Ferry 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 MoreSkywatchers Downeast
These have been heavy times, for Maine and for the world. I hope you’re holding on OK, dear readers. The natural world has been a tremendous solace. It’s a privilege to find sanctuary there. It lifted my spirits to see my book, Skywatcher, featured in Waterville’s Story Walk along the Messalonskee Stream. Serena at Waterville Creates, Miss Liz at the Waterville Public Library, and Amarinda at the Children’s Discovery Museum combined talents to create the catchy text that accompanies the book pages. It was a much needed exhale, to stroll along outdoors and read my book...
Read MoreThe Lobster Lady
Ahoy, it’s me, the Bluffer. Last summer I hiked up this trail in the White Mountains, thinking of my looming deadline for The Lobster Lady by Alexandra S. D. Hinrichs. It was a challenging time, juggling two book deadlines at once for the first time in my career. This sign spoke to my doubts about my ability to capture the iconic Virginia Oliver, aka the Lobster Lady. When Charlesbridge art director, Kristen Nobles, contacted me about the assignment in early 2022, I was ecstatic about the opportunity to illustrate a picture book biography about the oldest person lobstering in Maine,...
Read MoreArt Camp
My island neighbor, dear friend, and author Nicole d’Entremont, has taken up drawing with a passion. She began creating what she called Trumpoons back in 2017 as expressions of satire fueled by outrage. This led to drawing more, taking sketchbooks on her travels to Vietnam and New York. She took her first drawing class this January with the legendary artist, Martha Miller, at Maine College of Art, and was transformed. Nicole enrolled in a portraiture class with Martha in June but it was cancelled because of Covid-19. She approached me about teaching her, and I was honored yet unsure I...
Read MoreBear and the Oxbow Island Gang
It’s for real! Rae Chalmer’s debut chapter book is here: Bear and the Oxbow Island Gang is an environmental mystery set on a Maine island for readers 8 – 11. Last fall, after reading Rae’s manuscript, I began illustrating the story by doing small, preliminary sketches for the cover. She’s a fellow Peaks Islander, so instead of scanning and emailing my rough ideas, I brought my sketchbook to her house a few minutes away. So analog and refreshing! These are a few more ideas, which all reflect an island setting that residents of Peaks may find familiar. I also did...
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