Wrapping it Up

The last few weeks have seen the finishing of some things. Finished PiBoIdMo for 2015. Good to have some more ideas added to the roster. Some are worth pursuing. Others, well...let's just let them stew in their own juices so to speak.

I also finished the Tomie de Paola project. Got lots of good feedback from my fellow artists. Glad I completed it, though it was close this year. Had some struggles figuring out the color scheme and what I wanted the style to be. (This is ongoing, no surprise there). I don't seem to have a huge problem with composition or creating the characters, it's just getting the final look that sends me over the edge. At any rate, the important thing is to complete it and just keep on completing things (manuscripts, art projects etc) regardless of whether or not the final is what you imagined. I'm hoping that the more this is done, the less it feels like pulling teeth. The ultimate goal of course, is to someday get paid for this obsession. Meanwhile I just keep reading those picture books, getting projects done and brainstorming, doodling.

Tomie de Paola project: Little Red Riding Hood

November...yikes!

Once again, I'm participating in PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) hosted by the indefatigable Tara Lazar. This is possibly my fourth year, but hey, who's counting? I look forward to daily posts of wisdom (some by people I know, such as Josh Funk) and of course, prize giveaways. But prize winning or no, the biggest prize of the event is just allowing myself the month of November to dive into the zaniness that is picture books. Just saying "It's okay, let the dust bunnies fly. Write and doodle more. That's what matters." is a breath of fresh air. Somehow it's more permissible when hundreds of others are doing the same thing. Kind of a boycott of adulthood (within reason, wink and nod). November is my "Let it flow" month. Sometimes it flows, sometimes it doesn't but at least I tried!

In addition to that event, there's the annual SCBWI Tomie dePaola contest. So picture book folks who write and illustrate have a lot on their plates in the month of November. I took a couple of years off from this contest, but thought I'd sharpen my pencil once again and jump in.

Not to mention all the other local events going on before the end of the year: Mary Blair exhibit at the Eric Carle, Illustrator exhibit and auction for the Bacon Free Library in Natick, and the Children's Book Tree exhibit at the Concord Family Museum. I think my head might explode!