Guindon Patrick

Article by Erika Glasberg
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May 3, 2011

Ingleside - Patrick Guindon an artist, a teacher and an art instructor but now, he has author add to his list of titles.

Since he was 13 years-old, Patrick Guindon has developed skills as an artist. "I've always drawn, doodled and etched,'' he said.

After going to school for radio and television arts at Ryerson University, teaching with the University of Ottawa and teaching himself throughout the years, he has developed a keen eye for the arts.

Guindon spends a lot of his time as a sixth grade teacher at Eamer's Corners Public School making teaching art and writing a book low on his to-do list. But that changed the day a friend of Guindon's suggested to him that he should be teaching art, which he initially turned down.

After undergoing some convincing, he started teaching art lessons. "I was trying new things and being experimental," he stated. "With teaching lessons, it was a nice way to interact with kids:'

Currently, he teaches several students from ages five to 14 every Tuesday. "It's really nice to teach art in a really open way without having to follow certain curriculum," he said. He explained that the wide variety of ages in the art classes allows children to explore avenues they maybe wouldn't if they were surrounded by students in their art
levels and ages.

"The younger kids want to see what the older kids are doing with their style. And the older kids enjoy sharing with the younger ones.'' Guindon explained. "When you're a young artist, it's hard to find an interest from someone else.''

Seeing the art that children were able to create when they were given a blank canvas inspired Guindon to do more. When he stumbled across a program called "Fun With Books'', a non-profit organization which distributes books for free to children in Leeds and Grenville County, Guindon saw it as the perfect opportunity to contribute.

He decided that he was going to author a children's book and create his own images. He named the book "Sad Monster and the Wishing Tree''."I really loved the name Sad Monster. It's so simple and basic but it can become so whimsical,' he said.
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About 70 hours of work later, the story was complete. The story follows a monster who is looking for a wishing star and meets a giraffe who is also looking for a wishing star. The two animals travel together in the heart warming tale of friendship and following your dreams. "Once I had the image in my head, I sat down and wrote the story. It came very easily," said Guindon.

The books will be distributed to children in the month of May. For more information about the art classes available, contact Patrick Guindon at 613-537-9416 or by e-mail at patrick@patrickg.ca