Kids learn art of stories at Tom Peyton festival

Art is not just the paintings and sculptures on display at the Tom Peyton Memorial Arts Festival this week.

That is what Allyson Marlowe and Martha Crenshaw wanted to teach kids who came to the festival's annual children's day.

"We want to show a different side of art," said Marlowe who planned the free event with Crenshaw.

The juried art show at the First United Methodist Church of Alexandria started 49 years ago, and the children's portion followed soon after. In past years, illustrators and theatre groups have visited to talk about what they do.

This year, the art of stories was the focus.

On Saturday, the kid's program welcomed Joe Bluhm, co-illustrator of "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore," a New York Time's best-seller adapted from the Academy Award-wining short film by the same name.

Kids who came received a free copy of the book so they could read along during a story time with Bluhm. Afterward, the film played, and Bluhm explained why they decided to turn it into a book as well.

"We like to explore all of the different ways to tell stories," he told the room of about 30 children.

Bluhm is the head of the art department at Moonbot Studios in Shreveport, which was founded by award-winning artist and storyteller William Joyce, while producing the animated short film "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore." The book was released shortly after.

Bluhm asked everyone if they had heard the title before, and a few hands shot up.

Then, he asked if anyone had watched "Rolie Polie Olie" on Disney Channel or Dreamwork's "Rise of the Guardians."

More hands.

Both were ideas of Joyce before he decided to start his own studio.

Joyce, Bluhm and others from the studio travel — as time allows — to talk about their work at festivals and libraries.

"It's something we love," Bluhm said. "And we just want others to love it as much as we do."

Bluhm explained to the young audience that "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore," both the film and the book, are about a man who gives his life to books and helping people find their stories.

He said Moonbot Studios wanted to express how important the art of storytelling is there in its first production.

Marlowe said she hoped hearing from Bluhm would open up children's eyes to see movies and illustration as another avenue of art they could pursue one day.

"I think they enjoyed the stories," she said.

Gracie Murphy, 5, walked away saying she wanted to "write books and draw the pictures too."

She noticed something too about the characters who read books in Mr. Lessmore's world.

"They looked happy," she said.