CornDogArt.com is resource for any teacher who wishes to inspire creative writing with art. I have made a series of Writing Prompt Videos and Print Illustrations, which I call Story Starters, all based on my art. With each writing prompt video or print, I have developed graphic organizers and other reproducible worksheets students may use to help them analyze the image.
Having taught art for over 19 years, I have seen time and time again how images can inspire writing. More importantly, using art in the classroom allows children to express divergent interpretations of what they experience. I truly believe that children reacting to and speaking about art can give children a voice. This is particularly true of children who are shy, or often feel they have nothing to say. My hope is that students of any age will be inspired to write amazing stories, and appreciate the fact that art may be interpreted in a multitude of ways.
They all take form in my sketchbook (which you may see here), but where do they come from before that? Ideas have come from traveling, conversations with people, dreams, looking at details in architecture, juxtaposing divergent objects, reading stories, and even doodles. But I have to say, all of my illustrations have the element of “What if? I ask, “What if a gargoyle was not just a statue? What if an army of massive lizards attacked a castle? What if a little boy’s toy boat, scuba diver and squid were not just toys?” That is the point of Corn Dog Art- to ask What if?
