Wednesday is for walking
In Seven Days of Daisy, Wednesday is about walking ALL the way to Whaleback. For a young child, sometimes walking even a little ways is like a safari. Soooo long, soooo slow, and full of either obstacles or wonderment. After all kinds of strolling and carrying devices, walking very far is a stretch for the average American 4 year-old. Having a dog along makes for good company. And taking notice of just about every little thing. This morning I walked out to Whaleback, a rocky ledge that juts out on the ocean side of Peaks Island. The sun was finally out. Daisies are in bloom above, and a...
Read Morenook book fling
Quack! Quack! Quack! Here it is, all the noise that’s fit to print about my recent book fling for Nest, Nook & Cranny. This was months in the planning, so that opposite coasts could come together. Author Susan Blackaby arrived from Portland, OR and I immediately whisked her across the bay to Peaks Island. Daisy took this shot on the beach at mid-tide. We roamed through the woods, and over to the backshore, planning our duet at the Peaks Island School. As a career veteran of curriculum writing, Susan’s ready for romping wordplay. And the kids were, too. It was a...
Read Morebig on botanicals
I’m a lousy gardener, but I love botanicals of any kind. Here is a pastel done recently when our resident peonies made their annual splash, a miracle that never ceases to amaze me, since I didn’t plant them. Last week, I trekked to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in the company of a few savvy moms and groovy girls. I went mainly to catch the exhibit of Robert McCloskey’s sketches. He’s an illustrator strongly associated with Maine, thanks to titles like Blueberries for Sal and One Morning in Maine, both well-read books in our house. The exhibit is right in the...
Read Moremyths and legends: annotated
All this miserable weather has made for some perfect studio days: drying off between soggy dog walks and getting dirty with charcoal. It’s certainly easier at this time of High Mud than last summer, when I was chained to my drawing table while tourists to my piece of Vacationland rode by on their bicycles. Here are some of the 26 illustrations I did last June and July for The Star Fruit Tree, a Vietnamese folk tale that appears in the Oxford University Press Myths and Legends series, recently published. It’s the tale of two brothers: one greedy and one good. This is the older...
Read Morefriending
This little hermit crab appears in “Nest, Nook and Cranny” more than once and serves as today’s mascot…he reminds me of the song in my head: I get by with a little help from my friends. I can thank friend and former teacher at the Institute for Children’s Literature for a great opportunity: Kirby Larson interviewed the author, Susan Blackaby, and I on her blog. Read it here. I love when friends resurface from another chapter, a distant beach. Good friend, Kathy arrived on stormy seas to play catch-up in the world of art, elder care, and mothering. Former Peaks...
Read Morenature calls
As I head back into the classroom, I confess I didn’t do the daily drawing that I urge my students to do. Practice, practice! I say. Yeah, yeah…. I was busy making cards, mailing, wrapping, and crisscrossing the White Mountains of New Hampshire to the Motherland. On my most recent trip, I screeched to a halt along the Kancamagus Highway, one of the most scenic and curvy journeys one could make. I’ve passed the signs that say beware of moose countless times, but have very rarely seen one. This sighting made my day completely. What a beast! Ascending to Kancamagus Pass, at...
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