Carmel Page - Freelance
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Storyteller - Artist in Education - Community Artist - Author - Creative Mentor
Things I do
Associate Artist and Creative Mentor for Grimm & Co, providing one-to-one support for looked After Children. Enchanting audiences with lively storytelling in schools, at festivals, for parties and at The Royal Armouries. Storyteller for Henry Dancer Days, sharing stories with children having treatment for cancer or receiving palliative care.
Artist Educator for Yorkshire Sculpture Park, running school tours and sculpture workshops.
Learning Deliverer for Museums Sheffield running school workshops and family activities.
Co-running The Story Forge, a storytelling club for adults.
Writing stories for all ages. Exciting people of all ages with joyful art projects.
Engaging people with my writing sessions.
Teaching storytelling skills.
Developing literacy in schools.
Community art projects including sculpture, drawing, painting, murals, storytelling, writing, recycling, book binding, interior design and much more.
Philosophy for Children (and adults)
Engaging hard-to-reach groups.
Continuing Professional Development for teachers.
Planning and organising events.
Participating in solo and group art exhibitions.
Who I Work With
I love to collaborate with other creative people and work with: Families, including families in crisis. Early years and school key stages 1, 2, and 3.
I am a trained NNEB Nursery Nurse so am very at home working with children.
Youth clubs.
Refugees and asylum seekers, I run an art workshop for ASSIST.
Groups of adults.
People living with mental health issues.
Teachers including CPD for early years practitioners.
I am interested in working with new groups.
Yorkshire Folk Tales for Children
Published by The History Press and available in all good (Yorkshire) bookshops. The Blub says, "These old tales are beautifully retold here for 7-to-11-year-old readers; written and illustrated by storyteller and artist Carmel Page – who is a Southerner by birth but has lived in Sheffield for so long that she now uses her back-door as her front-door and has started to eat her dinner at lunchtime.
My Methods
I can provide off-the-peg entertainment and workshop activities but prefer to work with people in devising project which are exactly what they want. I like to design activities which respond to challenges. I believe in listening to and respecting ideas, the power of creativity and the importance of joyfulness. I focus on having clear aims at the beginning of a project but keeping plans flexible so that we can adapt as the project develops. Examples of my Work
Philosophy for Change
Staff in a primary school were concerned that one racial group was ostracising another racial group. I used P4C and arts-led activities to explore cultural identity. We set up different types of dinosaur community to see how they would get on together, we made skin-tone portraits and we learnt about ourselves through studying Geography and skin pigmentation. Each pupil created a story of their own ethnic origins. On the celebration day to mark the end of the project both racial groups included each other in their play and chat.
Breaking Down the Barriers
In a primary school with very low parental engagement, I taught a class how to create treasure hunts and marble runs so that they could invite their parents and teach the skills to them. Parents attended who had never been into the school before.
Gender Respect Project
A senior school teacher wanted support in challenging gender issues and sexist behaviour in her school. I worked with her to set up a weekly discussion group and provided activities which prompted insightful discussion. The young people have since become advocates for Gender Respect in their school.
Let’s get Digested
A nursery school was concerned that their parents and children had very limited understanding of healthy eating. After making a sculpture of a human digestive system which was big enough to explore from the inside, all the children experienced being digested and learnt which foods were healthy. The sculpture also prompted discussion about healthy eating with parents.
Environmental Action Project
Sheffield Wildlife Trust wanted to work in a Youth Club, to raise their awareness of recycling. Many of the members had challenging behaviour. We made furniture and sculptures by recycling old objects, by the end of the project the group had become more cohesive and had many inspiring ideas for how to reuse materials.
Are There Questions Under the Sea?
A primary school wished to move away from the National Curriculum but the pupil’s lack of questioning was a barrier. Working with the Y2 class I made a Question Machine from which they learnt questioning skills. The questions they devised then led on to further child-led creative learning and increased staff confidence in devising child-led lessons.
The Magic Bed
A nursery wished to improve oracy and develop storytelling skills. By travelling on a magic bed to imagined destinations we developed stories and I inspired some very quiet children to speak. I then shared ideas with the staff on how to use the stories in class and trained them to deliver creative story-making sessions.
A Voyage to Full Attendance
A primary school wanted to raise excitement about school attendance levels. During a visit from Captain Nobeard (the smoothest pirate on the seven seas), we searched for treasure and inspired attendance.
Daring to be Different
A primary school felt that their pupils were held back by a reluctance to try new things and to be different. I made a Magic Tunnel with a Y1 class and every child spent time inside having a magical experience. We then made costumes and props which enabled the class to act out their magical ideas. These were then turned into a series of books showing the very different things they had tried. At the end of the project, I spent a day with the teacher redesigning her planning for the next year to allow more opportunities for creative, child –led lessons.
The Hucklow Diner
A primary school had a very drab dining hall and wanted the pupils to be involved in its redesign. I used a range of methods to consult the children so that the staff could observe and learn new skills. We then redesigned the room, the pupils and parents worked with me to create the look they wanted. The result was a room the whole school felt proud of and enjoyed eating in.
Solar System Fashion Show
A Y6 teacher wanted to run a science-based arts project led by the pupils. The class recruited me to work with them and we learnt about the solar system by designing costumes representing all the planets. They then performed a fashion show which demonstrated the solar system and the orbits of the planets. The pupils were very engaged with the learning and gained in confidence through devising their own project.
Examples of my Stories
The Flight of the Teddy Bears– Warning this performance piece includes flying teddy bears and has a tendency to become joyfully anarchic.
Flapjackosaurus– Some dinosaurs are small, some dinosaurs are big and they all eat each other that’s how dinosaurs live. How will Flapjackosaurus and Recipe Rex solve this food crisis?
Captain Nobeard (The smoothest Pirate on the Seven Seas) She will let you try on her triangular hat and she will let you try on her wooden leg but will she let you see her treasure map? Probably not!
Plato’s Potatoes, Descartes Tarts and other philosophical tales to feast your thinking on.
I really enjoy the challenge of creating a story for a specific event or to highlight something important.
If you like the sound of these projects or stories please get in touch.
Other Information
Public liability insured
DBS checked with online
Full driving licence and own vehicle
Trained in child protection as a designated lead
Child Protection policy available on request
