boston blast
The whales have made their journey to Charlesbridge at last. If I didn’t deliver my illustrations for Here Come the Humpbacks a minute sooner, I might still be obsessively redrawing them all. There wasn’t even time for me to lay them all out together until I arrived at their offices. I’m proud of these! I have the dusty blue sneakers to show for it, too. I wasn’t at the publisher long enough to take off my coat. But I sported my whale t-shirt by Miles to Go with pride. With business complete, we visited my nephew, Garrett, who graciously gave us his two cent tour of...
Read Morethar she blows
I am feverishly fussing over the last touches on my illustrations for Here Come the Humpbacks by April Pulley Sayre. Above is a detail, since the art’s all too large for my scanner. Here’s a humpback spouting, just as I’ve been blowing blue dust all over my studio for weeks (cough, cough..) Ahoy, thar be a whale in Casco Bay this morning? Oh, what fun! I just came across a very life-like toy by Schleich that I had to play with. If only I’d had this at the beginning of this project! Here’s another detail in which I got to draw other sea creatures, a welcome...
Read Morelovey dovey loot
O how I love this day. It’s full of all of my favorite things: paper hearts, doilies, pink icing, and a swelling love for everyone. I should be working, but I can’t seem to pull away from the glue sticks and scissors. I’ve been making valentines galore. Here’s a few. First, for my man. Vroom vroom valentine. Our romance began with letters. Next, for my sweet daughter of moonlight and magic. I also send love to those I am fortunate to work with. Like the hotties at Curious City, who unlock the mysteries of literacy. Like the Maine Magazine. Groovy folks there....
Read Moreteen zine factory
The last session of the Teen Zine Factory at the Telling Room was a flurry of folding! I got into the spirit, making my own zine the night before. I did quick portraits of each zinester in my sketchbook. Inspired by Lily’s use of the vintage typewriter on hand, I found our own relic. Fun to bang away on that, and I photographed the keys for collaging on the cover sketch. For the sake of time, we all used the simple format of a single-sided zine, which is folded into 8 image areas. I made some stickers and strips to package them as a group, nine all together. When we arrived for the...
Read Morekin can draw
Yes, the time is nigh: our sketchbooks must be mailed to The Sketchbook Project TODAY. It’s been a labor of love and togetherness, since this year my husband, my daughter, and I all got into the act. Marty chose “uncharted waters” as his theme, since he doesn’t keep a sketchbook. It was new for him to sketch on the fly. Actually, mostly on the ferry. He sketched the E Cosi, a familiar sight at the dock. This hardy vessel was in Ice Harbor Mittens and will also be seen in the upcoming Here Come the Humpbacks. This is one of my favorites: I like his contour of the...
Read Moreword.
Fun things are happening in the Teen Zine Factory over at the Telling Room. I’m leading a workshop on making zines with a group of very fresh kids, thanks to my fanaticism about the punch that can be packed in such little paper vehicles. Zines are any kind of self-published statement, maybe words, maybe pictures, ideas made real. I’ve used them as an ice-breaker assignment many times, and have quite a collection. Here’s just a few of my favorites: At the Telling Room, everybody spreads out and gets into their creation. Some were sketching, like Elias, who drew a favorite...
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