Fashion Illustration Week
Thanks to the Illustration Institute and sponsorship from the Roxanne Quimby Foundation, I was immersed in Fashion Illustration Week, held at the venerable Mechanics Hall in Portland, Maine. On Monday our class received a swag bag of treats including an Uppercase Magazine! Alex Rheault, a former colleague at Maine College of Art, demonstrated the croquis, a fashion sketch figure upon which any garment can be drawn. Our class of 20 included painters, designers, textile artists, actors, writers, retired art teachers, illustrators, and fashion thinkers. We worked in the spacious ballroom with...
Read MoreSkibby camp
A week ago I traveled with author Lyn Smith to Rockywold-Deep Haven Camps in Holderness, New Hampshire for the NESCBWI Squam Lake Writer’s Retreat. My little picture book dummy taking shape over many months was ready for review! We checked into our rustic room, giddy as campers. After mingling a bit and meeting our gracious event coordinator/Co-Regional Advisor Denise Ortakales we headed to the dining hall. The warren of lodges and cabins has lined the northern shores of Squam Lake since 1897, nestled beneath birches and pines. Such a treat to meet simpatico folks and find out what...
Read MoreJumpin’ July
A friend recently called July the “ADHD of months” and I agree. So. Much. Going. ON. Normally I make blog posts about individual events, but they have been coming at me too dang fast. Here is the whole jam of July: kids books, talks, classes, travels, friends, family. A bounty of sun and color and amazing humans. I was off to the Friends School for their Story in the Forest program on July 9. I read Ana and the Sea Star and then eager campers played a lively game of Ocean Locomotion. They tried moving like sea stars! They also drew sea creatures in pastel, with gusto. I’m...
Read MoreIllustration Feast
Thanks to the Illustration Institute, my summer is off to a bountiful beginning. A little jet-lagged from our Ireland travels, we still made it to the first lecture on June 24 by Chris Raschka who was a Faison resident two summers ago. This time he shared wisdom on keeping travel journals, such a timely topic! His hand-lettered agenda covered all the bases at the Portland Public Library’s event. He discussed the need to work fast, as travel companions may not want to linger for the long looking that sketching or painting requires. With a pot of ink in his pocket, he captures moments...
Read MoreIreland Travels: Dublin
Let me say here that Marty, my hero, did ALL the driving. Dunquin has really narrow winding roads (see above) with spectacular views. When another car approaches, you pull over! Yet it wasn’t easy being a passenger, sitting where a steering wheel should be, pumping imaginary brakes. The drive from Dunquin to our next destination involved more back roads, scenic yet scary with blind curves, speedy locals, lumbering farm equipment. We stopped in lovely Buttevant just to stretch. I found a post office along with this adorable dog whose owner had forgotten him. The postmaster called the...
Read MoreKidlit Con Providence
A week ago today I was in the thick of children’s books everything at Kidlit Con Providence, and I’m still unpacking all the goodness. I checked into the Hotel Providence with my travel mates, Lyn Smith and Kirsten Cappy. Author and illustrator Jarrett Lerner joined us in the hotel bar for dinner. He got our robot groove going. This year’s organizer, Charlotte Taylor, gave welcoming remarks and thankful applause to author and blogger, Mia Wenjen, who gathered the panel participants last fall. I learned about the conference via her @Pragmatic Mom. LeUyen Pham gave a stellar...
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