Pacers and pencils
Maine College of Art’s Pace House is a legendary destination for alums and students. With great anticipation, I drove the MECA van with 7 of this year’s senior illustration majors and their fearless leader Mary Anne Lloyd under crisp October skies to Stonington, Maine. The house is full of art by Stephen Pace and his wife Palmina, whose hats hang in the front hall. Annelise and Gunnar wasted no time in embodying their kindred spirits. We made lunch and then scattered to scout out the local village and environs. I made a pie to bake later. Mary Anne put her lasagna in the oven,...
Read MoreFishing for story in Belgrade
We headed to Belgrade Lakes on Friday for a rare Maine gathering, the Agents Editors Writers Conference. I felt rushed and unprepared until we pulled up to the cutest cabin at Castle Island Camps. The tiny but tidy spot on the edge of Long Pond put me in the best mood. A dinner bell rang at 6 PM, and we crossed the road to join guests gathered in the lodge for a lobster feast. The owners, John and Rhonda Rice, have photos of proud catches all over the walls. This is Rhonda’s grandfather on the left. We met a father and son pair of fishermen who have been coming to the area and this...
Read MoreTall Tales from ICON9: Day 3 & 4
Welcome to more epic recapping of ICON9, the Illustration Con held in Austin. Last Friday July 8 more awesomeness awaited us in the form of Martha Rich, ICON’s Emcee and quick-change artist. Who needs a Martha Rich paper doll set? I do! Tall Tale or fact? Martha is a Mainer! She grew up in Pennsylvania, the daughter of ministers, and invited us all to exchange the peace, which the mob of 600 gladly did. Anita Kunz made a stellar presentation on why art matters. Whoever thought a cartoon could kill, she asked. With imagery, she showed how art can recruit or resist war, worship gods,...
Read MoreTall Tales from ICON9: Day 1 and 2
ICON9 was one giddy up good time in Austin! My sketch of Daisy’s boot, from a pair she bought the last time we were in Austin, became the opener for zines I brought along. I drew on the flights from Maine, too. Couldn’t believe what I saw out the window! After a hearty welcome from our dear locals, Kathy and Barton, Marty and I checked into the Hilton Austin which was HQ for the hoedown. July 6 began four rootin’ tootin’ days of the best illustration conference on the prairie. I missed the introductions, trying to find coffee to fuel me for the full day ahead of an...
Read MoreWonders at the Weymouth Waterfront Library
Last Tuesday I visited the Weymouth Waterfront Library on the last day of my MECA residency. What a blast! The library sits, literally, at the edge of a salt marsh on the Sissiboo River in Nova Scotia. I visited the day after my arrival to meet their gracious library clerk, Margaret Thibault, who invited me to share my children’s book illustration with two grades in Azure Thurber’s French Immersion classes from the nearby Weymouth Consolidated School. I made a quick flyer from my pastel of the view from the Jenny Family Compound. It was a kick to find that Margaret had posted it...
Read MoreBaie Sainte-Marie Artist Residency
I am fresh back from a divine two weeks, thanks to Maine College of Art’s Baie Ste Marie Residency. As an adjunct professor at MECA since 2003, I was unaware of the deep renewal a residency can offer until I lucked into three nights at the Pace House a few years ago. Since then, I’ve had my eye on this opportunity in Nova Scotia, a beloved place of family ties and epic light. Thanks to the Jenny family, the house overlooking St. Mary’s Bay in New Edinburgh has provided inspiration for MECA alumni, faculty, and staff since 2009. Our journey began by driving from Portland,...
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