nature 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...
Read Moresongs and stories for a soggy saturday
Rainy days are the perfect opportunity to curl up with a good book. Instead, I braved vast puddles and stormy seas to admire what’s up with stories and the folks who create them. First I went to the community center on Peaks Island to see Shana Barry, a former islander and creator of Fofers. She awed a crowd of all ages with her sweet vocals and guitar, singing about pink whales and peaceballs, creatures who inhabit the colorful world of Fof, a secret island off the coast of Maine. “Fofers are very shy,” she told us, yet each of her characters has a certain furry something...
Read Moreswing tour
Trees are good for many things but most of all the magic of swings In this scene from Seven Days of Daisy the girl is going full-tilt. There’s a thrill from a tree swing that doesn’t happen on the average playground. Looping in circles! Wheeeee! The daring dangers of crashing into bark! Arrrrghhhhh! I had plenty of fun moments to choose from when structuring my story around the highs and lulls of an island week. But I certainly could not leave out swinging, one of the biggest bangs for any buck spent on toys EVER. The little round pink and purple number shown above was handmade,...
Read Moreso many moons
Whoa! The summer pace of activity has reached a sweaty pitch. I’ve been dashing to art events, scribbling towards deadlines, and swatting mosquitoes. Who said summer was a lazy idyll? I blasted down to Kennebunk for the MEIC exhibit opening at the Kennebunk Free Library. What a lovely gathering of talent and delectable food. I saw some familiar faces, like Cristina Siravo, a busy MECA grad who creates sweet whimsy with her watercolors and sushi cats. And I made a new friend, Robin Swennes, who I swear I met years ago, maybe at the former Imageset. She now does every manner of design,...
Read Morewriters and wizards
What’s on the top of my reading stack at the moment? “The Cutting” by island neighbor and debut author, James Hayman, is a graphic thriller set in Portland, Maine. I bought two copies at the Hayman’s recent book launch party, one to give away. But Marty grabbed one and so we’re feverishly reading the book at the same time. This pretty much never happens. He’s ahead of me, and he better not spill any details. Be warned: you can’t put this book down. We knew Jim had been writing a book; who isn’t these days? We rejoiced when he found an agent,...
Read Moreopen house hoopla
Three cheers for Charlesbridge! I buzzed down to Boston on Wednesday with fellow island illustrator and diva, Annie O’Brien, to celebrate our favorite publisher’s 20th anniversary. We shared good parking karma all day, and schmoozed with a bevy of creators, staff, and bookhounds. I’m not new to illustration (egads, almost 30 years!) but am relatively new to this children’s book world. It was a surprise to encounter some familiar faces from my distant early days, such as Leslie Evans, Robin Brickman, David Biedrzycki, and former student (from my brief chapter teaching...
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