School Visits

Putting the A in STEM

Posted by on Nov 5, 2018 in Book: Ana and the Sea Star, Book: Here Come the Humpbacks, Book: Island Birthday, Book: Porcupine's Promenade, Book: Rickshaw Girl, Book: Tiger Boy, Book: Warmer World, Children's Book Illustration, Drawing, School Visits | 5 comments

I was invited to be a volunteer exhibitor at the 5th Annual STEM Expo sponsored by Portland Public Schools and Envirologix last Friday. Since many of my children’s books are nature-themed, I brought my collection of nature objects and some life-like toy models for nature studies with students. The event was held at USM’s Sullivan Gymnasium, and it was like a trade show for careers in science. Over 50 exhibitors, ranging from ecomaine to Maine Total Weather to Engineers Without Borders to IDEXX Labs to the Electro Toy Company drew busloads of local students along with displays...

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Charm City History

Posted by on Aug 30, 2018 in Drawing, School Visits, Travels | 2 comments

A week ago today we drove our island girl back to Baltimore. Last glimpse of Fort Gorges for awhile. After the traditional stop at Holy Donuts for road fuel, we made it to St. James Court in about 9.5 hours. Whew! It was looking very Ivy League outside her bedroom window. Marty and I checked in at Hotel Revival. We stayed here in it’s previous incarnation when we brought Daisy to begin freshman year. It seems like the blink of an eye, but this is SENIOR YEAR. Yup. The hotel had closed the last two years for a major facelift under new ownership. We delighted in the contemporary art...

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Baltimore beauty

Posted by on Apr 20, 2018 in Fashion Illustration, School Visits, Travels | 8 comments

We flew down to Baltimore last week for a delicious dose of our daughter and a shot in the arm of spring. We picked her up at Maryland Institute College of Art and caught up at Tapas Teatro. Our gregarious server, Seth, made us feel welcome and ready to roll. The magnolias are in bloom there! We make the Paper Moon Diner a regular stop, for the milkshakes and the ambiance of over-the-top assemblage. A tribe of sculptures protects the premises, adorned with cutlery, creamers, and coins. I sketched one of them after we got home. Next we went in search of Joyce Scott’s show, Still...

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Pub Day for Ana and the Sea Star!

Posted by on Nov 7, 2017 in Book: Ana and the Sea Star, Children's Book Illustration, Illustration, Publisher: Tilbury House, School Visits | 6 comments

Finally, today is THE DAY!!! My twelfth book is real. Ana and the Sea Star by R. Lynne Roelfs is published! It is a small miracle when ideas manifest into a real book. When I first read the manuscript in July of 2016, it felt authentic, the story of finding a starfish. My photo below is evidence of that time a sea star washed into a Peaks Island tide pool a summer ago, and was gently placed back in the ocean. First I sketched out a rough storyboard, deciding what to show, the flow of the visuals, and varying points of view. I contacted some island neighbors to model for me. The lovely Schuit...

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Story & Craft

Posted by on Aug 11, 2017 in Book: Here Come the Humpbacks, Book: Porcupine's Promenade, Book: Seven Days of Daisy, Children's Book Illustration, Drawing, Illustration, Illustration Institute, Peaks Island, Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing, School Visits | 1 comment

This summer my cup runneth over with kidlit elixirs. I was pleased as punch to share in one of Pat Crowley Rockwell’s Story and Craft adventures at the Peaks Island library. She is an esteemed educator, the Assistant Principal at King Middle School, and a passionate advocate of children’s books and reading to kids. She featured A Porcupine’s Promenade by Lyn Smith, how could I not join in? After she read the story, I shared my little pencil dummy and showed one of the original drawings. Kids like to touch the rough sanded paper I use for my pastels. Plus, Pat’s...

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100 days smarter

Posted by on Feb 23, 2017 in Book: Porcupine's Promenade, Children's Book Illustration, Drawing, Illustration, Pastels, School Visits | 4 comments

Last week I had the good fortune to visit another stellar school: Kennebunkport Consolidated School. Author Lyn Smith and I received a warm welcome from first grade teachers and set up in Mrs. Roberts’ room. There was evidence all over the place that students here are on the ball. I need one of these oversize pencils as a prop, since I’m always talking about keeping our eyes and pencils sharp. We attended the Friday morning assembly, where I spied this ingenious banner in the hall. The entire school was celebrating the first 100 days of learning. After the pledge, the school...

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