and Magic of Mosaics Workshop.

It's always a good thing spending time at a school that encourages literacy like this one clearly does! Their Library! WOW! Spoke volumes. 

I couldn't stop saying, "WOW! What a nice Library". 

In a perfect world every school would have a library like this one.

I really couldn't stop saying, "WOW!".

Life and moving on...

We bought this house in June of 2006.

Eleven years later... we're downsizing and moving on...

Life:)

May 27, 2017

Six Owls and A Party goes to Aurora!

I spent today at Devins Drive Public School, in Aurora, doing my Magic of Mosaics Presentation with four different classes (ranging from grades 1-6:) 

My Portrait of Kate is always a big hit:)

Six Owls and A Party goes to Toronto!

Yesterday I spent the day, with 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders at Transfiguration of Our Lord CS in Toronto, sharing my Magic of Mosaics workshop + author reading.

They (1st, 2nd and 3rd graders) make you feel like a Superstar:)

"You're the best artist ever"

"Do you sell your stuff for a million bucks?"

"Is your mosaics in museums?"

Working on a new version!

Travailler sur une nouvelle version de Six hiboux et une fête:)

Latest work; Frog Prince, finished!

FROG PRINCE

Finished.

The process.

Six Owls and A Party goes to Cambridge!

Yesterday I was at Ryerson Public School in Cambridge with my Magic of Mosaics Presentation. 

I'm always amazed with their levels of creativity:)

This artist quietly worked away with such tiny little pieces! 

Road Trip, Eastern Canada♡

10 days of driving through Quebec (Old Quebec City), New Brunswick (St.Andrews) and Nova Scotia (Sidney, Cape Breton Highlands, Halifax, Mahone Bay and Lunenburg).
Feeling some Canadian pride - Eastern Canada is incredibly beautiful, especially Cape Breton!

16 years later. When we lived in Halifax I used to take Emma to this beach:)

Stained Glass🎉

Excited to get started on cutting these stunning sheets of glass!
A before and after to follow:)

Local Library Visit

Today I did an Author Reading at my first library ~ The McLaughlin Public Library in Oshawa.
Sharing the magic of mosaics:)

Author Visits♡

In February I had a table at The Reading for the Love of It Conference. After which I contacted (emailed) many of the Teachers and Librarians that I met with the hope of setting up Author Visits showcasing my Magic of Mosaics presentation, at their schools. I really had no idea if any of them would be interested in what I had to offer...
Since then I've visited 13 schools in the GTA and the feedback from the teachers and kids has been wonderful! Apparently I have something to offer:)
At the end of the summer I'll be sending out a new wave of emails which will hopefully lead to more invites and more visits, which means more sharing of the Magic of Mosaics.

This very big thank you card came to me thru snail mail. It made my day.

Big Audiences in Brampton!

Today my Author Visit took me to Terry Fox Public School in Brampton. I shared Six Owls and A Party with 5 grade one classes and 4 kindergarten classes!

Starting my presentation with The Kindergartens -

Reading to The Grade Ones -

One Crazy Before and After!

A while ago Hannah wanted to change her bedroom up - something I'm always game for.
The first thing she wanted to do was take the wallpaper down. Ugh! I said. That's such a big job! I said. How about we paint the wallpaper instead! I said...
Months (many, many months) later my brilliant idea(?), which was a huge job, is finished! All due to the diligent work of Hannah:)
It was the craziest before and after we've (she's) ever done!!!
Oh yeah, and we painted the bed too but that only took a couple of days.

Happy Birthday Sunshine!

Six Owls and A Party goes to Brampton

Read to some big crowds today!
Thank you Saint Mary Elementary School for inviting me to share Six Owls and A Party + my mosaic workshop with your very enthusiastic audiences ranging from JK/SK to grade 4.

'Works in progress' by the JK/SKs

Six Owls and A Party goes to Guelph

I read Six Owls and A Party to a big crowd today - 4 JK/SK classes + 3 grade one classes.
My Author Visit took me to Guelph, Ontario where I shared my passion and (maybe) nurtured some future (mosaic) Artists:)

My Author Visits continue...

I shared my passion with three very attentive groups today. My Author Visit and Mosaic Workshop was with Junior and Senior Kindergarten classes in Whitby, Ontario. They were wonderful and such amazing sponges - soaking up every detail!!!

Highlight of the day: While packing up my stuff a little boy came over to me, looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Thank you Karen Johnston, have a great weekend".

Thank you Ormiston PS, for making my work day not feel like a work day:)

Yeah! Another Author Visit + mosaic workshop

For this Author Visit I shared my passion for mosaics with three grade 1 classes and two grade 2 classes in Mississauga, Ontario. I read Six Owls and A Party, chatted about mosaics and sold some books. It was a good day made even better when the Librarian purchased a copy for the school's library:)

They were all ears while I explained my mosaic process.

They like to touch and they can:)

An Author Visit

I spent a lot of January on the road (so to speak:) with Six Owls and A Party. I've been going into Junior/Senior Kindergarten classes doing 'an author visit'. My visits include a reading of Six Owls and A Party, a short discussion about mosaics, followed by a mosaic project where the kids make their own mosaic owl.
The feed back from the teachers has been wonderful and the feedback from the kids has been better then wonderful (not sure if there's a word for that?).
It's been a while since I've spent any amount of time with such young kids (some are still 3!) - I'd forgotten how unfiltered, uneffected and cute they can be.
"You're really, really, really nice"
"WOW!!!, did you make that?"
"I love you"
"you look just like my grandmother"
"Author, can you help me"
"BYE Carol!"
Then there's one of my favourites - at the end of one of my visits the teacher asked if anyone had any questions before I left. A little girl put up her hand and asked, "what colour is your car?"
I smiled and answered her.

BTW, it's black:)