Is it possible to capture the spirit of creativity in a book? Or is a book, by its very nature, prescribed - something which creativity isn't. That's a question I put to Lola Rasminsky on a warm, sunny day more than a year ago.

As a publisher of books for children, one whose child attended art and drama classes at the Avenue Road Arts School, it was a leading question. I have great admiration for the philosophy of the school,and wondered if that philosophy could be captured in a book for children.

Avenue Road Arts School is alive with creativity, but it is only accessible to a small number of children from the Toronto area. I thought it would be exciting to publish a book of art projects as a way of sharing the school with a wider community. But I didn't know if the electricity of the environment could be communicated in book form, and that is what I intended to find out.

It is difficult to present projects in written form without becoming prescriptive. This was the fundamental challenge that Lola and I discussed. We had to find a way to capture the spirit of creativity that is associated with the school without being overly directive. At the same time a book needs to be sufficiently concrete to work for someone using it without the support of a talented, resourceful, and present teacher. I knew from experience, as well, that adults would use a good book for children as a resource.

It took almost a year to conceptualize the project, and then to prepare an outline of ideas drawn from the work of many of the school's instructors. An editor was assigned by Kids Can Press and given free reign to work with the teachers until something "right" emerged.

It is likely to take a year or two before the book is completed. The artists who have committed their time to the project also have fine art careers to maintain, and teaching to keep up. That's one of the reasons the book will be so rich in ideas and originality.

For children, this will be a fun book full of neat things to do. For parents, it will be a way to assure that art is part of their child's life 365 days a year. As long as art education is under valued and under funded, there will be a pressing need for this book. For the Avenue Road Arts School, which was founded on the belief that arts education is essential to the intellectual and emotional development of children, it is another way to share that message with a wider audience.

Valerie Hussey

Valerie Hussey is President and Publisher of Kids Can Press, a leading Canadian publisher of books for children. Kids Can Press is a supporter of the Arts for Children scholarship program through its charitable foundation Children's Literacy Toronto.

Open House

Please come to our
Winter Open House
Sunday, March 7, 1999 from 1 to 4 pm
Teachers will be on hand to answer questions and meet students.
Bring a friend or family member!
Art Activities for the Kids!
Bring the kids and they'll make and
take home fun and creative art pieces!
(Click on the link above to get address and map to school.)

Journey Through Time Continues to Travel

After a successful remounting of our children's art show at Metro Hall this Fall, several of the art pieces will find permanent homes. The Children's Aid, the Children's Own Museum, the Children's Library on College St. and the Jewish Discovery Place at the North JCC, will all be home to many of the exhibit pieces. Thank you to the EMC Group of Companies for sponsoring the show.

And then there was light...

Because of your feedback, we have installed a new lighting system in our studios. Thank-you and please continue to supply us with comments so we can make our school the best it can be.