School Visits
Philosophy
Bryn's school programs entertain, engage the imagination and help to reinforce what teachers are doing in the classroom in the areas of writing, science, history and language arts. He uses age-appropriate examples of bigger-than-life disasters, diseases, extinctions and cultural transformations to focus student attention. These same phenomena work as lenses to help students make essential connections about who we are, why we are here, and where we are going. From these starting points we learn how to write with conviction and make art that tells stories.
Bryn shows how writing and illustrating is a collaborative process between a writer, artist, editor, and art director with many steps between initial spark and final outcome. Students will come away with a new appreciation for the creative process and the power of revision to perfect an idea. Researching a subject, revising and editing prose, and creating an image — from thumbnail to final art — offers real satisfaction and a finished product worthy of the effort.
Bryn understands that school discretionary funds are precious. He has taught within the IB, AP, IGCSE, and MYP frameworks and Common Core and Arrow curricula. He understands the importance of scaffolding knowledge, inquiry and facilitating learning into his school visits. He works hard to give schools a truly memorable visit with amazing facts, riveting art that stretches imaginations and stimulates interest and creativity long after he has have departed. Your students won't forget a visit by Bryn Barnard.
Word Lab
On Day 1 of this 2-session workshop, students are introduced to the concept of neologisms and the work of artists Heidi Quante, Alicia Escott and their Bureau of Linguistical Reality. Bryn walks students thorough the process of developing a portmanteau neologism, that is, a new word made by combining two other words (brunch, smog, and motel are all portmanteau neologisms. So is doomscrolling). Then students break into teams to invent words reflecting their experience and drawing from their own cultures. The class votes on their favorite word, which, over the course of the school week, students then try to insert into conversations with friends and families to see if the word catches on.
Chuco헐sol (pronounced "chucohulsol") for example, combines the Salvadorian slang word for dirty, the Korean expression for omg! and the Spanish (and Latin) word for sun. Chuco헐sol describes the feeling of seeing a blood-red sunset, knowing you shouldn't like it because it is caused by atmospheric pollution, but enjoying it anyway.
On Day 2, students share their linguistic adventures.
Students get a charge out of creating vocabulary that incorporates aspects of their own cultures and validates their experiences in education, in media, as Third Culture Kids, or simply as human beings navigating the Anthropocene (another neologism).
Editing Essentials
Before meeting Bryn meets the students, their instructors put them into collaborative groups to write a passage relevant to whatever unit they are studying. Their instructor sends exemplars to Bryn for initial edits.
On Day 1, Bryn takes students through the research, writing, and editing process he went through on his latest book, This Changes Everything!, starting with the initial manuscript, and first second and third edits, line edits, copy edits, galley edits, to the final product.
On Day 2 Bryn goes through his edits of the selected student exemplars for the entire class, and offers suggestions how each passage can be improved.
Students go back to their groups to act on the edits. At the end of the session, students read their passages to the group. Bryn offers feedback.
This workshop is appropriate for grades 4-8. Bryn provides a Teachers Guide before the session to show the skills covered to ensure they are appropriate for the grade level.
Mathematics Mysteries
In this 2-session presentation/ workshop, Bryn uses the books he illustrated for author Nathan Zimmelman, Sold! A Mothematics Adventure as the basis for a writing and illustration workshop.
On Day 1, Bryn shares Sold! with the class, and explains the ideas that underpin the central mystery of the book. Then he gives the students three Math Mystery options appropriate to their grade level. They break into teams, one writer- one artist, and begin writing and illustrating their own Math Mystery. On Day 2 they swap roles. At the end of the workshop they share their illustrated stories with their peers. Bryn offers feedback.
Mathematics Mysteries is appropriate for Grades 3-6. Bryn provides a Teachers Guide before the session to show the skills covered to ensure they are appropriate for the grade level.
Creativity Confidential
In this presentation/ workshop, Bryn involves students in the step-by-step of the book creation process. Creativity Confidential is ideal for 1-2 week residencies, where Bryn can meet students at multiple points in the process.
On Day 1 Bryn shows how he moves from initial idea to research, writing, revising, editing and copyediting and how he develops illustrations — storyboarding, research, design, thumbnails, sketches, staging, lighting, and painting. He also describes the publication process: how a book evolves from manuscript to printed book. Bryn brings examples of manuscript, layout, dummy, marked-up galleys and the finished product
On Days 2 and 3 students develop their own illustrated stories. Everyone gets the opportunity to be a writer, editor, illustrator, designer and art director.
On Day 3 students share their creations. Bryn offers feedback.
Bryn provides a Teachers Guide before the session to show the skills covered to ensure they are appropriate for the grade level.
Disease Deep Dive
Plagues are creepy and scary. Bryn makes them understandable.
In this one day session, appropriate for kindergarten through 8th grade, Bryn starts with a presentation drawn from his book Outbreak: Plagues That Changed History, then works with students to draw a custom infectious disease. While he demonstrates in real time in front of the class, students create their own custom diseases. At the end of the session, students share their creations.
Students come away from Outbreak with a better understanding of tthe amazing power of the microscopic world and a new appreciation of why we wash our hands!
Bryn provides a Teachers Guide before the session to show the skills covered to ensure they are appropriate for the grade level.
The Game of Plague
This 2 -3 Day session, based on Bryn's book Outbreak: Plagues That Changed History, is ideal for 1 week or 2 week residencies where Bryn can meet students at multiple points in the process. The is a good way for students to gain agency, learn about history through the lens of disease and develop hand-eye coordination skills. On Day 1 Bryn shows the students his book Outbreak and exemplars of student plague games based on Snakes and Ladders, The Game of Life, chess, and completely original concepts.
On Day 2, students break into 2-3 person teams and begin researching, designing, developing and creating their own games individually or in teams. The classroom teacher facilitates the unit, consulting with Bryn when necessary.
On Day 3, students showcase their creations, and play games created by their peers. Bryn selects a winning game. The winner receives a copy of Outbreak with a signed bookplate.
The Game of Plague is ideal for grades 9-10 art classrooms and cross
Bryn provides a Teachers Guide before the session to show the skills covered to ensure they are appropriate for the grade level.
Disasters Deep Dive
In this presentation-workshop, students learn that natural disasters are scary reminders of Nature's power.
On Day 1, using his book Dangerous Planet, Bryn shows how he researched wrote and illustrated some history's most important natural disasters. Then students break into teams to research, write and illustrate their own natural disasters.
On Day 2 students continue their writing and artwork. At the end of the class they share their work with their peers.
Dangerous Planet is ideal for grades 6-10.
Bryn provides a Teachers Guide before the session to show the skills covered to ensure they are appropriate for the grade level.
Introduction to Innovation
In this presentation,/workshop students learn that Islam has been a crucial contributor to global culture and technology.
On Day 1, Bryn presents his book The Genius of Islam: How Muslims Made the Modern World and explains the process of research, writing, editing and illustration and layout. Then, working in teams, students begin their own research and illustration projects, developing a story about an invention either from Islamic culture, or another area of the world.
On Day 2, students complete their story and illustration and present to the class. Bryn provides feedback. Ideal for upper primary and middle school grades.
The Genius of Islam is ideal for grades 6-10.
Bryn provides a Teachers Guide before the session to show the skills covered to ensure they are appropriate for the grade level.
Painting Pollution
In this 1 Day session, we look at six sea creatures from Bryn's book The New Ocean: The Fate of Life in a Changing Sea and how they may fare in a hotter, more acidic, more polluted, and emptier ocean, plus possible futures for the near and more distant ocean and what that means for us. he then takes suggestions from the class to create a pollution sea creature which he draws and paints in front of the class, while they work on their own creatures. At the end of the session everyone shares and Bryn offers a critique of the work.
Ideal for elementary through high school classrooms .
Bryn provides a Teachers Guide before the session to show the skills covered to ensure they are appropriate for the grade level.
Additional Programs
Bryn also gives presentations targeted artist-in-residencies, small group discussions, and evening sessions with parents. Bryn is happy to set up a program to meet your needs. Here are some sample workshops that can be offered individually or in combination, virtually or live.
Lectures
Paradigm Shift - an engaging lecture on the mystery of intersubjective reality developed from Bryn's book This Changes Everything! Appropriate for high school Theory of Knowledge, Philosophy, Sociology, Anthropology, History, and parents.
From Art Making to Art Thinking: New Paradigms for Education - Bryn offers an engaging idea-filled presentation on the value of visual non-linear thinking in mathematics, science, technology and engineering, the STEM into STEAM movement and the cross-disciplinary field of artscience. Appropriate for grades 11-12, teachers and parents.
Family Evening Workshops
Leave Fear Behind - We live in a culture of attachment. This collaborative art exercise shows students and teachers how to take risks, abandon ownership and embrace the unknown to create original artworks that demand cooperation and exploit non-linear thinking.
Take a Chance - Students learn to mix and experiment with a variety of media to create a subject of their choice. through intensive intensive experimentation. Students will learn about design, staging, color schemes, and how to use accidental watercolor effects to stretch creative thinking.
Outdoor workshops
Plein Air Intensive - Bryn teaches students the fundamentals of en plein air painting gouache, water color or oil painting. Appropriate for grades 11-12 art students.
KG and Pre-K workshops
Dinosaur Discovery - This 1 hour session is ideal for pre-K through Grade 3. After a brief introduction to the Age of Dinosaurs, students collaborate on making one of their own.
Pricing
Bryn offers both virtual presentations via Zoom or live presentations in the classroom, a maximum of five one-hour presentations per day or a combination of shorter presentations and longer workshops. Cost is US$1200 per day for live visits, plus expenses, and US$400 per hour for Zoom visits. Bryn is happy to work with multiple schools to share costs.