Jim Martin and Blair Thorson booked the Buttermaker’s House for July 19 to 21, 2024 to display their artwork and perform demonstrations of cottonwood bark carving for the public.
Jim decided he would take the opportunity to present “Stories with a Smile”, introducing and promoting the art of oral storytelling for adults through his affiliation with Storytellingalberta.com which has Chapters throughout Canada. It’s existed for 40 years, is a nonprofit, and its goal is to promote the art of oral storytelling. There’s a chapter in Calgary, in Edmonton, another one in Strathcona, and just recently one was formed in Red Deer.
From Jim’s presentation, which took place over two days, July 20 & 21, 2024:
“And what is a story? Well… It can be anything you want it to be.
“Usually people start with personal stories, things in their life or events that other people might be interested in, and it gives an advantage in that you already know the story. You lived it; so you don’t have to study up on it much.
“It could also be a folktale. There’s a lot of folktales that’ve gone through hundreds of years and the poor ones have been edited out. They’re a great source of stories, and they really give you a message at the end as well.
“You can have an epic story about history; or a poem, which is just a story that rhymes. It could be a song, because songs are a story with music. A story can be anything you like, and you can either write it yourself, or you use an existing one from a book or online. Out of respect for the author, you usually acknowledge the author of the story. And if you’re telling for profit, you should really contact the author and get their permission to tell the story.
“So stories have three elements: The story, the teller, and the audience.
“The story has got to be relevant to the audience; have some meaning for them and be memorable.
“The story teller, if he hasn’t written that story himself or herself, can take that story and manipulate it and make it fit their presentation style. And they present it to the audience.
“The role of the audience is first to be attentive to the teller, because unlike music where there’s lots of noise, if somebody is talking over top of the teller or using cell phones or the like, it really disturbs him. The second roll is to give reactions to the story. A good story teller is always watching the audience to see how they’re reacting. He may find that they aren’t reacting the way he thought they would. So next time he tells the story a bit differently.”
Buttermaker’s House Artist Residency is supported by Red Deer County and Alberta Foundation for the Arts. An award is available to qualified applicants, sponsored by INLNA (Icelandic National League of North America).