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Dec 08, 2009
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Ted Harrison returns in 'Painting Paradise'
'A Northern Alphabet' was inspired while Harrison was =
teaching=20
Cree and Chipewyan children in Alberta=E2=80=99s North during the =
=E2=80=9860s
December 7, 2009 - (Edmonton) "'A' is for Alex who lives in the = Arctic and=20 wears an anorak. 'M' is for Mary who runs by a moose munching in the = muskeg."=20
And if you ask his biographer, M is also for the magic of University = of=20 Alberta education alumnus Ted Harrison.
"Ted Harrison's impact in Canada and around the world is colourful = and deep,"=20 said Katherine Gibson, also a U of A education alum, who has spent the = past four=20 years researching Harrison's life, including traveling to his birth town = in=20 County Durham, England, and retracing his path in the Yukon.
"As a teacher, he did more than work in the classroom. He changed = lives," she=20 said.
Both Gibson and Harrison will be in Edmonton Wednesday to share the = launch of=20 the new biography Ted Harrison: Painting Paradise and to = celebrate his=20 recent gift of 26 original paintings to the children of Alberta. An = exhibition,=20 A Northern Alphabet, at the Royal Alberta Museum commemorates the = artist's first exhibition in Edmonton 40 years ago.
Harrison donated these paintings to the U of A Art Collection in the = name of=20 the children of Alberta, for whom the paintings and the alphabet book = were=20 created. First inspired while Harrison was teaching Cree and Chipewyan = children=20 in Alberta's North during the '60s, A Northern Alphabet includes = letters=20 accompanied by vivid paintings depicting animals, objects or scenes = native to=20 that area.
"At that time, the learning materials had little relevance for = children in=20 the northern Alberta community of Wabasca," said Gibson, who weaves = anecdotes=20 from Harrison throughout the biography.
"The world of May Hill Arbuthnot's Dick and Jane is heavy = going," says=20 Harrison in the book. "Spot cannot even haul a sled.
"Ted adapted Dick and Jane to reflect the life experiences of = his=20 students, and in doing so, took an auspicious step toward a destiny he = could not=20 have predicted," said Gibson, who hails Harrison for having a special = gift of=20 reaching out to those seemingly unreachable, like troubled 15-year old = Adam=20 Rogers who was in Harrison's art class during the '70s in Whitehorse. =
"Adam, who would often show up to class in a Darth Vader mask, tested = Ted's=20 patience beyond what other teachers would tolerate. But Ted's = sensitivity and=20 humour helped propel the floundering youth into a remarkable life," said = Gibson.
Rogers was inspired by Harrison's vivid stories of adventure so much = so that=20 he travelled around the world on a motorcycle for five years and then = went on to=20 earn three degrees. Now living in Switzerland, Rogers is the strategic=20 communications adviser for the Geneva liaison office of the United = Nations=20 Development Program, said Gibson.
"Mr. Harrison's stories kept me in class. He told us about jungles = he'd=20 explored, mountains he'd climbed and about languages, people, cultures = and, best=20 of all, his escapades on motorcycles. Through him, I saw life, promise = and=20 potential beyond the Yukon," says Rogers in Ted Harrison: Painting=20 Paradise.
"What I've learned most through writing Ted's biography is that what = we do as=20 teachers isn't just about the classroom. It's about inspiring lives," = said=20 Gibson.
"The world he paints does not reflect life's bumps and bruises, but = portrays=20 optimism, purity and the elemental values of goodness and compassion. I = believe=20 this is why Ted Harrison was given to us. He is the gift.
"He is the magic."
Harrison was the first Canadian to exhibit at the prestigious = International=20 Children's Book Exhibition in Bologna, Italy, in 1978. He holds the = Order of=20 Canada, the Order of British Columbia and four honorary doctorate = degrees.
Friends and fans of Ted Harrison are invited to the Royal Alberta = Museum to=20 view A Northern Alphabet, an exhibition of 26 works he created = for his=20 children's book of the same name. The exhibit open through to Feb. 16, = 2010, is=20 created through collaboration with the University of Alberta's Faculty = of=20 Education and the University of Alberta Museums.
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