Marie Olofsdotter’s story began in Sweden where she was born and raised. After studies in fine art and physical theater in Stockholm, she left Sweden to attend clown school in the US. Marie moved to Minnesota, worked with theater, and has exhibited her artwork in galleries and museums. She has created a number of picture books, such as the Mid-America Publishers award-winning Sofia and the Heartmender. Other accolades include a Minnesota Book Award and multiple MSAB Artist Initiative grants. Today, much of her love for narrative art is expressed through poetry and mixed media.
At the core of Marie’s work lies an unwavering belief in the power of creativity as a tool for self expression, for building bridges, for healing. This is why being a teaching artist, a creative muse for over 30 years, is central to her practice as an artist. Her poetry and paper arts classes has helped thousands of people of all ages to express themselves creatively.
Teaching Artist Statement
Through a whole brain approach, where I incorporate movement and drawing into my writing program, and use poetry to inform visual arts classes, I’m able to inspire the most reluctant students to create art and poetry. Gifted young writers flourish using prompts that set the stage for their unique voice.
I’ve taught poetry residencies in hundreds of K-6 classrooms across Minnesota. I’ve visited libraries teaching paper arts and poetry workshops. I’ve worked with diverse adult and senior populations in low income high-rises, assisted living facilities and memory care. I use high-end materials and inventive techniques in card making workshops for older adults and customize activities to fit their needs.
During my two years in clown school, I learned to improvise, where a key component is to be fully present and make the other performers look good. To say yes. I apply this idea to my work as a teaching artist and the Steve Linsner quote that says, “a clown is a poet who is also an orangutang” is a true story.
Learn more about Marie in her April 2020 Artist Spotlight Interview.
Program Offerings
Virtual and Remote Programs
See an example virtual residency from Marie and learn what to expect from a remote program!
Virtual Residency: Peace Poetry
Look at the world through the eyes of a poet, through the lens of peace. Reflect on the idea of peace and create poems rich in imagery. Students will be inspired by the poetry of Alberto Blanco, N. Scott Momaday, Langston Hughes and more through a 5 video series featuring Marie and accompanying handouts that can be incorporated right into your virtual classroom. Students will learn forms and prompts that will help them celebrate and better understand peace in their own words. Students can receive feedback through a Flip Grid or additional live meet office hours.
Workshops
Creative Classroom (In-School) & Youth Arts (Out-of-School)
The workshops work well for young and old alike, ages 8 and up. The program will be designed to fit the specific age group for which it is intended.
Book Arts
Come and create a unique book arts piece, a hardcover accordion book, a gift for your-self, or someone else. We will use handmade papers on the book covers, elegant water-color paper for the inside, great for writing, drawing, or painting. Walk away with a pre-cious keepsake. No previous experience needed.
Card Making
Make a unique greeting card, a cherished gift for someone special. Learn how to make a pop-up card, a card with folds, add a tiny envelope with a secret message. By stitching an extra page into a card, you can turn it into a fun mini-book for more space to play with. Embellish the card using collage, stamping, stickers, and more. As a finishing touch, add a quote or create a personal message, a one-line poem.
Illustration
Learn how to find an interesting flow from image to image when illustrating a text. Work with text from a book to come up with imagery and learn the techniques and skills of illustrating.
Poetry: Your Voice is a Kaleidoscope
Use creative visualization, drawing and journaling to get the ideas rolling and create poems that sparkle. Learn about metaphor, figurative language, pattern and rhythm while being introduced to poets from around the world. Share poems aloud for the written word to come alive.
Art Journaling
Art journaling is a playful, intuitive artform. We use drawing, painting, collage, writing, and doodling as tools of self-expression, and work in pre-made journals, or hardcover accordion books that we make ourselves. To spark the imagination, we look at the work by other artists in artists’ journals from around the world. Single words, clippings, poems and quotes are used as a springboard for the art in our journals.
Adults
Mixed Media Paper Dolls
Rediscover the creative play of paper dolls by crafting a doll made of mixed media materials. Participants are provided with the template of a figure to alter and personalize using decorative collage papers, sari silk, lace and more. The head, arms and legs are attached with brad fasteners to create moving parts. The paper doll can be fantastical, ornate, or grungy. It can be made to set an intention and an opportunity to play with colors and shapes, a fun art piece. (This class is designed for adults.)
Artful Aging
Number of sessions and length is customized to program.
Accordion House Book
Make a special book in the shape of a house. Sturdy paper will be used to create the structure of the house, you design a rooftop of your choice. Once the houses are made, the front and back covers are decorated with handmade papers from India, we add windows, doors, flowers, and more. The book can be used for writing, to draw in, or both.
Poetry
Express yourself though poetry, write a poem about your life. You will be introduced to poetry tools such as metaphor, sensory detail, and repetition, that will bring your work to life. And in the process of writing, you are bound to discover, like famed poet Maya An-gela, that “A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”
Book Arts
Come and create a unique book arts piece, a hardcover accordion book, a gift for your-self, or someone else. We will use handmade papers on the book covers, elegant water-color paper for the inside, great for writing, drawing, or painting. Walk away with a pre-cious keepsake. No previous experience needed.
Card Making
Make a unique greeting card, a cherished gift for someone special. Learn how to make a pop-up card, a card with folds, add a tiny envelope with a secret message. By stitching an extra page into a card, you can turn it into a fun mini-book for more space to play with. Embellish the card using collage, stamping, stickers, and more. As a finishing touch, add a quote or create a personal message, a one-line poem.
Art Journaling
Art journaling is a playful, intuitive artform. We use drawing, painting, collage, writing, and doodling as tools of self-expression, and work in pre-made journals, or hardcover accordion books that we make ourselves. To spark the imagination, we look at the work by other artists in artists’ journals from around the world. Single words, clippings, poems and quotes are used as a springboard for the art in our journals.
Residencies
Creative Classroom (In-School) & Youth Arts (Out-of-School)
These residencies work well for ages 8 and up. The program will be designed to fit the specific age group for which it is intended. Number of sessions and length is customized to program.
Poetry: Your Voice is a Kaleidoscope
“Poetry is an egg with a horse inside.” —third grader. This quote captures the possibilities within poetry beautifully. Use creative visualization, drawing and journaling to create a basic portfolio of poems. Experience a whole-brain approach to writing that opens the door to creativity. Learn how to use valuable writing tools, while being introduced to poets from around the world. Incorporate figurative language, metaphor, pattern and rhythm in the new works. Share poems aloud and practice revision and peer editing. Always remember the words of poet Maya Angela, “A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”
The poetry residency works well for all ages and younger writers in particular are drawn in by a variety of brainstorming techniques such as sketching, list-making, and masks.
Book Arts
Create and design an original book through this introduction to several bookmaking techniques and book arts projects. This residency can stand-alone, or be combined with Poetry: Your Voice as a Kaleidoscope—which would allow newly written work to be put into a handcrafted book. In a poetry & bookmaking combo class, there are many projects to choose from, such as an accordion book in the shape of a house, or a hardcover accordion book constructed with handmade papers from around the world. Create a stick-bound book, or a 3d pop-up creature made from a variety of inspiring materials.
Bookmaking is magical at any age, and a mask-inspired poem in combination with a 3d pop-up monster works wonderfully for grades 2-4.
Fairy Tales
Explore the timeless territory of magic and write a myth-inspired fairy tale. Students record the hair-raising adventures of a main character, who sets out on a magical journey to save a troubled world, and along the way, encounters menacing villains and mystical beings. Students invent their own settings, characters, and plot. This program has been great for grades 4 and up. As an option, Swedish myth, folk beliefs, and mythical figures could be introduced for a culturally specific experience.
Roots: An Exploration of Ancestry
In a curriculum called ROOTS students explore their own cultural heritage through poetry and letter writing. Write an autobiographical poem, create a family tree, recall memorable moments in a timeline, and compose a letter to a future self. Create an accordion book to hold the writing, a memento for years to come. This project works well for grades 4-8.
Art Journaling
Art journaling is a playful, intuitive artform. We use drawing, painting, collage, writing, and doodling as tools of self-expression, and work in pre-made journals, or hardcover accordion books that we make ourselves. To spark the imagination, we look at the work by other artists in artists’ journals from around the world. Single words, clippings, poems and quotes are used as a springboard for the art in our journals.
Artful Aging
Number of sessions and length is customized to program.
Book Arts & Poetry
Create a hardcover accordion book and add a poem or two. Capture a slice of your life in a fun and creative way. The covers of the book will be made using decorative papers from around the world. We will use watercolor paper for the inside pages, a secret door, a pocket, and a folded star page will add ample space for poetry. No previous experience needed.
Poetry
Find your voice. Write poems that sparkle. Learn how to use poetic tools such as metaphor, sensory detail and repetition, while being introduced to poets from around the world. Creative visualization, drawing and brainstorming will be used to generate ideas. We will write recipe poems; a recipe for a good life, poems inspired by your life, and lyric work depicting nature. We will create group poems and individual work full of life. No previous experience needed.
House Book & Poetry
Write a poem and make a book in the shape of a house. We will create accordion folded pages out of sturdy paper to hold your words. The front and back covers are decorated using colorful papers from India. You will be introduced to poetic tools such as figurative language and repetition that will help you write a beautiful poem. Add illustrations and photos and create a memento inspired by your life story.
Card Making
Make a unique greeting card, a cherished gift for someone special. Learn how to make a pop-up card, a card with folds, add a tiny envelope with a secret message. By stitching an extra page into a card, you can turn it into a fun mini-book for more space to play with. Embellish the card using collage, stamping, stickers, and more. As a finishing touch, add a quote or create a personal message, a one-line poem.
Art Journaling
Art journaling is a playful, intuitive artform. We use drawing, painting, collage, writing, and doodling as tools of self-expression, and work in pre-made journals, or hardcover accordion books that we make ourselves. To spark the imagination, we look at the work by other artists in artists’ journals from around the world. Single words, clippings, poems and quotes are used as a springboard for the art in our journals.
Professional Development
Creating Space for Imagination
Learn how to create art-infused curricula. The program can focus on poetry, fairy tale creation, and complementary book arts projects.
“Marie drew students into the poetry writing process easily. She had good examples and brainstorming activities for the students to easily become involved and be able to write a poem each day. She was well prepared and grade level appropriate, and fun and easy to work with.”
Ms. Mach, Meadow
