Meeting my hero(ine), Melissa Sweet

So, I had a great weekend going to see Melissa Sweet's studio sale last Saturday. At first I was going to go, then I couldn't find (decently priced) lodging, then at the 11th hour I found lodging so whoopee, I was going!

I hadn't been up the coast of Maine in a while, so it was a real treat to see the ocean, trees and rural sights. The Rockport/Camden area is gorgeous and if it weren't for the endless winters I'd be living there right now. (Still thinking there's a way around all that snow... 2 months somewhere south perhaps).

Anyway, the venue, Union Hall was a lovely historic brick building with wood floors and to-die-for views of the harbor. My kids and husband went for a walk to the harbor while I perused the art and got up the nerve to speak to Melissa. I shouldn't have feared anything, because she's so down-to-earth nice. It felt like I had known her in a previous life/on another planet kind-of-thing.

I bought some art, a book and a special "Floating Fairy" which will serve as a mascot in my now cramped, but someday-to-be-expanded studio.

I'm still pinching myself on the whole experience!

Three books, three friends

I am fortunate to know three people in the kidlit world who have been published in the last few months. My friend Brook Gideon just got her illustrations published in Azalea Unschooled by Liz Kleinman. The folks at Islandport Press loved her whimsical watercolors and asked her to illustrate this chapter book. Looks great!

My other RISD art buddy, Walter Silva, is one of the featured artists in The Big Book of Mod Podge. Several of his decoupage projects are in the book. Walter took illustration classes with us at RISD and has an Etsy shop for all the great decor items he's created.

Also having a publishing "birthday" is Josh Funk, the leader of our picture book critique group at the Writer's Loft in Sherborn. Josh has several books in the pipeline. The one just published is Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast, a whimsical rhyming journey of two breakfast treats as they fight for the last drop of maple syrup.

 All three of these people are dedicated to their craft, be it writing and/or illustrating. They have all given me hours of helpful feedback on writing and art. And they are nice people as well! I'm proud to say I know them....check out their work!

NESCBWI conference 2015

So much to say, where to begin?
I had a great time at the conference this year, learning new things, meeting new people, seeing familiar faces and great artwork.
This time around, I took workshops in both illustration and writing for picture books. It made for a more well-rounded experience for me. Also, I got to hear about the creation of I Don't Like Koala, which I saw first-hand at work the following Tuesday. Very synchronicity-like or something of that nature.
It wasn't a perfect event, I managed to leave the map light on in my car, hence draining the battery. And I didn't get a critique on my illustration at First Look. Oh, well...But I went with the expectation of learning and enjoying and I definitely did both of those things.
All the speakers (that I happened to hear) were great. Dan Santat, Kwame Alexander and Marv Terban were full of personality, vitality and pearls of wisdom. Though I only heard the last 20 minutes of her speech, Jo Knowles was very touching and had me choking up.
Now, I just need to put those inspirational words into action and get a dummy created/sent out!
Here's my submission for the Illustration Challenge this year with some in-progress shots as well:

Initial stages of "Don't worry I fixed it."

Alien and pet character study

Pencil rough

Finished piece

William Steig

 I’m just discovering William Steig. I didn’t read his books when I was a kid, because his books didn't gain popularity until the 70's. All I knew about him was that he wrote “Shrek”. But there’s definitely more to him than that.

Two favorites of mine are "Spinky Sulks" and "Doctor DeSoto".

In "Spinky Sulks", he really captures the essence of a kid who feels the world is slighting him and decides to withdraw. I’ve read that some people don’t like the book because Spinky’s family bends over backwards to placate him. But hey, this is real life. Also, I think writers sometimes want to paint a picture of children at their best and we all know that isn’t childhood. As if to satisfy the readers who are annoyed, the ending has a rewarding (but not forced) conclusion.

In "Doctor DeSoto", I love the world that Steig creates: this dental practice belonging to the mouse DeSoto and his wife/assistant. Doctor DeSoto wants to help others, but he’s confronted with the fox who poses a threat to the dentist, yet needs his tooth extracted. I just love the soul searching, yet whimsical tone of the book. In the end, the fox is helped but the Doctor and his wife are safe from being eaten.

There’s something that reminds me of Roald Dahl with Steig. He admits that children have bad days, and that there’s whimsy and also danger in the world but things can be worked out. It’s something to aspire to as a writer (and illustrator).

Interesting facts about Steig: he didn’t start writing kids books until he was in his 60’s, he never graduated from college, and he was good at water polo.

There’s a great obit on Steig from the New Yorker that seems to distill his essence:

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/10/20/william-steig

Another factoid about Steig: he hated public speaking. Here’s a letter he wrote after receiving the Caldecott in 1970 for “Sylvester and the Magic Pebble”:

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/06/id-rather-die-than-formally-address.html

NESCBWI 2015 Spring Conference

Well, I done did it. Signed up for the conference this year after an art drought, which is still lingering but nonetheless, I'm dragging myself through it.

It's exciting to think about the Illustration Challenge, networking with kidlit folks and learning new things. Not to mention a two-day getaway. Can't remember the last time I used my suitcase (okay, no need to pull out the hankies yet...).

This year will be a little different in that I have my foot in two camps: as illustrator and writer. Having gone to the Writer's Loft a few times, I am slowly learning to carve out stories. This is not to say I know what I am doing, but I am starting down the road. Nor have I abandoned the illustration world, but I am looking at it (and myself) with different eyes. It ought to be interesting.

PiBoIdMo 2014

Back again after a major hiatus. The impetus for this post involves the completion of PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) 2014, an annual online event organized by the amazing Tara Lazar.
This year I came up with 71 ideas, one third of which are probably tossable. A handful however, are actual candidates for books. For 2015, my goal is to complete at least one of these ideas in the form of a manuscript and possibly a dummy. I am debating about whether to do 12 x 12 (12 PB manuscripts in a year) run by Julie Hedlund. This is a large order for me, but after having done three PiBoIdMo's in a row, there must be enough material there to complete the challenge. (Or sink a boat....)

Once again, I've discovered that my writing style leans toward making lists. Maybe this satisfies my research tendencies. Looking up goofy words or discovering lingo from a sport I'm not 100% familiar with is a fun task for me. This year however, I incorporated more scribbling and proto-dummy stuff that I didn't give myself permission to do in the previous years. Why a newbie illustrator needs permission to draw is a topic for later discussion!

Anyway, thank you Tara Lazar for organizing this whole affair. The planning, managing and cheerleading of this event boggles my mind!

Maira Kalman and Mary Blair

I recently read “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Everything” by Maira Kalman. It’s basically a short picture book biography of Thomas Jefferson, but with Maira’s wonderful paintings and focus on unique details. This made me wonder, what else has Maira been up to? So I checked out her book, “The Principles of Uncertainty.” This is a great book, based on a column she did by the same name for the New Yorker. It’s essentially a journal and not really a children’s book. With Maira, however, her children’s books have an air of sophistication and her adult books are kooky so it all blends together ultimately.

I remember having read a few of Maira’s children’s books before (The Max series: “Ooh-la-la” etc) but not really liking them that much. Sure, she had a few quirky illustrations, but a lot of it didn’t hang together for me. Her book from 2003, “What Pete Ate from A to Z” I remember as being more cohesive (because it had a format: the alphabet?) Anyway, her artwork has, for me, now reached an amazing level!

Coincidentally, I was flipping through "Mary Blair Treasury of Golden Books" and was almost as jazzed-up about her work. I kept thinking , how could I like and be inspired by two artists that are so different? But alas, dear Sherlock, they're not that different. Both of them exude joy and slight zaniness (Maira a bit more perhaps). Also, their color choices are out of this world. Look at the skin tones and lack of blending on Maira's people and the odd color choices for objects (moons, trees etc.) with Mary. Both women, separated by decades and backgrounds have a similar zest for life. 

How inspiring!

In tribute, I thought I’d paint a portrait of Mary Blair if Maira Kalman were to do it. 

An exercise, hopefully not in futility!

Here's a bonus: Maira Kalman giving a TED talk.