Every Picture Tells a Story: The Beginning of PA Wilds Story Starters

Dec 3

When I set up my table at the PA Wilds Annual Award Dinner this past July I was super excited. Not only because of familiar faces and knowing several of the folks receiving awards, but it was also the launch of the PA Wilds Collaborative Series. I had worked with Laughing Owl Press in this pilot program to create PA Wilds branded products and that day was actually my first viewing of all finished designs. What I didn’t expect that day was for one heart-felt comment to spark an idea. A customer picked up a set of postcards featuring my PA Wilds illustrations and said,

“I love these – I’m going to frame them to hang in my baby’s nursery!”

That comment stuck with me — and the memory resurfaced last month during the KTA Keystone Hiking & Outdoor Weekend when a visitor to the PA Wilds bought postcards and told me of plans to frame them. I thought about framed postcards as I drove home and the image of a parent rocking a baby, gazing at the small print of a bear beneath the Kinzua Skywalk, came into my head. Was a bedtime story being inspired? Was the baby being rocked to sleep listening to a whispered, “Once upon a time, there was a curious bear who looked up at the clouds…”

It reminded me of a creative storytelling program called TimeSlips, used in care communities to spark creativity and connection through imagination vs. memory. In the program an image is shared with an individual or small group who is asked open-ended questions to spark imaginative responses to the prompt while they build a collaborative a story together.

My thought process spun-off into forward motion:
What if these postcards — each one a glimpse into the Pennsylvania Wilds — became story starters?

Introducing PA Wilds Stories

Beginning with this first release, I’m creating printable Story Starter prompts inspired by the drawings created for the PA Wilds Collaborative Series and the landscapes of the Wilds.
There will be open-ended questions along with a short prompt to invite families, caregivers, and creative souls to imagine their own PA Wilds tales — no rules, just curiosity, laughter, and storytelling.

The very first Story Starter features one of my favorite postcard images — the black bear and cub in view of the Kinzua Skywalk.

Prompt #1:

It was mid morning on a sunny Sunday and I was enjoying the quiet as I walked. This particular day the rest of my family was visiting with friends and I had decided to venture out to enjoy the sunshine. I had parked along a side road and found myself strolling along under a canopy of trees. I had not seen any cars since beginning my walk, and it was so quiet that I could hear the rustle of leaves as they shifted in the breeze. In the distance I saw a large bird circling overhead.

Being curious, I decided to work my way closer to get a better view of the bird in hopes to discover what kind it was, could it be an eagle? The change in direction lead me across a set of railroad tracks on a road that would lead to the Kinzua Skywalk. I no longer saw the bird in the sky and was considering turning around when suddenly.

Will YOUR story be about a bear cub? A magic feather? or a legendary creature hiding in the bushes?

Download your free Story Starter printable here

Looking Ahead: 6 Wild Weeks of Storytelling

Beginning in January, new Story Starter prompts will be released every week for 6 weeks — each one inspired by a different image from the PA Wilds Collaborative Series Postcard | Greeting Card Sets.

Why It Matters

Storytelling isn’t just for children — stories are for connection.