land of knit
Now that it’s only 15 degrees out, I can share my hot- off- the- press Land of Knit prints. They are currently hanging at Knit Wit Yarn Shop in Portland, Maine, which I sketched for my 2013 Sketchbook Project, above. Dare I confess I’m not a knitter? I learned long ago, but left needles for pencils sometime in middle school. I’ve happily illustrated several knitting books though, including this title by Stephanie Pearl McPhee. It’s chock full of spot illustrations like these. A fan called out of the blue to inquire about the map on the cover. This led to creating a...
Read MoreMECA merry
The second half of the semester in the junior illustration majors studio at Maine College of Art has been a blitz of activity. Students worked in November on bottle and package designs for the annual Geary’s Summer Ale contest. Here’s Sarah Oppelt’s mock-up. Katie Ackley created a lively pattern, which she made use of later, stay tuned. The next project was to create an image to promote Circus Atlantic, the school arts program of the Circus Conservatory of America, coming to Portland in 2015. President Peter Nielsen gave an informative talk to students on the history of...
Read Moreukulele yule
Tis the season once again. Somehow the holidays always rush me. I’m still scrounging around for Halloween candy, and it’s time to think about holiday cards. I love making greeting cards, always have. I found this old one (me in a beard!) to show to my students, along with a fantastic collection received from other illustrators. This is back in the day, before color printers were a household item. Hand-colored xerox did the trick then. I decided I should include two things in this year’s holiday inspiration: a beard and a ukulele. We’ve had ukulele music in the house...
Read MoreMECA inspired
Local Portland illustrator Betsy Thompson visited the Maine College of Art illustration department this week, sharing her professional wisdom and talented work. A former K -2 educator, she quickly turned the tables and asked each student to share what medium they worked in, what area of illustration interested them, and what did they want her to address. I love when visiting illustrators reinforce what I preach in class. She asked how many students kept sketchbooks, and how many were drawing in them right then. I myself was in the middle of a drawing of senior Miles Cook. She talked about...
Read Moreclassroom comeback
It’s been a busy coupla weeks getting back into the classroom rhythm at Maine College of Art. A new banner sporting a roaring bear illustrated by recent illustration graduate Hannah Rosengren was a delight to see. The illustration studio gained more space in the Karu Media Collective wing. Here department chair Scott Nash shares announcements with students. Cool news: the new MECA Illustration Film Series, which kicks off next week with Cartoon College at SPACE Gallery. Charles Hively, editor and design director of 3 x 3, The Magazine of Contemporary Illustration, joined us for the...
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