Ptuj 2011: Children’s Creative Workshop

Andrej Rozman Roza

I initiated and created a children’s creative workshop that took place as part of the Days of Poetry and Wine Festival (of Beletrina Academic Press) in Ptuj, in association with the Center interesnih dejavnosti Ptuj (CID).

Children were invited to create illustrations based on the poem Lepa Vida v akciji by Andrej Rozman Roza.

Even though it was a sweltering day during the summer holidays (nearly 40 degrees), the workshop was well attended by 12 very enthusiastic children.

12 young participants

Kids working hard

The story of the poem is as follows. A beautiful woman called Vida goes to Trieste to buy pills for her ill husband and nappies for her baby. While in the park, she meets an African who offers her the job of a dojilja (wet nurse) in some far exotic land, where she would be well paid. She has problems at home – a baby who cries non-stop and a husband who is ill, unemployed and has lost all social benefits – so she takes up the job. However, she is not happy at work, and as soon as she gets her first salary and can afford to make a call, she phones home. But she gets no answer, so calls the neighbours. She is told something terrifying, bloody and moving – but if you want to know more, says the poem, check the newspaper. The poem also adds that if she had purchased a better mobile phone package, the story would have ended up happier because she could have phoned home earlier.

Details of illustrations from the book Beautiful Woman called Vida

Tinkara Strenčan, 11 yrs

Tian Mihovec, 7 yrs

Ajda Rak, 13 yrs

Luka Galjot, 5 yrs

The pages were assembled into a picture book. Each child was sent the book in a digital format.

The cover of the book Beautiful Woman called Vida

For a full showcase of the children’s illustrations for the Book of Lepa Vida click Flickr.

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Sketchbook for a Journey: Exhibition Opening

Photo Melita Zmazek

The opening of the exhibition Sketchbook for a Journey took place at Knjižnica Ivana Potrča in Ptuj, Slovenia on 24 August 2011, showing original works by Andreja Brulc, created for various book projects – including work for Beletrina (a major literary imprint of the Slovene publisher Beletrina Academic Press) and a children’s picture book Barvice. The exhibition is part of the Days of Poetry and Wine Festival, and was accompanied by a children’s creative workshop.

Photo Melita Zmazek

The event was followed by the opening of another exhibition showing the books cover of poetry collections by Tomaž Šalamun, and then by a poetry reading by Anunciada Fernández de Córdova (Spanish Ambassador to Slovenia).

Interview with, and review by, Boštjan Najžar, at the opening of the exhibition Sketchbook for a Journey, for the news site Udarno (the site no longer available), published on 30 Aug 2011. The whole interview (length 2:56) was broadcasted again on Radio Prlek (Oddaja o kulturi) on 15 Sep 2011.

Interview with Petra Skok at the opening of the exhibition Sketchbook for a Journey, Dnevnik TV Maribor, 25 Avg 2011.

For more photos of the opening go to Flickr.