Puppet artist turns passion into writing children’s books | Entertainment / Lifestyle

Karen Konnerth sums up her philosophy of life in 10 words: “I believe in jumping off a cliff and doing the hard stuff.”

Her leap of faith took the Algiers Point resident away from the self-proclaimed “shy kid” who was born in Dallas, and she learned how to sew from her mother—a skill Konnerth would eventually use to make handmade puppets, since she began She is about 22 years old. As a teaching artist, she travels the world with puppets.

Ironically, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, Konnerth can now add a published children’s author to her list of accomplishments.

“When the pandemic hit, all my travel, puppet shows, and classwork stopped,” said Konnerth, 72. “It was time I needed to do it.” “

Konnerth has written two children’s books. Her first book, Calliope Kate and the Voice of the River, was published in May by Pelican Publishing. Konnerth also created all illustrations.

The book features images of Konnerth’s hand-carved marionettes, featuring the character “Kate,” a heroine born on a shanty boat on the Mississippi River. She surprised everyone by overcoming a hurricane with the deafening sound of a steamboat organ.

“Because I lived near the Mississippi River, I could hear the organ all the time,” Konnerth said. “Some people don’t like the way it’s pronounced, but I really do, which is why I wanted to use ‘calliope’ in the title of the book and in the story itself.”

Konnerth’s second book, “The Snowman’s Waltz,” was published in August by Sleeping Bear Press, with illustrations by Emily Neilson. It’s a rhyming story about the friendship and tolerance between the yeti and the penguin.

“I write every day,” Konnerth said. “I joined the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, which is a great community of writers and artists who provide a ton of support.”

books and puppets

As a student at the Rhode Island School of Design in 1974 and 1975, Connors took mime and creative theater classes.

“Because I’m so shy, I thought a mime class would help me break out of my shell,” Konnerth said. “I learned a lot about myself and these classes brought my interests together and introduced me to puppetry.”

Konnerth and her husband Vic Shepherd moved to New Orleans in 1978, and she began giving shows. She built all the puppets and stages herself, and has hosted shows at local children’s museums, story worlds in city parks, and private events. Soon, word began to spread about her gig.

“What I really wanted was to work in schools,” explains Konnerth, who has been a teaching artist since the 1990s. “At one point, through word of mouth, my puppet shows sparked hands-on workshops for children, mainly in kindergarten through sixth grade. Together with the teachers, I developed different artistic and educational projects. learning experience.”

Collaborative learning, such as puppetry, allows children to think creatively and solve problems, she said. “Puppetry is especially powerful because kids can’t wait to use this art form, which essentially opens doors for their imaginations.”

Global Teaching Tour

Konnerth was invited to participate in teaching trips sponsored by the US Embassy English Language Specialist Program, which took her to countries such as Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Kuwait.

In 2017, Konnerth self-published The Sophisticated Sock: Project Based Learning Through Puppetry.

Konnerth added, “It’s fantastic to be able to offer this to the educators I work with overseas, as well as any professional development workshops I attend.”

Konnerth has done puppet shows in Central and South America, where she says puppets are common.

“Central and South America has a lot of poor people,” she said. “They see puppetry as a true art form that should be easy to understand, share and be considered essential for children. That’s very inspiring to me.”

kids are test readers

Konnerth and musician Shepherd, who have two children and four grandchildren, are “excellent critics and test readers for my new stories,” she said.

While she’s not thinking of a new title for her third book, Konnerth says she has “a couple of ideas in the pipeline.”

“I’m working on a variety of themes and thematic ideas, some universal and some regional,” she said. “At the moment I don’t have a specific title, but I’ve been working towards it.

“Writing is a new phase in my life. I’ve been a puppeteer, a musician, an artist, and now a writer. I feel like I’m improving all the time.”