The narrator’s briefcase by Edizioni Centro Studi Erickson

foreword A visual journey into the collective images of the worlD Each language enables to conceive the world differently - untranslatable words allow us to discover unimaginable things. Can symbols, signs and folkloric drawings of the world’s cultures tell us new stories? This game aims to stimulate children’s curiosity about the cultures of the world. If we could collect all the world’s tales into one single book, we would be able to answer to each and every question. According to Alberto Manzi, teacher and presenter of the Italian educational TV programme It is never too late (broadcast on Rai, 1960-1968), both fables and science aim to a better understanding of the world. Even if with different tools and methods, they make the same effort to create a coherent meaning system. The game, created by Alessandra Falconi, is made up of a briefcase which contains folkloric signs and images from all over the world, designed by the illustrator Camilla Falsini. Why folklore? We might think of it as a primordial, open and shared storage of signs, symbols and meanings that helps people to give sense to their everyday lives, in order to face changes, challenges, the transition from disorder to order, the separation between the good and the evil. Folklore nurtures and is nurtured by myths and rituals that attempt to answer the great questions: Where do we come from? Where are we going? What is at the centre of the earth? How can you explain a rainbow?

1 Andrea Prandin in Re-inventare la famiglia, by Laura Formenti, Apogeo, 2011 (Chapter 6 – Posizionamenti estetici e ricerca della bellezza) 2 Formenti, 2002, quoted by Andrea Prandin 3 Marco Dallari, L’arte per i bambini 4 thanks to Anna Maria Testa for her suggestions on creativity

Every culture has attempted to answer these and other questions. It is a fascinating journey into stories, images, decorations and drawings of people who, though far from each other, have tried to give a meaning to the world we live in and to their own lives. Indeed, regardless place and time, human beings felt the need to understand reality: stories have the power to «establish connections and structures, therefore organising human experience from beginning, to continuation, to end».1 It is very important that children become familiar with the genuine pleasure for narration in order to construct their own symbolic space: «the children’s self-narration (their own narrative identity) is inseparably linked to the qualities of the stories they learned to relate».2 It was our desire to provide curious children with a game that explores the past and tells the future by means of sings, symbols and stories of cultures from all over the world. Marco Dallari writes: «sensitivity, a gift common to everyone, is nurtured by symbolic networks through a constant, never-ending literacy process. By "literacy process" I mean the capability of actively and critically participating in the cultural processes of a community»3 . With the Briefcase, we attempt to make a new and useful contribution to enrich one’s sensitivity by observing other cultures and therefore to participate into the community life in an including, joyful, creative and delicate way. The selection of images and folkloric contents, while stimulating our sensitivity, shapes the way children image, conceive and understand the world - and also, we may add, learning them how to appreciate it. Our increasingly multicultural classrooms act as important depositories for 3

narrations and images, safely guarded by children. We expect that the game would offer suggestions on how to share fables and myths of the numerous cultures that enrich our schools. To multiply stories means to offer new perceptions of reality. We wish every teacher a successful work!

First part how to begin a story

A story can be born in many ways, The idea can come from a place where one has been, from a strange object that has been found or drawn, from listening to something that has caught our attention... Reading gives us ideas!

Also looking at beatiful pictures: illustrations, photographs, paintings...

In our case, the story comes from pictures.

ACTIVITY 2 THERE ARE ALWAYS TWO VERSIONS OF EVERY STORY This activity allows children to play by beginning to discover, with more awareness, that there are different points of view. For example, an illustrated paper can change its meaning: you have arrived at the point in the story where you have lost your way, you no longer know where to go...

But now youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve become a warrior with armor, a helmet and "surprise" weapons ready for adventure!

ÂŠ2018, Centro Zaffiria, La valigetta del Narratore, Trento, Erickson

Start the game by looking carefully at the content of the briefcase: draw your ideas by using as many cards as possible, so you will be ready to invent new stories for your classroom.

ÂŠ2018, Centro Zaffiria, La valigetta del Narratore, Trento, Erickson

ACTIVITY 4 HEROES’ TIMES We often need a hero in order to tell a story. Usually, the hero faces many situations: 1. He never stays peacefully at home... A journey always awaits him, forcing him to leave. The reason could be a strong call for adventure, or a very important mission. 2. He never stops: he frequently must face challenges, escape dangers, save relatives (do you have any idea of how many heroes look for their future wife? Or how many of them have to reconcile with their father?) 3. He is lucky: whether it is with a superpower, a magic weapon or a very special assistant, the hero is never alone in front of the implacable enemy. USE THE CARDS TO CREATE YOUR HERO. DRAW THE SETTING FOR HIS ADVENTURE ON THE BOARD.

PROVIDE HIM WITH A MAGIC WEAPON

IMAGINE A VERY DEMANDING MISSION

Remember: you don’t always need heroes in order to create stories! They are not always essential; sometimes dragons, lions, jaguars or peacocks are enough. 12

Activity 8 CREATE YOUR own «EXPLORATION NOTEBOOK» Sometimes it is useful to have a notebook where to jot down ideas and drawings so as to have a clear story in mind. I suggest you to choose a notebook for your first story, or rather, for the draft of your first story. On the first page, draw the cover and put your name on it. On the second page, copy the following index: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

LANDSCAPES THAT I OBSERVED DURING MY IMAGINARY JOURNEY ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS THAT I SAW DURING MY JOURNEY FRAGMENTS OF LOW RELIEFS THAT INTRIGUED ME SCULPTURES THAT STRUCK ME SIGNS OR SIGNALS THAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION

At this point, use the cards to create landscapes, buildings (houses, bridges, palaces, farms, amusement parks ...), details from sculptures; invent new traffic signs (remember: triangle stands for danger, circle stands for prohibition, square gives information). Always draw on your exploration notebook, so that you have all the backdrop elements of your story. If you desire, you can add pen drawings, pencil drafts, collages made by sticking different kinds of paper... Your drawings and drafts are now ready. Your individual (imaginary, fantastic and poetic) universe is now clearly visible on this notebook. I’m pretty sure you will amaze your teachers, parents and friends.

second part become a researcher A museum never stops to offer culture to its visitors. It intrigues them by connecting the exhibitions to everyday life situations. We now try to understand where the drawings of our fantasy and imagination come from. While doing this, we rely on the support of one of the most famous museums in the world, the British Museum of London.

The main source of inspiration of folklore worldwide is nature. Plants useful for human beings have always been depicted in drawings, graphic stylisations, everyday objects decorations and ornaments: plates, vases, tools, baskets, clothes... The ancient Egyptians, for example, used to take inspiration from the shapes of papyrus, lotus and lily; the Greeks from the leaves of olive trees, bay trees, ivy, roses and palms. Some details were constant, others modified over time, creating patterns1 and textures2...

1 a decorative design, as for wallpaper, made up of elements in a regular arrangement 2 the visual and tactile quality of a surface. The term texture comes from the Latin textura which means net, weaving.

Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s get to work!

Activity b from nature to drawing We work on stylization and simplification of shapes, symmetry, patterns and textures. Go out into the garden and look for an element of the nature: start from the outline, simplify it and add patterns to create your own decorations.

Choose a shapes that intrigues you.

Mark the most important points.

Connect them with the ruler.

Draw new textures inside.

ÂŠ2018, Centro Zaffiria, La valigetta del Narratore, Trento, Erickson

Now you try.

ÂŠ2018, Centro Zaffiria, La valigetta del Narratore, Trento, Erickson

Activity c play with variations We take inspiration from the Designs of the world catalogue of the British Museum. To which extent are we able to personalise a subject/theme? With this graphic activity, children practice how to design textures: they basically create variations within the same shape.

Recurring deer motif of native Americansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; textile weavings.

ÂŠ2018, Centro Zaffiria, La valigetta del Narratore, Trento, Erickson

Now practice it yourself.

ÂŠ2018, Centro Zaffiria, La valigetta del Narratore, Trento, Erickson

ACTIVITY d PLAY WITH VARIATIONS: GEOMETRY AND SYMMETRY Geometry and symmetry are basic elements for decorative patterns used for plates, baskets, vases, temples and houses. Look carefully these graphic elements:

Drawing from a version of a 10th-century Koran, probably created in Egypt.

Twisted straw basket motif from Madagascar.

Ornament of a 4th-century-BC pitcher from RhinelandPalatinate (Germany).

Inside pattern of Algerian bowl.

Necklace decoration created between the 4th and the 3rd century BC at Jonchery-sur-Suippe (France).

These decorations may seem quite schematic to you: you have to bear in mind that materials were usually very hard to manipulate. They included metal, stone, wood or twisted materials, as for straw baskets. It was necessary to simplify as much as possible and to remove details.

ÂŠ2018, Centro Zaffiria, La valigetta del Narratore, Trento, Erickson

Now practice with geometric repetition.

ÂŠ2018, Centro Zaffiria, La valigetta del Narratore, Trento, Erickson

Activity d play with variants: geometry and symmetry Try to practice with symmetry.

ÂŠ2018, Centro Zaffiria, La valigetta del Narratore, Trento, Erickson