summer bookies

 Happy 4th y'all! I'll sneak in a post here, as we head outta Dodge tomorrow.

I had the honor of visiting the Stewart Free Library in sweet Corinna, Maine last week. Past miles of hills and strawberry patches, I came to this venerable building from another era.

Warmly welcomed by the Summer Reading program, I shared Seven Days of Daisy. A cute crowd of volunteers helped work the days of the week:

This looks like it would make a very interesting story, "Seven Days of Summer" by Autumn:

Librarian Director, Donna Lambert, shared her cool book of seven days, crafted from a lunch bag, ribbon, and collage. Bravo!

 

I learned a bit about the history of the library, and it's founder, Levi Stewart, pictured below.

It's always a pleasure to discover a library proud of it's heritage. Love the little penny farthing.

This was a rare item: a decorative design made from human hair. Those Victorians, ever crafty.

Thanks, Corinna, for sharing your love of books!

Summer's in full swing, but the urge to make books doesn't go away.  Dear friends, Mary Anne Lloyd and her daughter, Eda, ventured to Peaks Island to make blank sketchbooks this week.

After a picnic on the rocks, we got out supplies and made these, gamely employing some Richard Scarry scraps for good humor.

Now to fill them with drawings, collages, maybe paper souvenirs from our summer travels. We're off to Minneapolis tomorrow for the wedding of our niece, Kirsten Holscher.

Stay cool!

bequeathing books

There's been a harmonic convergence of vintage books coming into my possession lately. Perhaps it's the advent of e-books, or the passing of an era, or the legacies that books can bestow that explain this phenomenon. Nobody wants to just throw away a good book.

Here are some old books that have lovingly exchanged hands recently.

Kirsten Cappy threw a little mid-week frolic at Curious City around a musty box she received from a beloved professor in need of letting go her collection of children's books. Fruit, nuts, and a zesty zin rounded out the occasion.

Mary Anne Lloyd found many treasured favorites from her own childhood.

 

The time tick tocked away as we browsed old and new, such as this surprising take on  Virginia Wolf.

 I went home with this sturdy stack of vintage titles, each one striking a chord in my heart. 

Thank you, Kirsten!

A couple of days later, I traveled to Ossipee Lake in NH to visit my 90-year old Uncle Rolie. He lives down a dirt road, but you can't miss his driveway.

 

I've always enjoyed this owl he painted in the entryway. That's a real squirrel tail sticking out.

He was in a mood to pass on some stuff. He worked as a Commercial Artist in Boston and for many years in the Drafting Department at Western Electric. Maybe no coincidence I have a thing for vintage instruction books, lettering, stock photography.

Awhile ago he gave me his set of books from a correspondence course called "Famous Artists Course" through the Institute of Commercial Art in Westport, CT. Their motto from 1952 still holds true today.

There are 4 volumes of very specific lessons and explicit instructions. I once thought it would be fun to try a few on my students, but have not yet. Copying has kinda gone out of style, but it still has value for practicing technique. 

Here's a sample, with Rolie's drawing on the right. 

Meanwhile, I received from a distant friend, Dan, a batch of goods that belonged to an elderly neighbor. Peg Keenan had no relatives and he couldn't bear to simply toss a certain leather hat box of travel slides and souvenirs. My love of vintage photo albums is well-known to my circle. Yep, this came to the right place.

On the same day, I received my blank sketchbook from the Sketchbook Project. Yay! My chosen theme is Pictures and Descriptions, so it seemed like a natural fit to draw from some of these old photos, which I find captivating.

This is Peg on her Communion Day, I am guessing. 1934.

I'm calling this series Not My Memories. It will be a good exercise in inventing a back story from a few vestiges from another time and place.

Lord knows I have lots of material to work with!

The next day I signed books at the Charlesbridge booth at the New England Products Trade Show in Portland. What fun! I met so many nice folks. The topper was meeting the amazing illustrator/author David McPhail!

What a bounty of bookish wealth that has come my way this week. Now it's back to the classroom, where my students are drawing up a storm.

More to come on that soon!

sketch book project

Today's the deadline for the Sketchbook Project! It's been a fun engagement, and I'm almost sad to see it go.  A recent Snow Day helped, allowing time for natural wonders and drawing. A walk with the dog begins the day, sharpening my powers of observation. Noticed Perry's wheelbarrow ready to cart some powder.

The fresh air invigorates my need to organize. Sharpen every pencil and take stock of my tools.

 

With the MECA semester about to begin, I have class on my mind. Here are some drawings done for the Sketchbook Project during a model session. I usually draw along with my students and did a few of the model, and a few of them. This is Zoe.

Here is Spenser. I realized too late that charcoal pencil, my favorite thing, is too smudgy for this purpose, and I gave in to the mirror shadow that falls on the opposite page.

The paper is really thin and you can see multiple drawings showing through. Here is Bri:

Here is Bret:

Good thing I am not hoping to lecture about drawing, since they are listening to someone else.

Here is Joe, with his Rye character.

Here is Seumas, Austin, and Eric, who visited the illustration class with a character of his own.

It was fitting that I spent the last hours with my sketchbook at Mary Anne's, fine fellow faculty in the illustration department.

Our daughters are sharing a sketchbook. Love this collage by Mary Anne on Eda's door.

Mary Anne's a master of fun lettering, and the cover of her sketchbook says it all.

Her book is filled with funky still lifes of her habitat: objects of affection, studio tools, kitchen utensils, and several lovely cat portraits. Our daughters shared the topic It's Raining Cats and Dogs. Eda mostly drew cats, and Daisy mostly drew dogs. Here's one she did of our mutt, snoozing in her favorite chair.

The girls decorated their cover with silver pens, and here both Mary Anne and Mei find contentment in the project.

The books are shipped off today, as another storm drops new snow. They will be like snowflakes in a massive drift: the rumor is there are 28, 000 sketchbooks! Such is the enormous power of drawing.

Meanwhile, I hope to keep up the practice, without the promise of display. Back to the drawing table!