Glenholme School Class A4, Haiku writing and illustration Workshop to celebrate national Poetry Day Friday 23rd August

 Letter from multi -award winning Author,  Lee Murray to Zara Matthews,  Teacher at Glenholme Primary School. 

 Thank you so much for entering your Glenholme Primary School Class Stories and Artwork to our competition. 

I'm delighted to inform you that your class entries have WON the ART section of the Young NZ Writers Primary School Story and Art Competition. Young NZ Writers is upported by the Wright Family Foundation.

We're thrilled to say that  we are sponsoring the prize for this section  which is a visit to your school/classroom by professional artist, writer, and photographer, Janet Keen

Janet is a superb artist who is well-known to the Rotorua community.

 She is an experienced teacher of young artists and an inspirational workshop presenter and speaker. 

Young NZ Writers is very excited to be able to offer this opportunity to your class.

Congratulations to all class members for completing the haiku and  and illustration workshop.
 You are all great achievers and a pleasure to teach. 
Fantastic results.

That haiku shows humour, subtlety and a  flair for colour and design.

Funny and clever, unusual and also using humour to great effect.

Lovely, big, powerful  drawing. Well composed.  Deft manipulation of pastel, a medium that can be challenging at times.

 Cheerful , welcoming and lovely.  Drawing skill and creativity, plus attention to detail was commendable

 Very realistic and dedicated drawing, bold background makes it pop

Gorgeous drawing of a very happy cat. Worked quickly and made time to colour in background.

 So cute, huggable and attractive . Neat and creative drawing

Loved the crown on the head, imaginative, details in the foreground.  

  This was well thought out and so cute and her colouring in made the composition sing.

Nice expression in the eyes. Brilliant steep looking hill, nicely balanced work.

       Showed a really intelligent interest in the research and taught me something about deer I hadn’t known before.
Colourful; happy rainbow words, delightful pastoral scene.

 Nice action with the worms, expressive  humorous look in kiwi's eyes, well composed.

Bright, bold, powerful and scary spider that I wouldn't want to meet on a deserted beach.

Lyrical and imaginative, loved the colourful writing and the way the birds wings are soaring. Lovely circular branch composition frames the work well.

Stunning colours, pastel is bright and effective reflecting a very enthusiastic, friendly, delightful and engaged pupil.  

Beautiful details in background,  lyrical colour on bird, loved the tents in background, made me want to go camping.

Nice big tree in background, good facts in the haiku, lovely tree and composition of the tree on the page.

                     Cute cute cute, love animals with human characteristics, great attention to detail.

Very happy looking cat, well composed and thought out.  Very calm and serene feeling about this. which reflects a  peaceful haiku moment in time.

Lovely detail and unusual facts about deer. Made me feel thirsty. 

  Good choice to illustrate  own dog, love the bones around the outside and expression on dogs face,Fast worker, could have made two haiku and illustrated both in the time allotted. Well done.

Fantastic imagination with resigned work- hating look  face on the donkeys face.
Humorous haiku and captivating yet ambiguous details on donkeys body.

Scary convincing eel, well expressed, great perseverance. Did three different drawings, admirable focusing skills, never giving up. Attitude determines altitude. Keep up the good work.

Gorgeous clouds and convincing fantail.  Loved the branch composition and the happy orange  sun.

 So sweet, representative of variable temperaments in goats. So cute but  also so naughty.

 Cute bow on the tale, challenging to draw subject which  was handled well. Convincing, proportions  legs and  attractive mane.

Imaginative,  bold, unusual subject, cool tree in foreground, arresting and almost edible looking, yum !

                                        Drawing  convincing,  bright and well conceived with fascinating details, illustrating just how   intelligent,  naughty keas are prone to stealing things
                                                    Humorous haiku and attractive colours of letters.

Unmistakable icon,  cool trees and worms, nice colourful letters . Expressive eyes, we want to know what happens next.

 Clever in construction and bright and well composed. Loved the speech bubble. Moon and stars are whimsical.  I wonder what happens next?

 Very competently drawn.  Showed dedication to persevering.
 Striking on the page. Lovely large composition. Loved the way the tail is wrapped around the branch.

 So cute and heart melting, meticulous pencil drawing, I'm glad you coloured this in because it pops beautifully.

Adventurous exciting, dramatic, powerful.

Intricate and interesting

                                           scary, bold, nice and big and  powerful

                                      Certainly knew what this was straight away. Descriptive haiku well done.
                                    for persevering with quite a challenging subject.

                                               Lovely colours, happy and inviting, claws well handled.

Beautifully composed, a singing, soaring  piece of work.

 Cheerful, creative well behaved and enthusiastic class. Congratulations.

Quote for the day.
Every child is an artist, the challenge is to remain one once you grow up  Picasso

What is a haiku ?
 a Japanese poem  that can have  ( but doesn't always) have seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five, traditionally evoking images of the natural world.

What am I?" Haikus are like riddles.  
The writer uses the Haiku to describe something.  Other people then try to guess what the poet was describing after reading the Haiku.
Here is a "What am I?" Haiku:

Green and speckled legs,
Hop on logs and lily pads
                                     Splash in cool water.


Pick an animals do some research on it.
Brainstorm ideas
 Write your own “What am I” Haiku.
Writing about an animal is an good choice for a topic  because all children can relate to animals and insects that surround them.
Illustrate your haiku,  in a big colourful and bold. manner.
it doesn't have to be realistic, use your imagination.
When each person has finished stand up the front of the classroom and recite it  so that everyone has to guess what it is.
Laminate each persons work and display it.
Remember this is just the start of your illustrating and haiku making skills.
If you made a thousand of these you would become an expert.

Creative quote. "Every journey begins with the first step".


Please enquire about after school accelerated art, writing and mosaic classes.
Limited spaces,  using quality artist materials.
 I aways welcome cheerful, enthusiastic, well focused people who have a genune interest in being extended creatively.

 Monday, Tuesdays and Wednesdays after school.
 Free initial half hour consultation to see if it would suit your child.
Or  pay for a  one hour initial lesson to see if your child wants to continue

Phone  0273513887
 Email: janet@jkeen.net
Available to run poetry illustration workshops in schools.
Please enquire about pricing.

Final Quotes.

"You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar."

A loving person lives in a loving world. A hostile person lives in a hostile world. Your ‘actions’ create the ‘reactions’ of people around you. The world is your mirror. Ken Keyes

“If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.”
― Amit Ray,  

Creating  a haiku and illustrating it every day will give you seven mindful sessions of peace a week.  Haven't got the time?
Try switching off your television.  you will suddenly find at least an hourof time you never knew existed.
Good luck.
Send me your comments. I will publish them if they are positive.  
janet@jkeen.net

Commmunity Yarn Bombing Day at Greerton village , Tauranga , New Zealand.

Angie Belcher with her children's book, The Farm Yard Idol,  performing with her child characters in front of the Greerton Library, during the Yarn bomb festival last Saturday.

What a fabulously creative way to involve your audience.
Dress them up as characters in your book with quirky hats.

The children and the audience loved it.

 Angie bought her book to life and gave the children valuable performance experience in a fun and interactive way 

 The message of the book is really lovely  and inclusive.
The illustrations were really colourful and exciting.

The hats were beautifully made.

Because of their simplicity it made it easy and inviting for children to participate.  

There was plenty of laughter and you could see every child face was engaged. 
 Everyone  lit up because Angie was so enthusiastic. 
You could tell she loved performing and being with the children.

 Seeing adults dress up is always fun for children.
Her dramatic joie de vivre was contagious.

That's what it's all about with competitions in life as far as I'm concerned. 

 Competing  in  anything and having fun while doing it is the key.
Whether it be art,  photography, Toastmasters speeches, poetry and short story competitions; all of which I  make a practise to regularly enter.
It's all about the participation and doing your best.
 You learn so much while getting out of your comfort zone. 

As a child I was bought up to believe that there is no point going into a competition if you aren't going to win.
To fail was to be ashamed.
Consequently I did not compete in very much and grew to really be scared and despise competition. This is not good for development.

So Angie's message is so important.


Too many people don't want to have a go because they are concerned they won't win.
While it's nice to win we can't gain first place all the time  and you will learn a lot by putting yourself through challenges. 
The journey is the important thing.

 If you get into the habit of competing with yourself it is a lot less stressful than aggressively pitting yourself against others. 

 Have a go, enjoy the journey because you are all winners. 

I certainly agree with her message because I think it promotes healthy self -esteem and mental resilience
 The importance of learning through having fun is paramount.

Creative quote.
The highest levels of performance come to people who are centered, intuitive, creative, and reflective - people who know to see a problem as an opportunity. Deepak Chopra 


  Greerton Yarn Bomb Highlights.

All the trees

                          were decorated

 with hand knitted and crocheted

Characters from  

     children's books

 

Charlottes Web one of my favourite Children's fiction books, I bought a new copy of it a couple of years ago.

Cat in the Hat Character poses with Jing.
 What a wonderful business this guy has.

and me ( Janet)
 I love being around people who are living their creative dreams. 
It is so compelling and motivating.



Keep up the inspiring work Angie...you are a winner in my books.



All photographs copy right and available for sale.
 I welcome enquiries.


What a fun day.


  More to come in the next post about the Steam Punk people we met.

Mosaic and Painting classes Mondays to Wednesdays for Adults from 9.30am to 11.30am
At 374 Clayton Road, Rotorua
 Mosaic garden and art Studio

 Mosaic, painting and book illustrating and Writing Classes for kids and teenagers. Mondays and Wednesdays after school.
Enrolling for term 3 now.



Phone 073463435 to  inquire about enrolling
or to inquire about photographic tuition.
Private lessons and English as a second language classes.

Email janet@jkeen.net

Autumn colours with cross pollinated trees at Buried Village open day

 A4 Photographic Prints for sale  $30.00  each

A3 Photographic Prints for sale $60.00

A2 Photographic Prints for sale $90.00

plus postage and packing 

Custom sizes prices on application 

Please email janet@jkeen.net or text 0273513887

All photo original and remain the property of Janet Keen. 

All rights reserved

Autumn Tree Study, Rotorua New Zealand  1 

Reversing deforestation is complicated; planting a tree is simple. Martin O'Malley

Autumn Tree Study 2, Rotorua New Zealand

I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree. Joyce Kilmer

Autumn tree study 3, Rotorua, New Zealand


In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they're still beautiful. Alice Walker

Autumn tree study 4, Rotorua NZ
 Never say there is nothing beautiful in the world anymore. There is always something to make you wonder in the shape of a tree, the trembling of a leaf. Albert Schweitzer

 Autumn Tree study 5, Rotorua NZ

 For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver. Martin Luther


Creativity Quote 
 I'm always astonished by a forest. It makes me realise that the fantasy of nature is much larger than my own fantasy. I still have things to learn. Gunter Grass


Mosaic painting creative writing and drawing classses in my studio surrounded by an organic garden and trees. 
Come for a peaceful retreat. 

Childrens and young adults classes.
Monday to Wednesday afternoons from 3.30pm to 5.30 pm for one hour. 
$30.00 per person, per session,  all materials included. 
Limited to 6 young people per class. 

Adults Creativity classes, mosaics, painting, drawing, book illustrating
  2  hour classes, materials provided
For a class from 4 weeks duration. 
 hours in total. 
$280.00 for four weeks. 
Pay per time of $70.00

Classes are available Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday  mornings 
9.30am to 11.30am
Materials included. 

Limited to 6 people per session.  

Ring Janet Keen on 3463435 or email janet@jkeen.net

 If you agree to a class I will give you a free  half hour creativity consultation to assess your needs and to show you the possibilites of creativity. 

Group bookings of 6 people  welcome for weekends and after hours. 
Inquire today at 0273513887
 janet@jkeen.net
Phone 3463435
374 Clayton Road, Rotorua