So much to be thankful for - especially amidst the recent rending of tears and expostulations into the ether...
If you haven't seen it already, Sophie Blackall's Missed Connections blog is too good to miss. I was already a fan of her work - especially her color pallet and sense of style in Ruby's Wish, Meet Wild Boars, and Ivy and Bean - now I'm like that gawky teenager in awe of a girl who pretty much walks on water. Simple. Striking. Delicate and bold. Great stuff!
A quick peak at most of POLAR OPPOSITES -- both on my studio wall and on the front porch getting a final coat of "workable" fixative. Highly recomended that you wear some sort of mask for this part of the job. After several weeks of minimal sleep I pretty much resemble an alien anyway...
Last Saturday morning, my friend Sean McCabe died after a long stuggle with Thyroid cancer. He was far too young for such a fate, and leaves behind his wife Laura, two beautiful daughters, and far too many other impacted lives to count.
Happy 25th Anniversary to St. Paul's finest children's bookstore! The Red Balloon Bookshop celebrates 25 years this month.
The pirate limped, the toddler toddled, and the bunny hopped -- all through the town!
I don't think I've done a book recommendation before, but reading Rabbit Hill might make this a semi-regular feature. We recently finished this really cool 1944 edition (on lone from my father-in-law) and it was great.
Plus, the art work is still awesome! Check it out. Hop to it. Etc.!
My week started off with a 5:30am rousting and just possibly the most gorgeous school visit drive of my life! I sauntered down the Methow under cover of darkness, filled up with gas in the 16 degree chill of Brewster, WA, and rose up out of the Columbia River Valley into early light and long shadows. Some inspiring color in the dryland grain farming NE of Waterville...
... and then a descent into Dry Falls /Sun Lakes -- a canyon carved out by the Ice Age Floods.
The students, teachers, staff, and parents at Grant Elementary School were just simply AWESOME! So friendly, creative and welcoming. Thank you all very much, and keep up the excellent work on your own writing and illustrating!
A return to Illustration Friday! Next week, I promise to create something brand new, but this is from my latest book at least.
About 10 days ago I received word from author Deb Vanasse that Totem Tale had been selected as a Reading is Fundamental (RIF) read-aloud book for "40,000 children in 50 public elementary schools" in Washington, DC. The RIF DC Initiative (“DCI”), is a special program facilitating free book distribution and motivational activities. All children in participating schools get to choose a free book to keep at each of the three book distribution events held during the school year. Totem Tale will be featured in the first book event during November, which is American Indian Heritage Month.| Powered by eSnips.com |
This is old hat for some of you, but on the heels of Summer Reading 2009 I've just uploaded my very first Lulu.com self-publishing experiment. Super Princess Madam Zorony lives!
A signed copy of Boo's Surprise to the first person who identifies our photo locale!
Signing off, I'll leave you with a proof of the Spring 2010 Cat Diaries cover. I've shown the cat image before, but the design is really coming together...
This spring, for the first time ever, my wife, daughter and I planted a garden. For a while now, we have been sampling the fruits of our labor, but this last batch of carrots and tomatoes was particularly satisfying. Lots of lettuce too, and a bunch of swiss chard that I neglected to include in the photo.
