WORKSHOPS
Inspiring Young Creators Through Art & Storytelling
Festivals Events - Library Workshops - School Visits
Workshop Choices…
1. Full Day Experience
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Up to 4 interactive sessions
Flexibility to mix and match workshops
Perfect for whole-group participation
Includes book signing opportunity
Q&A sessions with students
€500
2. Half-Day Workshop
2-hour in-person session
Single focused workshop
Perfect for individual classes
Hands-on creative activities
Interactive storytelling
€300
3. Virtual Visit
1-hour live digital session
Interactive online workshop
Perfect for remote learning
Screen sharing of illustration process
Live Q&A with students
€200
(Click here if you would like to learn more about these fees which are based on the guidelines from Children’s Books Ireland - an organisation that has twenty-five years of experience in programming and running events for children and adults with an interest in children’s books.)
To Book…
Please send an email to buckleycelina@gmail.com or use the contact form below if you are interested in booking a virtual or in-person event.
Please include:
Details of your school, library or venue
Any dates you have in mind
Number of people in the group
Names of the workshops you are interested in
Contact
WORKSHOP
COLLECTION
1. THE STORY MACHINE
Learn how to build stories that surprise and delight! Mix and match random prompts — “A penguin opens a bakery on the moon!” — to create absurd tales full of twists and giggles.
Focus: Creative writing, humour, and visual storytelling
Age: 6–9
2. THE MONSTER BOOK
Design your own monster characters and bring them to life in a collaborative picture book with pop-ups or flaps. Learn how illustrators use expression, shape, and colour to build character and emotion!
Focus: Character design, book layout, teamwork
Age: 7–10
3. THE QUEST MAP
Create your own illustrated quest map — a lost village, a secret forest, or a world under the sea. Fill it with clues, landmarks, and miniature stories — a blend between poetic landscapes and hidden surprises.
Focus: Composition, storytelling through place, and imagination
Age: 8–11
4. WIMMEL WORLDS
Design a bustling scene filled with tiny characters, jokes, and hidden stories. Inspired by Where’s Wally? and European Wimmelbooks, each child creates a world that rewards slow looking and playful discovery.
Focus: Visual storytelling, detail, narrative layering
Age: 7–11
5. THE SHAPE-SHIFTERS’ STUDIO
One child poses — the rest reimagine them as something new: a crocodile ballet dancer, a fox librarian, a sleepy dragon! Learn how posture, gesture, and exaggeration turn people into characters.
Focus: Character design, observation, humour
Age: 8–11
6. IF I WERE AN ANIMAL…
What if a spider and a fly became best friends, though one might secretly eat the other? In this storytelling and comic-making workshop, children imagine what it would be like to become an animal — or meet one who changes everything. Through drawing and a six-panel comic format, they’ll explore friendship, disguise, and the wild parts of ourselves that peek out when no one’s looking. Expect strange encounters, unexpected endings, and gentle magic.
Focus: Visual storytelling, empathy, character transformation, and comic composition
Age: 7–11
7. THE SALMON OF KNOWLEDGE
Dive into Irish mythology and create luminous artworks inspired by this legendary tale. Explore visual symbols, patterns, and colour to tell ancient stories in modern ways.
Focus: Cultural storytelling, illustration, myth
Age: 6–9
8. COLLAGE A WORLD
Use paper, and found materials to build textured landscapes — real or imagined. Explore how layers, colour, and shape create atmosphere and emotion.
Focus: Composition, mixed media, mood in art
Age: 7–10
9. DRAW WHAT YOU SEE
Learn to draw from observation, (a skill that has had a life changing impact on Celina’s artistic career) — and notice details you never saw before. Use professional illustrator techniques to turn everyday scenes into art.
Focus: Observation, drawing technique, mindfulness
Age: 9–11
10. YOUR IDEA HERE
Got a theme or story you’d love to explore? Celina can tailor a workshop just for your group — from nature storytelling to collaborative bookmaking adventures.
Testimonials:
“My P1 class (aged 6 -7 years) attended Celina‘s Book Cover Designing workshop and absolutely loved it. Celina demonstrated her own work and showed examples of book covers to get the children thinking before they set about creating a title and cover of their own. She suggested a variety of styles and techniques that they could use and she took the time to walk around and speak personally to the children as they worked, lending a helping hand where necessary. She was really encouraging and inspirational. The children had a really fun and relaxing afternoon and they all left with lovely book covers to take home. I would highly recommend this workshop.”
- Patricia Kenny, European School Frankfurt