Sea Star Splash in So Po
Thanks to Kim Campbell at the lovely South Portland Public Library, my recent book, Ana and the Sea Star, got a sweet splash last Saturday. I brought shells for touching. We, too, found a sea star once, but it had already dried up. It became the model I drew from when illustrating the book. After I read the story by R. Lynne Roelfs, kids drew sea critters and colored sea stars. I drew a rather unremarkable mermaid on a big pad, but the kids didn’t care, they wanted to add to it and draw, too! …like this adorable mermaid… A vigorous scribble can be really fun. My Maine...
Read MorePicture Book Finale!
I couldn’t have asked for a more satisfying ending to my story at Maine College of Art than the Picture Book course that just wrapped up last week. I wrote about the first half of the semester HERE, and the second half really picked up speed. After a snowy spring break, I returned to class with props for a life drawing session meant to warm us all UP. Students volunteered to model. Meet Queen Veronica. Drawing with my students is better than spring! The sheer variety of results is a delight. This sketch is by Aric. This one’s mine. My teaching assistant Liz Long’s sketch...
Read Morewhat spring break?
While the temps still hover around freezing, I wonder where spring is hiding. We had a fleeting visit from our MICA art student during the first half of her spring break, yet it filled my well like nothing else can. Just before Daisy returned from Baltimore, Maine got dumped again with raw beauty. The birds don’t care, they’ve been flocking our feeder with a springy frenzy. Before heading to the airport, I returned this book, about a young recruit in the 10th Mountain Division, in which my dad served during WW2. It would have been his 93rd birthday on March 9. Soon enough, our...
Read MoreBlack History Month
I believe in drawing as an act of learning. Illustration requires research and active looking. I’ve been learning about social justice, white privilege, systemic racism, and a whole lot more through Black Girl in Maine, a media company led by Peaks Island resident, Shay Stewart Bouley. I did a drawing on the 6 month anniversary of the Women’s March, inspired by Shay. I began drawing notable black women during February, a daily challenge to learn about each person, their features and their power. My first sketch of Oprah followed her historic speech at the Golden Globes. I was...
Read MoreLlove is Llove
I heard the news today. We surely need love more than ever, every minute. I’ve been doing my tiny bit to spread it around. A few weeks ago, I dropped off a pile of cards and valentines at Knit Wit Yarn Shop, the one and only place to find my cards out in the world. Then I made a collage with a re-purposed illustration of mine for the first of February’s Rabbit Rabbit tradition. It got me thinking about an animal themed valentine. From a knitting book I illustrated this llama gave me an idea. It feels more urgent that opposites need to love each other. What animal would make a...
Read MoreSweet finish for Illustration MECA juniors
I last wrote about my class at Maine College of Art after the first month of the semester HERE. So so SO much has happened since! I’ve gotten to know the Junior Major illustration students better, their abilities and voices have grown, and it has been one blur of productivity. Project 2 finals were brought in, and the crit was quite articulate and thoughtful, regarding the success of illustrating a figure in an environment with convincing space and depth. These two used the phone as a prop. Project 3 involved illustrating one of three editorial essays for a magazine. One was from...
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