We want to enable children to think and talk about their extraordinary and ordinary world and create a whole book with this story.

Kids' Own and writer Mary Branley in association with St. Patricks Festival Dublin are offering children to use their imagination to write and create their very own origami books.

Workshops will be held on 12, 2 and 4pm, each about 90 minutes.

We are looking forward to all ideas!

A question that artists who work with children are often asked is "Why?". Why work with children and young people. This question will be discussed within the next reading room. The essay of Jo Aice Leeds about "The Attitudes Towards Children's Art" will underpin the discussion.

We are looking forward to an inspiring talk and are interested in all opinions.

Have a look on Thursday, 18th March, 1-2pm

This online talk will be delivered by Wicklow-based artist Roisin Markham. Roisin will talk about her child-centred approach to facilitating learning through plants, muck and recycled materials in the context of a school environment.

A new programme between Kids' Own and the Butler Gallery to create a unique publication by children that we enable everyone to understand art more.
Kids' Own will be working with a core group of 12 children. The children have a long relationship with the Butler Gallery through their Solas programme.
Over the coming months Kids' Own will be meeting with the children and interviewing artists that are exhibiting at the Butler Gallery and also interviewing artists that are in the Butler Gallery collection. The aim of this work will be to gather up content and think about art and its meaning in our lives. After all the thinking and questioning we will work together to design an innovative new book that will be the first guide by children on professional arts practice, enabling others to question and to make sense of this work and meaning in their lives.

The first exhibition, The Morphology of the other, by artist Aideen Barry, was a fantastic beginning, Aideen is a multimedia artist. The show covered many different explorations about future and doom, Aideen's creative process starts with drawing and develops on through sculpture, video and performance. The children created their own small books at the start of the weekend to capture their thinking and thoughts throughout.

A very exciting beginning!

The first online reading room was held on February 11th and 1.00pm.
It’s very exciting for us here at Practice.ie to be able to create a space for like minded people to communicate and discuss topics relevant to their work and lives. You can be anywhere, one attendee was participating from a train, Amazing!

At the start of the meeting I asked each person to use a few words to describe what they do.

Session one attendees:

1. Ann Henderson: artist - process- the environment - people
2. Orla Kenny: artist/director
3. Michael Mcloughlin: youth arts worker with dlr arts office
4. Jo Holmwood: administration with lots of creative thinking and planning
5. Heather James - teacher
6. Jackie Ball: artist - work with children
7. Caragh: Artist, work for kids festival and also work for communtiy arts forum
8. Maire Brett: Artist

Topics under discussion included;

“We did stir things up”, the role of artists in sites for learning. Emily Pringle
Position paper – defining and negotiating the artists role working with children and young people.

The meeting was recorded and is available for people here
:http://opencollegeir.emea.acrobat.com/p27833136/

the next meeting will be held on March 3rd at 1.00. for more inforamtion visit http://practice.ie/

February 11th Practice.ie will be starting a new initiative called the Reading room. This initiate will bring a number of interested professionals together online to discuss texts and thinking around current practice.

Here are some of the thoughts from the children teachers and artists involved.

"We drew different textures on lamanating pouches it was absoulutley brilliant we want to do it again !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" by Hugo and Simon

"I'm hooked on virtual travel with Google Earth.

P5 are studying water as their current topic and I had asked them to select the names of five rivers.I invested quite chunk of the project time allotted for artist's response into travelling the Mississippi, the Thames, the Severn, the Nile and the Bann and pulling out stills.

I find this ability to investigate the surface of planet earth from an aerial perspective absolutely intriguing." by Ann Henderson.

"Ann spent quite a bit of time with the kids discussing how we take rubbings of the kids. Working in pairs, the kids had to take 2 rubbings of the same surface - one with pencil, one with white crayon. When we got back into class we experimented with rubbings and paint washes over the crayon ones to bring out the patterns most effectively."
Teacher, Julie Orr

Imagine being on a roller coaster, travelling 73 miles an hour down a 90 degree drop, and you get some idea of the speed of change that has occurred in three rural communities in County Roscommon. ‘Not only is that scary,’ Gavin from Elphin writes, ‘but your body turns to jelly.’ Parents and children in Elphin, Lisacul and Loughglynn give us heartfelt accounts of changes they have experienced, from moving home, to growing up, from loss and sadness to miraculous cures. These stories and images help us understand change from unexpected angles. Using the metaphors of roads and signs, and change as a monster, we see that change is always going on in our lives, but by accepting it and getting on with it, we can gain valuable skills and make friends with life.

Join us at the Art Fair '09 at the RDS. We will have our work on display and available to buy.
Come and find us at Stand H7 in the main hall.

More information about the Art Fair:

Art Fair 09
Main Hall, RDS

Featuring over 100 Galleries & Artists from Ireland and abroad, Art Fair 09 at the RDS is a showcase of new and established artists that will delight all art lovers!

Friday, Nov 13 – 12.00 noon to 9.00pm
Saturday, Nov 14 – 11.00am to 7.00pm
Sunday, Nov 15 – 11.00am to 6.00pm

Featuring:
• ‘Art on the Balcony’ will showcase the energy and talent of emerging Irish Artists.
• Free Lectures on issues and opportunities facing art in the 21st Century from leading artists including Mick O’Dea and Valerie Connor.
• The last opportunity to see prize-winning works in photography, drawing, painting and printmaking for the RDS Student Art Awards.

TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM Ticketmaster : www.ticketmaster.ie / www.rds.ie/artfair09