MECAmorphosis 2018
I’m a fan of fashion shows. I’ve attended every show Maine College of Art’s Textile and Fashion Design Program has produced, including drawing and blogging about shows in 2013 HERE, 2014 HERE, 2015 HERE, 2016 HERE, and 2017 HERE! The runway sparks my interests in figurative drawing, reportage, and fashion illustration. MECA’s event takes a village of staff, students, volunteers, and sponsors to pull off. Bravo to all and especially to new Chair of TFD, Alysha Kupferer. This year’s Sixth MECAmorphosis was marvelous! My colleague, Chair of Illustration, Mary Anne...
Read MoreSea 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 MoreSeason Launch at Portland Stage
Last night Portland Stage revealed the posters I’ve been working on since January during their Season Launch. That crew never ceases to amaze me with their acrobatic juggling of events and sheer creative muscle. Director of Communications Eileen Phelan built a crowd eager to see what’s in store for next season, while Marketing Associate Lena Castro had managed all my digital files into their proper places. Thank you! Executive and Artistic Director Anita Stewart and Literary Manager Todd Brian Backus greeted me. Love these two visionaries. While the audience streamed in, photos...
Read MoreBabette’s Feast
I worked on the poster illustration for Portland Stage’s world premiere of Babette’s Feast about a year ago. It wound up being a circuitous journey to the final piece, which can happen sometimes. I faintly recalled having seen the movie years ago, but didn’t want to see it again or color my approach too much by what had been done cinematically. I based my ideas on the script written by Rose Courtney and adapted from the short story by Isak Dinesen. Local actor and Affiliate Artist Abigail Killeen conceived and developed the play, which is set in the small town of Berlevag...
Read MoreWinter walks
As the anniversary of the Women’s March arrives, I’m reflecting on when I walked the very slowest in my life. Being in a huddled mass of humanity was life-affirming, our scrawled signs of dissent, our loud voices, our crush of bodies moving through Manhattan that historic day. In the year since, I have walked daily, mostly solo but sometimes with others. I am deeply nourished by these walks and none more so than now, in the heart of winter on an island in Maine. I recently came across two things that confirm why my winter walks are so important. In Brain Pickings, a marvelous...
Read MoreFull moon soon
Calling all lunatics! This Sunday will be the last full moon of 2017. I know this because of my handy dandy Lunar Calendar, to which I have contributed since 1983 at the invitation of Nancy. F. W. Passmore, editor of the Luna Press. I worked on the cover of the 2018 edition during my trip to Ireland in May. Well, I did a quick sketch anyway. From the cottage where we stayed in Dunquin, I saw a distant island. Everywhere we went, it was there, like a body floating. It’s called Inis Tuaisceart and I couldn’t get it out of my head. Plus, there are goddess faces in unlikely places....
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