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The Lobster Lady

Posted by jamiepeeps on Jun 23, 2023 in Children's Book Illustration, Drawing, Illustration, Pastels, Peaks Island, Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing, The Lobster Lady | 4 comments

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, perhaps in the world. Yesssss! But portraiture is hard, and harder to keep consistent across a whole book. Egads.

I met Virginia at her house in Rockland, Maine in early February. I took a handful of photos as we chatted at her kitchen table. I asked if there were any photos of her as a young person and she flatly replied, “No.”

However, her son, Max, who lobsters with her, found two old photos which I photographed with my phone. I knew this would be a tricky job of inventing scenes and bluffing likenesses, but I was totally down for it!

I dove into research, stopping at the Co-op where they load their bait, watching a fantastic documentary and looking through my Grampy Hogan’s old photo albums. I gathered my early sketches into a dummy.

Alexandra’s story begins in the kitchen, with Virginia serving fresh baked donuts before she and Max head out before dawn. Donuts? Yes please. I knew I needed one before starting to draw my final art.

Here’s the final illustration.

Whenever possible, I like to include real objects for observational drawing to complement working from photos. Here’s my approved sketch for the title page, plus the page with type. I enlarged the drawing in order to transfer it to my sand paper to draw at reproduction size.

Here’s the work in progress, a view of the house where Virginia was born in 1920. Pastel on red paper.

There’s a pivotal moment in Alexandra’s story in which Virginia is bitten by a crab. Lo and behold, I have a crab expert in the house! Our daughter, Daisy Braun, has volunteered for the Marine Invader Monitoring and Information Collaborative with the Wells Reserve. I met her at the dock on Peaks Island when she was checking her traps alongside our visiting friend, Ged Kenslea.

Daisy surmised what kind of crab that likely nabbed Virginia, perhaps a Jonah crab, very common in Maine waters. In order to visualize this, I enlisted my neighbors, Nicole d’Entremont and Eleanor Morse, to act out the scene. I still crack up at this Oscar level acting:)

Believe it or not, I found the blue crab toy on the beach. In reality, blue crabs are moving up into Maine waters.

Marty pretended to be Max reacting.

Here’s a version of the final illustration. Later I revised it to give Virginia dark green gear which didn’t provide as much contrast to the crab, but hey.

After this adventure, Virginia reflects upon her youth on Andrews Island. The illustrations flash back to another era, when a blacksmith made nails for making lobster traps. Here’s where my documenting comes in handy. We had visited Le Village years ago, a historic Acadian village in Pubnico, Nova Scotia, where the resident smithy demonstrated pounding nails into shape.

It helped me imagine this scene.

I borrowed a book of vintage fashion patterns from Nan Hadden, a purveyor of vintage children’s clothing.

The really tricky part was picturing Virginia as a young girl. I saw a resemblance between fellow artist Liz Long and Virginia in the eyes. She sent me a few photos of her as a little girl. What do you think?

Here is my imagined young Virginia, weighing lobsters in her family’s general store on Andrews Island, Maine.

Another scene involved Virginia and her mother playing hide and seek in the laundry. I ran over to my neighbor’s house for a quick photo shoot. Thanks, Meredith!

Here’s the final illustration.

Max showed me this photo of a young Virginia hanging clothes on a line.

It was reference for this illustration, in which Virginia tells her lobsterman husband that she’s quit her job.

A skeptical doctor who stitched Virginia’s finger plays a part in the story. I asked my neighbor, Dr. Chuck Radis, if he would pose for me. An author himself, he happily obliged.

Here Virginia glares at him.

I did numerous rough sketches for the cover.

This was the sketch chosen by Charlesbridge with text placement from the art director, Kristen Nobles.

It underwent multiple revisions with the patient guidance of Kristen, who I finally met in person at the Portland Museum of Art last fall. Big hugs for this amazing designer who layered so many elements together.

I sent off the last of my revisions for the final art in late October. Several months later, it was a book in my hands! I posed next to a favorite boat on Peaks Island in late March. Dot Flynn was another salty Mainer.

I finally had the honor of meeting the author, Alexandra S. D. Hinrichs, in April when we signed books at the Maine Librarians Association’s spring conference in Augusta. She’s having a banner year, with three new books published. Go, Alex!

Publication day, May 23, called for a lobster roll at the local trap to table restaurant, Island Lobster Company.

I debuted reading Oh, Chickadee! and The Lobster Lady at the Peaks Island Library to the island school students during their weekly library visit in June.

And here’s a reading at Minni in Boston, a wonderful art space for young kids!

They made the cutest buoy art ever!

I’ll be signing books at Color of Peaks on July 7 from 6 to 9 pm at the TEIA on Peaks Island.

A book signing with Virginia is in the works at the Rockland Public Library, on August 4. She is all smiles!

Alexandra and I will be doing a book event with Island Readers and Writers on August 17 as well as the Annual Book Fair by the Sea at the Camden Library on August 19.

Many thanks to Virginia and Max Oliver for sharing their story of a life well lived by dedication to their work on the sea. Thanks to Alexandra for her lyrical and illuminating story, and to Charlesbridge Publishing for the honor of illustrating this chronicle of Maine’s iconic lady. Here’s to a sunny summer of salty reading!

 

 

 

Leap Frog

Posted by jamiepeeps on May 11, 2023 in Book: Oxbow Island Gang, Children's Book Illustration, Illustration, Peaks Island | 0 comments

I love collaborating with my island neighbor, author Rae Chalmers. Her newest Oxbow Island Gang story, Leap Frog, is the fourth book I’ve illustrated that has published this year. How lucky am I?!

Late last fall when she handed me the manuscript, she also gave me this little fellow to cheer me on.

It’s also the fourth book in her series, and we have our process pretty much down. She gives me a list of things to illustrate for each chapter and a month or so later I show her rough sketches.

She gave me this cup by McKone Pottery and I swear drinking her husband’s coffee from it helped my process:)

In the story, Bear and Olivia keep finding dead frogs. I no sooner read the manuscript and came across this poor guy on the very dump road that I would be illustrating. It was a sad harbinger of the threats wildlife face everywhere.

In fact, the story begins with drama. Bear encounters the fire boat in Portland, an alarming sight. I took this photo on Peaks, and wondered what the emergency was.

This is the illustration that opens Chapter 2.

We saw this frog a couple of summers ago during a stay at Mt. Chase Lodge.

He became a frog on a log in Chapter 6.

I happened to spy this anchor at the Brackett Cemetery on Peaks, where I had roamed during my research for The Lobster Graveyard.

It inspired this illustration for Chapter 5.

I decided to use it in some valentine cards, too.

The story also features a truck crash!

Rae asked me to find a particular vintage truck, seen here near the island dock.

After taking photos, I drove out the “dump road” for more reference seeking, plus potholes:)

This illustration took some bluffing, but it captures the scene of the crash.

In another scene, Bear creates a mess making pancakes for his grandmother. Sometimes I need to get into the act, too! Pancake making is a perfectly yummy detour from drawing.

Here’s the illustration from Chapter 18.

I showed Rae my first round of sketches in early December. I had to take a little break for the holidays, but returned to the project in early January. I enjoyed a little solo retreat at their getaway in Lincolnville. Except for the fire I started in the kitchen, it was super peaceful! Look, I got all these revisions done!

I also did rough sketches for the cover. Which one is your favorite?

When she’s not writing, Rae is an accomplished quilter. This one gave me so many color ideas!

I worked on the cover final back in my studio on Peaks. A fantastic picture book by April Pulley Sayre provided great inspiration as well. April was an acclaimed book creator of nature topics; we collaborated on Here Come the Humpbacks years ago.

I was all done by the end of January. And by April, Rae dropped a bag of books on my doorknob, just in time for a meta moment at breakfast.

There’s a delicious thrill opening a new book after all the work!

Here’s my illustration with my bottle collection. Who doesn’t have one on Peaks Island?

I am so pleased by this series!

This Saturday, May 13, at Rae’s house on Peaks, we’ll be celebrating with a fun book launch, signing, food, and games. I can’t wait!

Thanks, Rae, for creating this wonderful series. What will be next??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maine Art Educators Spring Conference

Posted by jamiepeeps on May 3, 2023 in Art Classes, Book: Skywatcher, Illustration, Maine Art Education Association, Maine College of Art, Zines | 3 comments

What could be finer than meeting up with Maine art educators at the Ecology School at River Bend Farm?

I was delighted to speak this past weekend at the MAEA awards ceremony and lead two zine making workshops. Bonus: my former MECA student, Liz Long, was my ride! She’s now in her second year teaching Commercial Art at PATHS.

After finding our dorm room, we strolled to the river.

We walked past other teachers painting en plein air, the Ecology School farm, and this row of trees.

All the workshops were held in these yurts, which looked like stubby pencils to me.

I brought a batch of zines from my enormous collection, some by MECA students during my years teaching there, and also some purchased at various zine fests.

I also brought little nature objects and little plastic animals as possible prompts, a fine little mess.

The Saturday session zine makers were Scott Minzy, Elise Pelletier, Daving Whiting, Lynda Leonas, and Liz Long, all teachers ready to roll.

A zine, by the way, is any small edition of narrative nuggets that can be drawn, collaged, hand-lettered, any method is fair game. My favorite book is Whatcha Mean Whatsa Zine that covers the history and techniques of zine making. After opening introductions and a discussion of zines, everyone got quiet as they mapped out their plan. We were making single page zines that would be folded into eight panels.

As each person was ready, we went nearby to the Ecology School office for making copies.

Scott shared his electric sharpener that made the longest tip! I’m a big believer in sharp eyes, sharp pencils!

After making copies to share, the zines were folded, as crisply as possible.

A bundle of zines!

After a delicious dinner, the award ceremony began with a recognition of incoming officers. Guest speaker Bernie Reim talked about Astronomy and Art. He shared some works done in his astronomy course at USM. I’m a huge fan of his monthly sky guide in the local paper, and it was an honor to meet him!

The Astronomical Society of Northern New England had planned to host a star gazing event afterwards, but the cloudy skies dashed that. Bummer!

I get so jittery when public speaking, but the warm kinship among art educators saved me. We’re all “vessels of star dust” and the art classroom has always been a place for students to discover their inner light, now more than ever.

I shared a poster I saw when visiting the Blue Hill Consolidated School last fall. It sums up what goes down in an art classroom.

I studied illustration in art school, and many years later became an adjunct professor at Maine College of Art in 2003. Being a book nerd, I shared some of the publications that informed my approach.

Then came the high point of the evening!

I was delighted to see Pamela Moulton win the Community Art Educator of the Year. We were once colleagues in the Side x Side arts integration program, and I know first hand the dazzling energy she brings to every encounter.

I got teary as each teacher’s colleagues presented their award with glowing praise of their dedication. Teaching is complicated in these times, and art teachers are not always recognized for their passionate efforts in a school curriculum. Elise Pelletier, who I’d just met in the zine workshop, won High School Art Educator of the Year. Congratulations to all the amazing winners!

I led another zine workshop on Sunday morning, same yurt, new group.

 

It was fun to watch the zines take form, all in the span of four hours. Philippa’s already teaching zines to students in Sanford.

I commented that zines are like seed packets of ideas. Cory ran with that theme, drawing and collaging from a seed catalog.

The end of class came in the blink of an eye. A few zine makers will be finishing theirs this week. Here’s the bundle from Sunday.

It was a rotten rainy day, but Liz and I left buoyed by the power of connecting with the best art educators around. Thank you, Maine Art Education Association, and thanks to Vicki Bove for suggesting me to come!

The fun doesn’t stop:  I will be heading on Friday, May 5 to the opening reception for the Great State of Maine Illustration in Waterville.

On Saturday, May 6 I will be signing Oh, Chickadee with stellar author Jennifer Jacobson at the Sherman’s Books in Damariscotta from 1 to 3 pm. Please stop by!

And on May 13, I will be celebrating the release of Leap Frog with brilliant author Rae Chalmers right here on Peaks Island. More details to come!

Thanks for reading. Keep looking up:) There’s a full moon this Friday!

 

 

Starship Unity

Posted by jamiepeeps on Mar 29, 2023 in Horse Island | 0 comments

When fellow children’s book creator, Lucky Platt, invited me to visit the Unity Public Library last week, I was thrilled! I received this completely adorable handmade star book as an invitation to a Storyteller Supper at her house on March 24. How cool is that?!

My visit would be the culmination of a 3-day Star Party. Sweet!

After a delicious dinner with new friends, Lucky and her partner, Jim MacDonald, brought me to the nearby Unity Elementary School for a presentation by Northern Stars Planetarium.

I’d met John Meader online via Dark Sky Maine, and was eager to meet him in person at last, along with Melissa Bastien, one of the local movers and shakers behind the new Unity Public Library.

John gave a fantastic presentation about what’s up in the sky during March in Maine, all within this portable planetarium. It’s bigger on the inside in infinite ways!

He wowed the audience of star gazers with stories of constellations, mythology, and mind blowing facts. Thanks, John, for that trip around our Milky Way galaxy!

The sky over Lucky and Jim’s house was glittering with stars that night. What a gift to spend time there in the presence of this glorious watercolor by Lucky, a vast spill of stars over the lake nearby.

In the morning, I visited Lucky’s studio, a hive of delight where she makes wonderful creations like this fun Polaroid camera.

Her debut book, Imagine a Wolf, is an inspired spin on our typical notions about that storied animal.

On every wall and inch, narrative wonders, like these dogs conversing on their tiny tin can phones, fill your imagination.

We soon headed to the library, where I made new friends.

I brought my various show and tell items, and Melissa had quite a collection, too, courtesy of the nearby L. C. Bates Museum. Lovers of specimens, unite!

Check out this cool Luna Moth Life Cycle! It’s a short one. They become adults, mate, and die within a very short lifespan. Have you ever seen one?

I read Skywatcher to a swell group of local readers in the library’s lovely children’s room.

Kids colored and cut out their Skywatcher masks of creatures from the story.

There are moms who like to color, too!

Look, an owl!

And another!

Many thanks to Lucky, the Unity Public Library, and Maine Arts Commission for my stellar visit.

Back at Lucky and Jim’s place on the shores of Unity Pond, I had a tour of his incredible custom guitars in which the story telling and craftsmanship are downright amazing.

I left this slice of heaven carrying my memories with me, like Tamen in Skywatcher.

Spring in Maine keeps teasing us. It’s back to the drawing board for me, filled to the brim with inspiration from this outing. Thanks for reading!

Oh, Chickadee!

Posted by jamiepeeps on Mar 15, 2023 in Children's Book Illustration, Illustration, Peaks Island | 2 comments

This winter is going out like a LION, isn’t it?! Here we are hunkered down for yet another snow storm. It was in March 2006 that I drew this little chickadee with a ceramic vase holding branches about to bud, a hopeful gesture titled, Forcing Spring.

Fast forward to last March on this very day, when I was working on cover ideas for Jennifer Jacobson’s manuscript Oh, Chickadee!

I’ve always been enamored by chickadees. When McSea Books offered me the opportunity to illustrate Jennifer’s non-fiction story detailing a year in the life of these friendly little acrobats, I jumped at it.

Jennifer and I met just before St. Patrick’s Day at Ri Ra’s to discuss my first dummy, toasting our venture with some Guinness…Slainte!

We’ve been in a critique group together for almost five years, and the chance to collaborate on a book is an absolute DREAM. Our posse of Critters, who all attended Kindling Words a couple of weeks later, have been so instrumental in my kidlit journey! I showed Jennifer a second dummy with revisions she suggested.

After sharing our dummy with folks at Maine Audubon for accuracy, I began final illustrations in early May.

Once a small sketch is approved, I enlarge it on my copier, and trace onto pastel paper. This red barn is one of my favorite buildings on Peaks Island, and is featured in the opening spread.

Here, I go! Red first:)

I intended to have the barn show up a couple of times, to indicate the territory that chickadees occupy. They don’t fly south and tend to have smaller orbits than other birds. Marty made a little paper model so I could draw the barn from above.

I draw from direct observation whenever possible, and my illustrator neighbor, Doug Smith, loaned me a little wind-up goldfinch, slightly bigger than a chickadee. I found a small stone about the size of a chickadee egg, which is only about half an inch long! I invited my birding neighbor, Patty Wainright, to offer input on my process. She contributes to the Peaks Island Land Preserve’s bird blog and loaned me a stack of her books. Another artist neighbor, Kathy Hanley, loaned me books as well. It takes an island village!

In my collection of nature objects, I have a nest that came in handy for staging an illustration. After watching bird nest cams, I considered this angle.

There’s a lot of guessing in illustration. It’s hard to know the exact proportions of something I have never seen.

In May my own baby chick was on hand for a Mother’s Day picnic on Peaks Island.

My studio sits in the northwest corner of an old sea captain’s house. From my window, I spied a crow hopping in the tall grass of our No Mow May yard. I’d just illustrated a book, Winter Crows, by Rae Chalmers, so crows are completely on my radar now. I went out to investigate and found a fledgling of some kind. Was the crow helping or harassing? Any ideas?

I ran back out three times, to chase away a cat as well as the crow, who may have been cawing about the cat? So much to learn, for this baby bird new to flying and for me, learning about the birds in my habitat.

Meanwhile, I was in need of a model for an illustration in which a child feeds a chickadee by hand. My young neighbor, Lucy, obliged.

Have you ever done this? I haven’t fed a chickadee by hand, but you can learn how in the back of the book. In the final illustration, I aimed for a likeness of Jennifer’s daughter, now all grown up.

Here’s a work in progress of that illustration:

Edits were made in July to this final. Can you find what’s missing in the book?

Meanwhile, I spied chickadee merch everywhere….coffee beans, bedding, and…beer!

Yet they remain in peril on this planet.

I did the last illustration in July.

Then I jumped over to finishing illustrations for another book, stay tuned for that story. Soon enough, color proofs arrived in November! I got out the two dummy books along with the original to compare color results. My hand-lettered title worked out, I think. Many thanks to the wonderful designer, Jill Weber! She is both an illustrator and designer and combines her super powers in brilliant ways.

Enormous thanks to Stephanie Mulligan at McSea Books for making this endeavor a lovely object. And her timing is better than Santa. My advance copy arrived on Christmas Eve!

Hello, book spotting at the Brick Store Museum in January! I am honored to be in the company of Chris Van Dusen and Lucky Platt. I’ll see Lucky later this month, for a star gazing book event at the Unity Public Library on March 25.

Jennifer did a school visit in Bristol, and we’d love to visit your school. Give us a shout. A swell review from an expecting bird blogger, Jeffery Mann of Because Birds, includes a chickadee call.

This just in from Emily Liebling, first grade teacher at Reiche Elementary School in Portland, Maine. I sent her a copy pronto because her class had just embarked on a unit about birds. They installed a bird feeder in their classroom. Hooray for budding naturalists!

Calling all librarians! We’ll be signing Oh, Chickadee! at the Maine State Library’s Reading Round Up in Augusta on April 27. If we don’t see you there, stay tuned for book signings to come. Thanks for reading and keep looking up. Spring is on the way!

Shining Stars at Peaks Island Elementary

Posted by jamiepeeps on Dec 23, 2022 in Horse Island | 3 comments

I am still floating from the warm welcome I received at the Peaks Island Elementary School (aka PIES:) on December 20. My visit was timed just before the winter solstice, and there were stars everywhere!

I was delighted to see students’ art all over the school. They had made a field trip in November to see the Great State of Maine Illustration exhibit at the Brick Store Museum, where this illustration from my book Skywatcher is on view. I love how they captured the bright lights, the red car, and all the wild things!

I set up my presentation in the library, where my name was in lights. Woot!

The first group of pre-K and Kindergarten students arrived wearing adorable hats with stars. I read the book and showed them a dummy, one of several mock-ups I made while developing the story. They asked me questions and then drew from nature objects I brought in. They also colored masks for an upcoming star gazing gathering we’ll do in January. My Nocturnal Creature Masks can be downloaded HERE.

Students could choose to be a Star Bear, a Luna Moth, an Owl, or a Loon. This little one was excited to be a Star Bear!

The next group was a combo of grades 3, 4, and 5. Two of these students have been models for illustrations in other books when they were much younger, so I discussed the importance of having good reference to draw from.

I shared some back story about my process for Skywatcher. They posed great questions! Naomi asked, “Why do you have pops of red in the book?” The book has a strong color scheme of blues and yellows, and red is an important personal accent. I grew up at the Red Doors Motel in Lincoln, New Hampshire. Red was my father’s favorite color and a cardinal appears in the book, as well as a car, modeled after my friend Mary Anne Lloyd’s little red Fiat.

I talked about trying to learn the constellations while drawing the end papers, which are a star chart of the Northern hemisphere in winter. But don’t try to navigate with it!

At the end of the book, Tamen is seen drawing a zine about defending the dark. I showed how to fold up a single sheet of 8.5 x 11 paper into an 8 page zine. Directions can be downloaded HERE. I invited the students to create their own zines, which are basically mini magazines, vehicles of expression about any topic at all. Once drawn and written while folded, they can be unfolded and copied flat, and folded up again to be shared. Zines can be potent nuggets of narrative. I’m always inspired by what students create on the spot!

Zoe was the model for Ana in Ana and the Sea Star when she was little. Now she’s a fifth grader, and very quickly wrote and drew a great zine about ways to help the world.

Everyone had their own approach and used some of my pastel pencils.

I brought in a luna moth specimen for direct observational drawing. Theo captured great detail.

One student imagined the earth’s worst fate!

Joseph drew a very detailed cover, with a sunrise over a waterfall.

Another student created a captivating color scheme.

This artist drew crisp scenes about his interests.

One zine was prompted by a striped rock in my collection of nature objects. This student wrote a story told in dialog with speech bubbles, very inventive!

The group created quite a variety of graphic narratives! Thank you!

During recess, I saw a flock of cardinals that thoroughly warmed my heart.

Teacher Leader Kelly Hasson grew up on Peaks, attended this school, and showed me a galaxy of stars created by students. It was nostalgic for me, since my daughter Daisy attended PIES, graduating from the fifth grade many years ago.

It was fun to see how math got into the creativity, too!

After the lunch recess, I visited the first and second grade classroom. Students were eager to show me their mural inspired by wildlife and the Milky Way. I love the moon rising over the building on the bottom right, and all the critters!

After my reading of Skywatcher they drew and colored, too.

Here is Skywatcher in the International Space Station!

This student told me he likes to make 3D work, and he did! A paper shooting star and a mini box next to a black hole.

Sam gave me his vivid pastel. How did he know these are my favorite colors?!

What a fantastic encounter with young artists and writers! I told them that my book took many, many versions before being published. This poster in a classroom says it all.

After students returned to their classroom, I gathered the drawings left behind. Such a quilt of colorful mark making. Thank you, Peaks Island Elementary for showing me a universe of your talents!

Thanks for reading, and may you all enjoy stellar holidays and safe travels! Keep looking up!

The Milky Way

Posted by jamiepeeps on Nov 11, 2022 in Horse Island | 10 comments

Here is the story of a book stitched by friendship over many years.

Gunnel Larsdotter, dear friend and former island neighbor, approached me years ago about illustrating a beloved poem she had translated, Vintergatan, also the Swedish word for the Milky Way, or Winter Street. I was intrigued. It’s a magical telling of how the bridge of stars was built by two lovers separated by death, written by a Finnish poet, Zacharias Topelius, in the mid-1800’s. She first read it in school as a young girl and it lodged deep in her heart.

She couldn’t find any satisfactory translations in English, so began working on her own. Gunnel emailed me in September of 2014:

Would very much appreciate getting some links from you as to where to begin the road to the Milky Way. In the poem it took them a thousand years. I would like to work within a shorter time frame.

Ha! It took us almost a year to sit down in August 2015 to discuss it. I took notes.

It would take many many more years of emails, meetings, and dummies to bring the book to print.

My first attempt to sketch out the opening scene with a lake bound by mountains met with Gunnel’s approval. It was perhaps 2016, between my semesters teaching at Maine College of Art and illustrating posters for Portland Stage that I completed dummy #1. Other pages needed more work, but it was a start.

Gunnel held on to that dummy for awhile, and continued to tinker with her translation. Every word mattered. She told me, “Swedes are tough critics” and she was determined to give this poem the lyrical justice it deserved. More months passed, and I redrew the opening scene inspired by a favorite spot in the White Mountains where I grew up.

Working in pastel helped me establish the mood and color scheme, and this piece changed very little over the next few years. I even added some snowflakes for use in a holiday card.

Beginning in 2017, Gunnel faced various surgeries and the book project took a back seat over the next three years. We kept a thread going with correspondence, exchanging ideas and inspirations.

While I was working on other projects, the Milky Way remained on my radar. I gathered plump folders of anything that sparked a visual.

One of the spreads that evolved dramatically was this one, in which Sulamit and Salamye have worked for a thousand years to build their bridge of stars. The “zodiac’s path of lace” was a compelling idea to capture. Perhaps this dogged attempt to draw constellations would set the stage for my book, Skywatcher, yet to come.

The illustration that proved to be the most challenging of all was to show God. OMG.

I got really stuck on this. Other work intervened as usual, yet it was always tickling the back of my mind while I instinctively looked for the face of God. And so why not a trip to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, a heavenly place where my eyes lingered.

I distracted myself with cherubs in the meantime.

I was finding angels everywhere.

I posted this drawing of Salamye on Instagram in December 2017 as a work-in-progress.

Eventually I tackled God again, and tried an abstract approach.

After all the patient dots, I still was not even close, but the cherubs were fun to draw.

Gunnel suggested a circle of light, a cherub in dismay, and more emphasis on the enormity of God’s message. But this revision didn’t happen for months. I had written a book in the meantime, and was more focused on urgent deadlines of my own. Yet all that star drawing would come in handy for what became Skywatcher.

By the time I sent off final art for Skywatcher in March 2020, I was ready to bring all of The Milky Way illustrations to the final stage, with numerous changes. What with quarantines all around, I simply sequestered in my studio.

Gunnel was also busy with other things. She traveled to her native Sweden in 2021 and shared dummy #3 with a few of her relatives and friends, receiving encouragement to keep going. She signed a contract with a publisher later that fall.

We met in her lovely garden in May this year, when the keys of heaven were in bloom, as they are at the end of the book.

The publishing process has been slow as molasses but we were optimistic we’d have books in our hands by late fall. It was time to make a toast to Topelius, whose evocative poem had inspired this labor of love. There’s very little written about his thoughts on the poem, other than speculation that he wrote it for a dear friend who had lost their beloved.

I brought local rhubarb wine and Gunnel brought the lobster rolls! Cheers and thanks, dear Topelius. May your poem endure and be enjoyed by a new audience.

The first book proofs arrived in late September, a rather proud moment! And it didn’t take a thousand years:)

A book launch is in the works, but meanwhile you can find our book HERE.

Thank you, Gunnel, for your patient belief in this book, and all who wish upon a star!

Word. 2022

Posted by jamiepeeps on Oct 26, 2022 in Horse Island | 0 comments

We’re back from a delightful weekend of celebrating Word, the Blue Hill Literary Arts Festival.

It’s back in person after two years of virtual programs. I am still pinching myself that I was part of the schedule. It began Thursday night, October 20, with a Star Party led by Dwight Lanpher, a member of both Dark Sky Maine and the International Dark Sky Association as well as thirteen other astronomical organizations. An electrical engineer by day, this guy knows his galaxy!

The clear night allowed Dwight to give an incredible tour of the visible constellations with a running banter about light years and Greek mythology woven seamlessly together. First he demonstrated the “astronomer’s salute” which is: turning your back on any offending headlights approaching. Because it takes a good fifteen minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness. Don’t mess with that.

As it got darker, more stars glittered. Dwight had set up his telescope so everyone could take turns viewing Jupiter, the first planet visible. He had a totally cool device: a laser pointer that can reach a mile into the sky, locating each star in the constellations we could observe with our naked eyes. He pointed out Ursa Major, Polaris, Ursa Minor, Vega, Pegasus, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Arcturus, Drago. I learned so much! Part of my impetus to write Skywatcher was to understand all I could about why the dark matters.

He also operated Stellina, a smart telescope that could detect and photograph super distant objects with GPS. It would take a few minutes for the image to clearly emerge, as the telescope captured layers of data, which we could see on a screen.

Say hello to the Lagoon Nebula, a vast interstellar cloud in the constellation Sagittarius that is 4000 light years away and an active stellar nursery.

Between the technology and the Milky Way arching overhead, I was blown away. Thank you, Dwight and Word.

On October 21 I visited the Blue Hill Consolidated School, where librarian Tracy Gandy had my presentation ready to go. Her bat print skirt and my moon phase dress were simpatico for this season of long nights.

Before meeting the third grade and second grade classes, I had lunch from the cafeteria with Music Specialist, Audrey Albert, and Visual Art Specialist, Penny Ricker. Small world moment: Penny’s sister, Karyl Hayes, once did a painting of our house! After my warm welcome, I read Skywatcher to each class, followed by a short back story on the making of the book. I emphasized that it takes plenty of research, writing, drawing, drawing, and more drawing to make a picture book.

Then each student plucked a small animal toy from my grab bag for some observational drawing with colored pencils. I loved what details they captured!

This artist did what I love to do: combine observation with imagination. They drew the loon decoy and then added an environment of frothy waves and yellow sunshine.

This artist, a fan of blue, created a color contrast for the red octopus.

I met Nora Bradford, a second grade teacher, who had recently taken delivery of a Welcoming Library, which we transported on behalf of our heroines at I’m Your Neighbor Books. Hooray for diverse literature for young readers!

She also had a copy of Bear and the Oxbow Island Gang, which I signed. (Shhhh, I’m about to begin illustrating the fourth book in this fun environmental series by my island neighbor, Rae Chalmers.)

After the classes impressed me with their curiosity and fresh drawings, Tracy gave me a tour of the school. I caught Penny Ricker, the Visual Arts Specialist, in action amidst the high energy of eighth grade artists. I consider the art classroom a haven where kids can be themselves, and clearly Penny makes a space for this.

This sign outside her door sums it all up.

Thank you, Blue Hill Consolidated School and Word for a stellar visit!

We headed back to our guest cottage in Brooklin, near the Wooden Boat School. I couldn’t resist stopping to admire this fellow skywatcher, always looking up. I could find no credit or signage, help me out if you know the artist.

We had Friday night plans to attend a Word reception and also a talk with author Lily King. But I lost steam for the drive back into Blue Hill:( and instead we walked to the shore at dusk. Later we spied some shooting stars from the Orionid meteor shower and a pair of startled deer, before a long night of deep rest.

On Saturday morning, I presented Stardust and Sketching at the venerable Blue Hill Public Library. Here’s the intrepid Word crew who gave support, including award-winning author Ellen Booraem on the top left, who invited me and coordinated my programs and itinerary.

Drawing with everyone is the best part.

This drawing by Lincoln was a fun surprise. He drew a reindeer and added an ecosystem on it’s back, pine tree legs, and roots that reach underground. Is that not a profound illustration? These encounters with young artists are a shot in the arm!

After the program, Marty and I wandered through the library, chock full of art and curious objects. Go check out the Midcoast Maine Book Arts exhibit on display in the Howard Room.

I recently discovered Francis Hamabe, thanks to his work in the just opened Great State of Maine Illustration show at the Brick Store Museum in Kennebunk. His graphic illustrations of local settings are still so fresh.

We stopped at Blue Hill Books, a sweet temple to literary arts and supporter of the Word Festival.

We returned to the field where the star party happened, across the road from the trail up Blue Hill Mountain. After a sunny picnic, we hiked up a ways for the view, feeling on top of the world.

Next we stopped at the First Congregational Church where poetry readings were underway. Jason Grundstrom-Whitney read works full of archetypes like Bear, Coyote, and Raven. Plus he played a mean blues harmonica:)

We ducked out to see the exhibit of Word. Art. at the Cynthia Winings Gallery nearby, a terrific ode to text in art.

We rode around East Blue Hill and found this spot. (I drew this pastel study after returning to Peaks.)

After a quick bite at Marlintini’s we attended the conversation at the church between Phuc Tran and Samantha Haskell.

Phuc did live storytelling around the Portland area, and also a Ted talk in 2012 that led him to an agent. He declared, “Words are inherently slippery,” and talked about his porous creative process, love of puns, and punk rock. He said the writing of his memoir, Sigh, Gone was like getting to the top of Mt. Everest. But to get back down, there was editing.

He revealed that he’s working on a children’s book series about a cranky crane!

The whole exchange was informative, humorous, and audience questions were deep. We had much to distill as we drove back to Brooklin, taking in the local sights.

On Sunday morning we packed up and joined the festival folks at Humblebee Cafe, where Phuc told us he took every art class in high school, which helped him become a legendary tattoo artist.

From there, we had to head home. So absolutely full of Word love! Many thanks to all those who labored to bring this together, and especially to Sherry Streeter and Jon Wilson, our generous hosts. Our Blue Hill adventures will provide inspiration for a long time.

Reason I Still Dream

Posted by jamiepeeps on Oct 11, 2022 in Horse Island | 4 comments

What a sweet time reconnecting with my fellow alums from Rhode Island School of Design‘s Class of 1980 last week! We missed our 40th reunion in 2020, thanks to the pandemic. When the invitation came in to celebrate the inauguration of the school’s 18th president, Crystal Williams, I wanted to be there.

Ged Kenslea (Film & Video) flew in from Los Angeles, where he has been the Senior Director of Communications for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation for 27 years. On October 6, we drove to Barrington where Rika Smith (Painting) hosted a lovely dinner for us, joined by David Hicks (Painting) and Madeline Sorel (Illustration) with a stop at the beach for sunset (above).

Friday was a fine day in Providence!

We gals got spiffy. This amazing mural is by Gaia Street Art.

I could hear the strains of a brassy band…yes! It was the Undertow Brass Band (FKA What Cheer Brigade) honking up a storm.

Here comes the parade of regalia!

During greetings from the RISD Community, Rex Wong (Architecture) represented alumni, and said he discovered what RISD also stands for: Reason I Still Dream. Yes!

During her Inaugural Address, Crystal Williams spoke about the need for five actions: Amplify, Engage, Cultivate, Evolve, and Connect. Amen!

Afterwards, our little tribe mingled, a bit incredulous that it’s been 42 years since we graduated.

After a hearty lunch during the Community Celebration at Market Square, we shopped at the RISD Store and strolled over to the Nature Lab, one of my all time favorite places.

Everyone had specimens to explore, memories to unpack. I quickly sketched the resident bear.

I couldn’t find a chickadee, but this scarlet tanager would do nicely as a sketch subject.

Unbeknownst to me, Ged had just picked up this souvenir for me! Such serendipity.

I also sketched this cute turtle, just the right metaphor for poking around the school.

There’s much more to the Nature Lab these days. We found serenity in the Bio Lab’s greenery and organic forms.

We headed down College Hill, where this sign made so much sense: “Trees show us the beauty of letting things go.”

We found our way to the Open Studios in the Apparel Design Department, where a gracious faculty member, Jeung-Hwa Park, gave us a tour.

The best serendipity of all was running into Crystal Williams on our walk back to our car! Cheers and congratulations all around!

That exchange truly topped a glorious day on campus. Back when we were students this river was paved over. Soon it would be the scene of Water Fire.

We hung out at Ged and David’s rental for happy hour, joined by two more from our class, Sue Gilzow and James Finkle, both Graphic Design majors who fell in love at RISD.

We dined at a vintage gem in Providence’s historic Federal Hill, Joe Marzili’s Old Canteen.

For some reason, the service was as slow as molasses, but it gave us ample time to catch up and imbibe the vintage decor.

We hugged farewells under a nearly full moon, vowing that we won’t let years roll by before we connect and engage again. Thank you, RISD, for the warm welcome and all those formative years learning to cultivate our aesthetic identities. Our careers have evolved over decades during which we have creatively solved one problem after another. May President Williams’ leadership bring RISD into a more inclusive future that amplifies the endeavors of students and alumni making the world a better place.

Thanks for reading!

A slice of summer

Posted by jamiepeeps on Aug 11, 2022 in Horse Island | 2 comments

This summer has been fast and furious. But fruitful!

I attended my first Illustration Institute event of this season in late July, a workshop with illustrator-in-residence, Carin Berger. It was held at the TEIA, the most breezy spot for gathering makers.

Carin’s fellow Faison Resident James Ransome was also participating!

Carin made a wonderful presentation about artists and their collections, the food for inspiration found in artist studios, and she shared her exquisite picture books and process. We each were given a small shallow box in which to create a collage of any kind. Plenty of ephemera fluttered in the sea breezes!

Kirsten Cappy, Executive Director of I’m Your Neighbor Books, found a vintage textbook she couldn’t resist dissecting.

My memory box became an anniversary gift for my husband, Marty. The first four years of our marriage we lived in San Francisco. Maps, stamps, tickets, moons, all momentos of our chapters together.

We departed a couple of days later for a getaway, celebrating our 34th anniversary. Time flies when you share it with a soulmate who likes cake!

We spent our anniversary in Franconia Notch, hiking to Artists Bluff. I grew up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and it felt good to touch home base.

I made a quick sketch from the summit. A steep trail called for some slow looking, and making the moment last!

These mountains inspired an illustration that will soon appear in The Milky Way by Gunnel Larsdotter, to be published by Fulton Books this fall.

The realms of night skies have beckoned me always. I am delighted to be in a group exhibition, Seeds of LIght, at Zero Station Gallery in Portland, Maine.

I’m in the company of incredible artists who share this passion for cosmic dust and nebulas. Please go visit!

Meanwhile I continue to work on two book projects. Here’s a sneak peek from Oh, Chickadee! by Jennifer Jacobson. This non-fiction picture book all about chickadees will be published by McSea Books in 2023. I drew one of my favorite buildings on Peaks, a small red barn right around the corner from the Illustration Institute guest houses.

Marty and I attended a stellar presentation by James Ransome on August 4 at the Portland Public Library.

I love when we learn all the background: where he grew up, how he found art in the local pharmacy (comics for sale), his high school art teacher in New Jersey who encouraged him. Art takes A LOT of support. He shared his early work from high school, and his first illustration jobs. His award-winning author wife, Lesa Cline Ransome, read their book, Before She Was Harriet. Their four children “keep me in my studio” he said. Jerry Pinkney was a mentor for ten years, and James told us he likes to “entertain the eye and think like a filmmaker.”

What a gift to meet them!

Up next was the wedding of my beloved nephew, Garrett Sanborn, to his beautiful bride, Marlee Huston. I made this drawing for them, after learning he proposed during a kayak paddle on a lake in Maine. Yes, those are little sparkly gems stuck on the drawing!

Their ceremony was August 6 under sunny skies at the magical Wanderwood Farm in Nobleboro, Maine. What a joyful day! Every detail was thoughtful, delicious, and I still get weepy savoring it.

But wait, there’s more! Our daughter, Daisy Braun, has installed another exhibit of her incredible sculptures at the Wells Reserve Gallery in Wells, Maine. Her show, being the current, will have a reception tonight, August 11, from 5 – 7 pm. Details HERE.

A former island neighbor, architect Dick Reed, provided astute assistance with the installation. These works are bouyant, made of reed, ribbon, and string, yet they require careful handling and suspension from multiple points.

Meanwhile, I am part of a new group show, Islands. My neighbor, Danielle Madore, has bravely created a daring place for art and conversation at the Crow’s Nest Gallery on Island Avenue. Please stop in this Sunday, 1 – 4 pm.

I am showing a series of gouache paintings I began late last year, after a woodsy walk with Robert Vandersteenhoven, island sculptor and mushroom master. Somini Sengupta in the New York Times says fungi are “agents of reincarnation.” I can tell this topic will provide inspiration for a long time.

Big exhale. So much going on. More to come! I hope you will enjoy the full moon rise tonight, August 11. We hope to catch a glimpse on the ferry ride returning from the Wells Galery reception. May all the powers of nature and art fill you with the same sacred awe that it does me. Enjoy this slice of summer, and gobble it up. My niece, Cristel Hamilton, read a poem at her brother’s wedding, Mary Oliver’s Don’t Hesitate.

Don’t let joy be a crumb!