Putting 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 MoreBrick by brick
Nicole d’Entremont is a Peaks Island neighbor who inspires me deeply. We met in Eleanor Morse’s Sudden Fiction course years ago, when she first arrived on the island. Both Eleanor and Nicole have been tremendous mentors for me, with writing and leading the way in social justice activism. I made this card for Nicole from an illustration I did for The Star Fruit Tree, a Vietnamese folk tale. She traveled to Vietnam in December, volunteering in a Habitat for Humanity Global Build in the Mekong Delta. Nicole was recruited by old friends who had, like her, worked at the Catholic...
Read MorePostcards from the Rock
I have always been a snail mailer. Even when I was growing up at the Red Doors Motel, I cultivated pen pals. Creating post card promotions as an illustrator is one occupational hazard that I enjoy. These are just a handful from many years of mailing out samples. Here’s the scoop behind my most recent postcard, Summer in the Slow Lane. I’ve always hankered for little campers and the time to take road trips. I made a sketch on the ferry one day based on a photo I took a few years ago on the way to Stonington, Maine. Kirsten Cappy happily modeled inside this camper we spied for sale...
Read Morelong live lunacy
Have you heard? There will be a full moon on Christmas for the first time since 1977. I’m well versed in lunar cycles, thanks to my contributions to the Lunar Calendar since 1983. Over the years, I’ve had the honor of creating the color cover several times, always a treat. These are a few of the ideas I presented to publisher Nancy F. W. Passmore for the 40th edition. The calendar is a vertical format with a fold, and I like to cross that, if possible. Nancy is fond of the idea of keeping her moon boat afloat, so she picked the bottom left. I was happy to develop the one idea...
Read Morecrossing waters
Great news! Tiger Boy by Mitali Perkins is among the books chosen by Waterbridge Outreach, a non-profit literacy organization dedicated to providing both books and water development to under-served areas around the globe. How cool is that? The original illustration for the book jacket is in the exhibit The Storybook Waters of Illustrator Jamie Hogan, in it’s final weeks at the Portland Public Library. If you haven’t seen it yet, please do! Thanks to Fran Houston for this panorama of the show, 20 originals from 7 books, and all involve water. Waters run through much of my work,...
Read MoreStorybook Waters
The Storybook Waters of Illustrator Jamie Hogan opened last week, with a swell flock of peeps gathering to see my originals from 7 picture books, and hear Eva Murray read Island Birthday. It’s not every day two island girls make a book. We both deal with crossing water; I was delayed leaving Peaks Island because of capacity crowds on the Casco Bay Lines ferry. Eva flew from Matinicus, thanks to clear weather. Smiles abound when serendipity brings us together, in the Sam L. Cohen Children’s Library at the Main Branch of the Portland Public Library....
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