This past Sunday my awesome town library held a reception for local authors and children's book illustrators. Our library houses a permanent collection of books by people from the area-- there are over 90 of us both past and present-- and they do a bang-up job supporting the arts.
I overcame my inner social-dork long enough to chat with people whose work I greatly admire-- illustrators Paul Meisel and Ross MacDonald, and poet Patricia Hubbell, among others. It was fun to talk shop for a bit, and I must say that I don't think I've ever met a not-nice person in this field. Maybe it's a prerequisite.
So here's the deal: wherever you live, support your local library! It's a rich resource that's available to everyone.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Stuck Again?
Keep your hand moving. That's what Lynda Barry advocates in her book, What It Is.
If you're writing and don't know what to say next, write out the alphabet. Keep your hand moving. Eventually the words will flow.
This works for drawing, as well.
I like to get up around 5:00am when the morning is silent, with a cup of coffee in hand. I read, or write, or draw. It's usually a creative time.
This morning my mind was blank.
But hey-- here's a ball point pen! And a scrap of paper! And look, there's a salt shaker!
And a pepper grinder!
I started drawing.
Boring sketches? Yeah! But who cared what they looked like? My hand was moving.
After a short break to shower and get the kids off to school I went back to writing. It turned out to be a productive brainstorming morning.
(And by the way, I highly recommend Lynda's book. It's a wild combination of graphic novel, memoir, and writing/creativity instruction-- very inspiring!)
If you're writing and don't know what to say next, write out the alphabet. Keep your hand moving. Eventually the words will flow.
This works for drawing, as well.
I like to get up around 5:00am when the morning is silent, with a cup of coffee in hand. I read, or write, or draw. It's usually a creative time.
This morning my mind was blank.
But hey-- here's a ball point pen! And a scrap of paper! And look, there's a salt shaker!
And a pepper grinder!
I started drawing.
Boring sketches? Yeah! But who cared what they looked like? My hand was moving.
After a short break to shower and get the kids off to school I went back to writing. It turned out to be a productive brainstorming morning.
(And by the way, I highly recommend Lynda's book. It's a wild combination of graphic novel, memoir, and writing/creativity instruction-- very inspiring!)
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Yeah, I Know. More Flowers...
... but winter is long so I'm reveling in spring, rainy though it may be. This picture doesn't do justice to the roses. They bloom for such a short while. This was during a rare moment of sun yesterday afternoon:
And this lady was in the backyard three mornings in a row last week laying her eggs, before she wandered back into the pond:
And this lady was in the backyard three mornings in a row last week laying her eggs, before she wandered back into the pond:
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Monday Map: A Garden. And Rain
Friday, June 12, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Book Map-in-Progress
Even though it's not necessary to read the manuscript before working on a book map, I love it when the editor sends the text along. I read it if I have the time, but always at least skim it, to get a "feel" for the map, and to look for ideas for spot illustrations that might add a special touch.
This map will have a lot of lettering and not much room for spots, so I'm thinking I'll play around with a decorative border...
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Floral Interlude
A busy day today, working on map sketches and reading manuscripts for my writing group tomorrow. It's our last meeting before summer break and we always have a delicious luncheon. (I'm on the Frittata. Yum!) Hope to do some sketching, too.
Lots of rain and thunder around here this morning! Good for the flowers.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Monday Map: Cool New Project!
No map art to show this morning, other than material for a cool new project-- a map of the Oregon Trail for Kimberly Willis Holt's upcoming novel! (Here's a list of her fabulous books, and she also blogs, here.) I'm trying to restrain myself from using too many exclamation points in this post, but oh, what the heck!! I'm excited!!!
I'll post more as I get farther along with sketches.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
Monday Map: Murfreesboro
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