happy new year

 

I'm very fond of the Chinese New Year. As a former resident of San Francisco, I relate to all the Asian wisdom and ritual around new beginnings. And, it's nice to have another fresh start, since the calendar new year seems to come too close behind the holidays for a truly clean slate.

However, I am NOT fond of snakes. In fact, I am totally phobic! I repurposed my illustration of a snake from Nest, Nook & Cranny by Susan Blackaby for a New Year's card for my SF neighbor, Frank Ching. I guess the snake is all about transforming with ease, so I will embrace my fears, shriek some, and carry on.

The week began with a Maine meet-up of area members of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. I knew I was in the right place when this door handle greeted me at the entrance to Bull Feeney's in Portland.

It was a lively gathering of writers and illustrators hearty enough to brave the enormous snowbanks.

On Tuesday I made a presentation at the Curtis Library in Brunswick, alongside author Robin Hansen, telling our yarnish tales of making Ice Harbor Mittens. 

If you can judge a library by it's art collection, the Curtis is chock full. Found this cool creation hanging:

From there, we ventured to the Peary-MacMillen Artic Museum at Bowdoin College nearby, where an inspiring exhibit of Inuit art from the collection of Rabbi Harry Sky blew me away.

Several sculptures are carved from whale bone, such as this voluptuous polar bear.

The show is nearly over. So glad I caught a look in time! They have a cool family event planned for February 23, with toy and puppet-making at 10 AM. Maybe I can disguise myself as a musk ox.

Valentine's Day proved incredibly SWEET. I brought my MECA class to visit the studio of award-winning author/illustrator Kevin Hawkes, who graciously shared his college portfolio, works in progress, and boundless humor.

Here's a sketch he refers to while keeping a character's markings consistent in the final illustrations for a current project.

He showed us several personal paintings, such as this one of a former Peaks Island neighbor hauling in his boat.

I met Kevin when we first moved to Peaks Island and always marveled at his prolific capacity to do amazing work amidst a bustling family. The Hawkes clan left for the mainland many years ago, but his influence has carried me far and wide. Now I'm illustrating children's books, too, and proud to be mentored by him. Here we are with my latest, Here Come the Humpbacks!

Thanks, Kevin, for sharing your professional wisdom with us!

The day only got sweeter, when I met my cupid, Marty, for lunch at the Blue Spoon. Intimate and delicious, this place never disappoints. I wisely skipped dessert, because I was later surprised with an amazing plate of treats crafted by Marty. Who knew he was such a pastry chef?

I hope you're all off to an auspicious new year. We head to Boston today for new scenes, visits, some art, and more great food.

Happy trails!

plunge into the new

2013 is off to a brave and busy beginning, full of stories, students, and creatures with white fur.

Charlesbridge donated a stack of books for the Natural Resources Council of Maine's Polar Dip and Dash on the last day of 2012. Sunny but cold, it was a glorious day to sign books about climate change for the top ten kid winners.

There was a great crowd, including a polar bear looking a bit out of his element, a fitting metaphor for the whole deal.

 

Wait, what's the bride doing here? Oh, it's Beth Dimond, Public Affairs Coordinator for the NRCM, who decided to take the plunge with her entire wedding party before taking the plunge at the altar.

Talk about prenups!

She was kind enough to take this photo of me awaiting the dipping action. Notice I am not in MY bathing suit.

Great spectator event, truly. Here the crowd gathers, those in clothing feeling smart, and those dipping bracing for the water.

 

The event itself is, of course, brief. Wedding dippers in the foreground below:

 

I sponsored my neighborhood polar bear family, Jeanne Gulnick and her husband Mark Green (both professors at St. Joseph's College) and their brave kids, Jonah and Lilah. I shiver just looking at them. Bravo for raising money to combat climate change.

A couple of days later, I encountered more brave kids at King Middle School. I was one of 9 guest artists visiting for their annual World Culture kick-off, an expedition involving making art inspired by a French or Spanish artist. Students begin by interviewing local artists about how culture influences their work, and other pertinent details about being an artist. I always bring pastels, since materials are a major aspect of my approach.

This student made a fast and furious drawing, unafraid to get green dust all over.

Wow, sweet rewards for artists.... Holy Donuts!

I also showed students my current Sketchbook Project, in which I'm drawing my favorite shops around Portland. My own superhero/donut dunker modeled for me. Look, up in the sky!

Over the weekend, I finally saw a performance of the Peaks Island Puppets. I felt like a kid again, totally transported.  My neighbor Stephanie Eliot shines with exuberance and David Handwerker is

sly and silly. Julie Goell made all the puppets and props, and wrote the comical telling of Solomon and Ashmedai. I brought home the materials to make my own. Cool.

I headed back into another school on Monday, Casco Bay High, to help kick-off their week-long intensive on self-publishing. Shared selections from my zine collection and lugged my vintage typewriter.

Meanwhile, I'm sketching away. Everything seems to be a source of inspiration. 

Stopped in at Longfellow Books to see the latest window installation, this one by Gaella Materne, awesome illustration senior at Maine College of Art. She recreated in 3 dimensions the book cover of my neighbor Eleanor Morse's new book, White Dog Fell from the Sky.

Eleanor also posed for me for my sketchbook.

Eleanor will be reading and signing this Friday at Longfellow Books at 6:30. I'll be one of the first in what will be a long line for this amazing book. Come join me!

lighting the season

This past week has been a heavy one. I walked the dog this morning past the island church to hear the bells toll for the Sandy Hook tragedy. There's talk about new angels in heaven, but that no doubt brings cold comfort to grieving families. Here is an angel drawn years ago. We can all use some heavenly peace.

The best I can do is be alive to my countless blessings. I noticed beauty in many forms on an early morning walk, heading to Maine College of Art for my final day of the semester.

These polar bears painted on the window at Company C make me smile.

I love how the winter light is barely breaking over the brick buildings in the Old Port.

Maine College of Art is draped in glitter.

Back on the island, the annual ritual of stringing lights on Pheobe's tree became inspiration for Marty. Here's his card:

This little tree lights our season.

May you find some light on this longest night. Merry Solstice!

autumn attitude

So what does an illustrator do between deadlines? Celebrate!

I started with birthday cake for breakfast, before it was light out. Icing and coffee: so good together.

Getting cool cards like this one from Marty is always a gift.

And to get tickets to a Cirque du Soleil performance, whew.  My daughter and I were thrilled!

C'est tres bien to share a birthday with a soul sistah like Nicole d'Entremont, neighbor, friend, author, and teacher. Here we are wishing big things. Thanks, Eleanor Morse, for hosting!

I cured my hankering for mountains with a visit to the motherland of orange trees.

The Flume is nothing short of spectacular. Have you ever been? It's a favorite spot of mine since childhood. All that granite is very grounding.

 

 I swooned with nostalgia in the Visitor Center, chock full of Old Man memorabilia.

A stop at Indian Head brought me back, scene of my days as a waitress in school. Daisy liked the teepee.

Yet the biggest surprise was waiting upon return. Hooray! My advance copies of Here Come the Humpbacks!

 

This non-fiction picture book about the journey of a humpback and her calf will be out Feb. 1, 2013.

Meanwhile, I've been working up this little zine for mailing. 

Let me know if you want one. I'm going back to celebrating my autumn attitude. 

This quote by L.M. Montgomery, a Canadian author best known for a series of novels beginning with Anne of Green Gables, says it all:

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."

october fest

October is my birth month, so the opal in my soul shines a little brighter these days. I received a fantastic surprise via Caroline Arnold, author of A Warmer World: my first book trailer!



One luxury is being between deadlines, and having time to enjoy the busy scene in Portland.
Marty and I attended the preview opening for Elegant Enigmas: The Art of Edward Gorey at the Portland Public Library.

Kudos to Scott Nash, who found the sponsors to bring this incredible show to town. Here he recites a few of his favorite Gorey rhymes.

It was a delighted crowd, and one filled with familiar faces, including former students and MECA folks.

I brought my current MECA class a few days later, who marveled at Gorey's fine line work, his meticulous craft of hatching limitless shades of tonality, and absurd characters in morbid settings.
The exhibit includes sketchbooks, unfinished and unpublished drawings, decorated letters, miniature books, handmade character toys, and a bounty of illustrations from Gorey's eccentric oeuvre. SEE IT.

 

The cool thing is the Gorey Shop, where I bought myself his paper theater of Dracula!

It made me wonder if Anita Stewart, artistic director at Portland Stage, has this much fun creating sets.

We saw The Sisters Rosensweig at last! As always, the set is divine. Makes you want to move on stage with all of them.

I laughed at the life imitates art poster in the lobby:

 

I read the script months ago, well before casting. Each actor completely inhabits their character, especially Carole Healey, who plays Gorgeous with total guts. Loved her! The production is fantastic. A complex story with dips of drama and hilarious comedy, it's flawlessly paced by the large cast.

All these invented worlds give me goosebumps. And inspiration. Now to tackle my personal projects, waiting so patiently for that "between deadline" time...

poster process

I just spotted my marketing visual for Portland Stage Company in print, so now I can spill about what fun I had illustrating it.

By Wendy Wasserstein, The Sisters Rosensweig, is an award-winning play, a funny family drama about three Jewish-American sisters who gather in London for the birthday of the eldest. There's great dialogue, dishing, and reckoning about love and choices each have made. After reading the script, I made about 14 rough thumbnail sketches to show Carole Harris, marketing director extraordinaire. These are loose and quick, and 3 that led to the final image:

The one above got the green light, to refine in that direction. From here, I needed models. I called three of my neighbors who fit the age categories and asked them to mimic my sketch, sort of.

Thanks to Christine, Kathryn, and Maria Grace! Now I need to gather them again, this time WITH actual wine and cake. You can see I worked from both photos, plus one of mine from our trip to London in April.

Before any drawing, I created a color pastel environment, to set the mood more than for realism. I wanted the warm colors to wrap around the sisters, a metaphor for what binds them.

I make my final drawing on tracing paper, then retrace it on the reverse side in charcoal. Then I rub the line drawing (with red color pencil) so a shadow is left on the pastel paper. Old-fashioned carbon paper, yes.

By the time I draw the final illustration, I know it pretty well, having drawn it multiple times, each time a little different.

Here is the final drawing, with my reference for Big Ben on the side.

I leave lots of room for "bleed" or extra area that allows for various crops, to fit the wide variety of marketing formats used by Portland Stage.

The script calls for a list of props, among them a chintz sofa. I wanted to add a chintz pattern to the illustration. Peonies were in bloom back when I worked on this. They drove me to considerable distraction.

Here's the drawing that became my pattern.

At this point, my better half, Marty, showed me the technique for doing this in Photoshop. Always nice to learn new digital tricks.

And voila, final illustration. I added the hand-lettering of the title, playwright, and dates on another layer in Photoshop, sending it all to the designer, Secret Weapon Karen Lybrand, to use in countless ways.

I am eager to see the production, as Portland Stage never disappoints!