Art Expedition
I followed my daughter, Daisy, last week to another World Languages Art Expedition Kick-off at King Middle School in Portland. I first participated as a visiting artist in 2009 when she was a sixth-grader there. It was like old times heading to the bus from the 7:15 ferry. The language arts project asks 8th grade students studying Spanish or French to choose a Spanish or French artist to research and then create written and visual work based on that artist. In 2011, Daisy did this animation inspired by the art of Marc Boutavant. She’s now a senior sculpture major at Maryland Institute...
Read MorePutting the A in STEM
I was invited to be a volunteer exhibitor at the 5th Annual STEM Expo sponsored by Portland Public Schools and Envirologix last Friday. Since many of my children’s books are nature-themed, I brought my collection of nature objects and some life-like toy models for nature studies with students. The event was held at USM’s Sullivan Gymnasium, and it was like a trade show for careers in science. Over 50 exhibitors, ranging from ecomaine to Maine Total Weather to Engineers Without Borders to IDEXX Labs to the Electro Toy Company drew busloads of local students along with displays...
Read MoreGiving thanks
Don’t ask me how a flock of wild turkeys has been roaming our end of the island for many weeks. Leading up to Thanksgiving Day, there were plenty of jokes about them. Peaks Island is part of the City of Portland, where no hunting is permitted, so these birds were just free range. When our daughter returned for college break, our first stop was at the delightful Dahlov Ipcar exhibit at the Portland Public Library. You can’t miss the fantastic reading nook with a mural of lively fowl! This First Friday is the closing reception, so hurry up. Besides Ipcar’s original picture...
Read MoreVinalhaven adventures
Our romance began on two wheels. It’s become tradition to roll the bikes outta the barn to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Because every island is unique in culture and geography, we love exploring other Maine islands, but getting motorcycles on two ferries in the same day can be tricky. We opted to take our time. After a Friday morning stop at Street Cycles, where Marty’s Versys 650 Kawasaki failed inspection, we kept on. Riding the roundabout way through Pownal, Lisbon Falls, Sabbatus, and Hope, we arrived in Rockland at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art. But we...
Read MorePrickly Picture Book Program on Peaks
Many thanks to the Peaks Island Branch Library for hosting our Prickly Picture Book Program on Saturday morning. I couldn’t resist making something sweet and prickly, too. (Do try this at home, a pile of warm brownies pierced with toothpicks is a very fun sculpture to make and then eat!) It was a pleasure to have Lyn Smith, the author of A Porcupine’s Promenade visit Peaks Island. As a reading specialist, Lyn enjoys reading aloud. She makes these porcupine noises that I just cannot fathom how. I talked a bit before making a visual presentation, about how I came to illustrate...
Read MorePortland Stage fun
On a bitter cold Saturday morning, the colorful sight of Portland Stage’s Executive Director Anita Stewart warmed me right up. It was the Theater for Kids 7th birthday and Island Birthday was being featured in their Play Me a Story production. I was delighted to be on hand to witness the theatrical reading. But first, party hats were a necessary prop! Actors voiced different characters and provided sound affects. Below James Patefield (middle) plays Riley, the lead character in Island Birthday who is tired of being out of milk, and living on a remote island. (James was bully good as...
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