lupine land
My students are working on their first illustration project, Mixed Media Memory. It’s pretty wide open to interpretation. I like to start out with an open mind and see just where they are at, what they are fixated with, dreaming about, or eager to share/show off, how they pull together their drawing skills with materials and techniques. When I gave this assignment to a previous class, there were some very revealing results. I worked then on an image, too. This is my “Lupine Land.” I combined a variety of preoccupations at the time: a fantasy world not far from reality here,...
Read Moreback to school
The summer that wasn’t has become the fall that will be brilliant. Whether you are going back to school or not, don’t we all harbor a student inside us? A fondness or aversion to school, and also learning, lurks in the scent of ripe apples in the crisp air. I was a student in mid-August for a watercolor workshop taught by Tory Tyler Millar at the Fifth Maine. Tory has taught at Portland High for 18 years, but finds new ways to introduce methods and materials by taking regular courses herself at places like Haystack. I find that being a student makes being a teacher more fresh,...
Read Morewaves all around
The main thing that blows me away about life in general is how connected we are, whether we realize it or not. During June and July I was working on a large assignment for Oxford University Press. I cannot share details until the publication date in January 2010. How does an illustrator three miles out to sea get a job in the UK? Why, thanks to the I spot, THE illustration internet site. Coincidentally, Jami G, VP at the ispot, asked to buy a copy of my soon-to-be-published book, Seven Days of Daisy. Little did she know it was idling near my desk due to some work that came via the ispot! In...
Read Moremy mermaid month
Yay, it’s my mermaid month! I was chosen by NPR last year to illustrate a page in their 2009 calendar and finally my month has arrived. Yeah, August is almost over already. Though the summer has been steamy and swift, I relish this month of mermaid friends. NPR asked illustrators to convey their listening experience and even wanted us to write about the inspiration for our illustration. Here’s mine: All Songs Considered, literally and metaphorically…..Living on an island brings me into direct contact with the ocean, but only skimming the surface. While listening to a book...
Read Moretales from the book trail
I’ve spent so much time producing my wee little book that the idea of actually reading it to children and selling it was a not on the tip of my tongue. Before I’d even finished redoing some of the art (originally done back in 2002) I had an invitation to Stories in the Garden at the Friends School of Portland. I picked the very last date available so I could get my book printed in time. As an illustrator for almost 30 years, I’m used to meeting deadlines, at the last moment possible. Unfortunately, the printer’s binding machine busted and I discovered the night before...
Read Moreseven days is real
Hooray! At last, my picture book Seven Days of Daisy is REAL! Thanks to lots of work and island inspiration, back burner, blather, more back burner, and a recent blast of determination, my story written and (mostly) illustrated seven years ago is now for SALE. I immediately brought a copy to the Peaks Island Library, where I was instantly invited to read and do an activity of book-making. Next Tuesday! I brought some copies to the Gem Gallery, which is a hot spot for new shows all summer. And tomorrow I will be at the Art on the Porch, an event/fundraiser for the Fifth Maine Regiment Museum...
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