Route 66
I’m on pins and needles right now. This election is beyond nerve-wracking. So, here’s my report on the road trip from which we returned a week ago. Our trip was less about destination and more about friends we haven’t seen in too long. Does it feel like our friendships withered during the pandemic? With me turning 66 last month, my rabbit illustration on the first of October made use of my Batman pencil case as a vehicle for adventures on Route 66. We had first planned to connect with folks on both coasts, but realized that plan was not realistic. And yet a certain urgency...
Read MoreFerry catching with Island Readers & Writers
I’m back from another school tour with the intrepid organization, Island Readers & Writers. Visiting island schools is a marvel. They’re the heartbeat of island communities and the future of island sustainability. I came back to Peaks Island expanded by gifts large and small. Ferry catching with Alison Johnson, Director of School Programs, kept us both on our toes! We met in Lincolnville last Sunday night at the Spouter Inn Bed & Breakfast, where the whale theme is strong. After dinner at the nearby Whale’s Tooth Pub, we walked to the ferry landing as the twilight...
Read MoreGreetings from Beals Island
I’m back from a splendid visit to Beals Elementary School on Beals Island, Maine with the wonderful Island Readers and Writers program. I love seeing art on the walls upon arrival! These incredible dioramas were created by Laura Fish’s eighth grade students for permanent display. Beals is reached by a bridge from Jonesport, about four hours Down East from Portland, Maine. I met students from pre-K through eighth grade in the gym when Principal Christopher Crowley introduced the project: to create art and text for a story walk on the school grounds! I began with a slide show,...
Read MoreSketching with Renoir
This Friday, July 12, the Color and Pages of Peaks will be held once again at the TEIA. At 6 pm, meet the makers of art and books in one of the best spots on the island! Peaks Island resident and author Nicole d’Entremont will be there signing her novel, Sketching with Renoir. I met Nicole many years ago, introduced by Eleanor Morse during a Sudden Fiction class. Although several years apart, we share the same birthday and have become close friends. I illustrated the covers of her novels, City of Belief and A Generation of Leaves. When she asked me to tackle her third and most personal...
Read MoreSummer Bats
Author Rae Chalmers wrapped up an award-winning Oxbow Island Gang series with her fifth and final title, Summer Bats. We met at the Peaks Island Library last fall sporting our Moonbeam Children’s Book award ribbons while I was in the middle of illustrating bats galore. The story takes place at this point in the summer: when Peaks is swarmed by visitors and the car ferry lines swell. As a busy traveler, it’s not Rae’s favorite time of year. The big mystery is: will your vehicle get on the boat or not? Cruise ship passengers can be entertained as they look down on our daily...
Read MoreBird Land
Wherever you live, you live in Bird Land. Isn’t it glorious to hear bird song every morning and evening? I learned today that the Portland City Council unanimously passed New England’s first bird safe building ordinance, with great work on behalf of Maine Audubon’s Bird Safe initiative, a statewide collaborative to document bird strikes during peak migration. If you find a dead bird on the sidewalk, take a picture and send it to birdstrike@maineaudubon.org. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife estimate that somewhere between 388 million and 988 million birds die from building...
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