John Holton, SOON Editor

Shadows ... and Deeper Shadows

Expanded second edition hot off the press

When the first edition of Shadows came off the press in 2002 it was with a certain trepidation. The set of 12 watercolour paintings on A5 cards was significantly different from anything Innovative Resources had published until that time. It dealt with more complex themes in a highly interpretive way; the trademark colour and humour of previous Innovative Resources materials was down-played; and it used ‘realistic’ watercolour paintings as a therapeutic tool for the first time.

Would people like Shadows? Would they buy it? Would they find new and creative ways to use the cards as had been the case with other Innovative Resources materials?

The answer to all these questions has turned out to be an encouraging, yes.

Now, hot off the press, is the expanded second edition, Shadows and Deeper Shadows, with 36 additional paintings, revamped packaging, and an enhanced booklet with new case study examples by Fiona Gardiner and an added chapter on using Shadows as a creative writing tool by John Holton. Yes, these cards are bursting with storytelling opportunities.

Shadows and Deeper Shadows is an even more valuable resource to connect us with the struggles–and breakthroughs–of everyday living.

So how does it differ from the first edition?

Well, to begin with, 48 cards obviously allows for a much broader scope in subject matter, symbolism and metaphor. Some images in the second edition are more ‘situational’ while others are more ‘iconic’ and can be interpreted over a vast range of situations, places and times. While some of the images present darker shadows, others contain clear messages of hope and optimism.

But just like the original, these 48 watercolour images by Carolyn Marrone acknowledge suffering and remind us that pain sometimes has to be storied before pathways to resolution can be found.

Shadows and Deeper Shadows
Publisher: St Luke’s Innovative Resources
Authors: Russell Deal & Fiona Gardner
Watercolour paintings: Carolyn Marrone
Cat No: 3800 AU$59.50

Mr Furoche

A story of love, loss and healing

During Canberra’s tragic bushfires in January 2003, one small child lost something very precious – his pet dog. This is the story of Mister Furoche, who perished in the firestorm, and how a young boy learns that it’s okay to grieve for his lost pet.

The author of Mr Furoche is Lorne Parker Doyle, an arts practitioner and counsellor who lives and works in the Canberra community directly effected by the fires.

‘I felt a bit helpless after the fires,’ Lorne says. ‘I didn’t know how I could help. Then I realised I could use my skills as a writer.’

Lorne teamed up with illustrator Anne McNamara, and with the support of Tuggeranong Community Arts and Union Offset printers produced a valuable tool for creating conversations with children about loss.

‘It’s a way of helping children who may not be able to articulate their feelings,’ Lorne says. ‘But it’s not only for children. I’ve used the book with groups affected by alcohol and drug dependencies. I wanted to talk about grief in a non-directive way, and the book addresses the issues of separation and loss gently and opens the door to healing. The group response was phenomenal.’

After the fires over 500 copies were distributed throughout the Canberra region via the Bushfire Recovery Centre, the RSPCA, counsellors, as well as schools and pre-schools with families touched by the tragedy. It’s now available from Innovative Resources.

Mr Furoche
Author: Lorne Parker Doyle
Illustrator: Anne McNamara
Tuggeranong Community Arts, 2003, softcover, 12 pages
ISBN: 1 74134 582 0
Cat No. 6194, AU$19.50

A graduate of New York’s High School of Performing Arts, Judith Feldman is a child protection consultant and a cabaret performer, currently starring in the Australian stage production of Dirty Dancing. Judith has more than 20 years’ experience providing direct service and ‘holistic’ training in child protection. Her great passion is combining her child protection work with the performing arts. Judith is the author of NoNo the Little Seal, a sexual abuse prevention tool published by Innovative Resources.

JH: NoNo the Little Seal’s journey from its original Random House publication in the 1980's to Innovative Resources' new millennium, Australian edition has been a long, and obviously important, one for you. How did it feel when the new edition came off the press?

JF: It felt like a dream come true! I know that sounds corny, but after Russell Deal (Director of Innovative Resources) had shown me The Wrong Stone, there was no doubt in my mind that Innovative Resources (IR) was the most appropriate publisher to bring NoNo to children and families in Australia and beyond. I fell in love with Ray Bowler’s illustrations.

I never knew that a publishing company like IR existed – that is, a collective group of incredibly talented people who produced world class resources as part of a not-for-profit organisation. It was Libby Silva, from Sydney’s Feminist Bookshop who, after hearing the old NoNo tape said, ‘you must contact IR; they would be the best publishers for NoNo. Thank you, Libby!

JH: What is your wish for this book and the people who read/listen to it?

JF: First, to reach as many children and families as possible. Very young children (3-5) are extremely vulnerable to sexual abuse and presently, except for NoNo there are few resources, if any, that are as gentle, reassuring, non-threatening, family-friendly, and accessible as NoNo the Little Seal. And secondly, to empower the grown-ups who use this resource to teach, and the children who read and/or hear it to learn. As Wise Whale says, it’s OK to stand up for yourself, to stay safe, say no, and tell.

JH: You obviously have a passion for working with young children, especially when it comes to child protection. Where do you think this has come from?

JF: I’m not sure where it comes from, except to say that my own childhood experiences, while not the same as NoNo’s, inform my work. For whatever reason, my hope has been to help eliminate the normalisation of emotional abuse. We live in a society in which name-calling, put downs, and humiliating others is so endemic it’s hardly noticed. It has always been important to me to ensure that ‘others notice’ and find strategies to help mitigate the negative impact this so-called ‘harmless banter’ can have, particularly on children.

JH: Working in this field must bring with it some very traumatic and sad situations. What keeps you optimistic and positive about the future?

JF: I guess I always look for the pony when I smell the manure! Don’t know why; maybe that’s why ‘seriously optimistic’ resources really resonated with me and why I am so pleased to be associated with IR.

JH: What, or who, inspires you?

JF: The triumph of the human spirit inspires me. And knowing that people can and do change for the better. Not always – maybe not that often – but it can and does happen.

New for Christmas ...

The Strengths Approach

A strengths-based resource for sharing power and creating change

For the past 9 years Wayne McCashen has travelled much of Australia and New Zealand providing training and consultancy on strength-based practice to thousands of human service workers. Wayne is a leader in the development and articulation of the strengths approach. His book Communities of Hope, published by Innovative Resources in 2004, applied strengths-based practice specifically to community building. But until now no brave soul has attempted to write a book that clearly and comprehensively articulates the principles, processes and tools of the strengths approach in general.

Wayne’s new book, The Strengths Approach, does exactly that. It describes the ideas, values, beliefs, tools and frameworks that help create respectful ways of working with people.

Pivotal to the strengths approach is the principle of genuine collaboration between people – ‘power-with’. This dynamic principle acknowledges that people are the experts on their lives and that they can, and should, drive their own change processes. Also fundamental is the understanding that everyone has strengths and that mobilising these strengths is the key to finding creative and sustainable solutions.

The Strengths Approach is full of anecdotes and practical examples of strengths-based practice in action. Noticing strengths and exceptions, creating ‘pictures of the future’, using the column approach, measuring change and client-owned recording are just a few of the topics explored.

It really is the resource that social workers, educators, governments, community groups, teams and organisations, and anyone interested in socially-just ways of sharing power and creating change have been waiting for.

Publisher: Innovative Resources
Author: Wayne McCashen
ISBN: 1 920945 13 X
Cat No. 8007, AU$44.50

…I have written stories and books for clients before, but I wanted to share this with you and let you know that it was from the My Friend the Pen workshop that I was able to encourage this client to write her own story and support her in the process. This client has also decided that she would like to continue to write stories both with and for her son, re-storying and documenting some of his life experiences. This is the first of my writing adventures since My Friend the Pen and there are many more to come. I am running a creative group with children where they are writing songs about themselves and there is a creative writing group planned for children who have experienced abuse.

I carry with me the joy and pleasure of writing I experienced while in Bendigo for those few days and try to stay connected to that. From My Friend the Pen I am bursting with ideas and enthusiasm for writing.

Jessica Payne
Child Protection Counsellor
South East Sydney PANOC Service

Simon Meehan is a writer from Swan Hill, Australia.

Invisibility Feat

My friends begin to spread a rumour about me around the town. They claim that I possess the remarkable feat of invisibility; I can render myself invisible at will.

This fallacy begins to gain fervour and momentum and late one week on a rainy day people begin gathering outside my flat. They are unperturbed as the rain falls down upon them, oblivious in their dense curiosity at my marvelous talent.

I wander about nervously in the kitchen while the crowd begins calling my name, louder and louder, more real and more brutal.

Eventually I am forced to brave the elements to address this heckling commotion. The crowd gives a subdued cheer at my appearance, they are intrigued but are not here waiting for my appearance but rather quite the opposite. I stumble about nervously and the crowd converges in a circle around me. Their eyes are rent with anticipation as they clamber about me urging me to disappear. Nearly all the townsfolk are here.

Before long the crowd grows particularly robust and aggressive. Men start pushing me and an old lady spits at my face. ‘He cannot disappear at all,’ they disappointedly proclaim as they wander away in the rain.

As I kneel there, half beaten and extremely sorrowful I notice the empty silence around me. Everyone has deserted me and deems me to be a self-promoting liar. A useless charlatan…

So this is how it feels to be invisible.

© Simon Meehan 2005