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It's here! It's officially here! In New England, we are clinging tightly to the hope of Spring! It comes after the longest, meanest winter I can remember. It wasn't so much the ferocity of it, but the length and the relentless pace of its storms. No sunshine for weeks, white on white. I heard a meteorologist explain that this pummeling-by-snowstorm all the way to the bitter end is the atmosphere's way of balancing out. But! No more snow talk! You know what Spring is? Brave. And so is color. We can help speed the new season in with pops of it...
A color CAN save you. Green always will.
Dear-to-my-heart Annie Moore of Candlewick lore, color-comrade, and writing partner with some brave green growing right out of her pocket!
I am convinced tubes of paint are magic charms. This particular shade of new-shoot green is my current color affair. It is also conveniently bottled as "April Green" by Dr. Ph Martin. #colorfever
A little painted card byEmily in her favorite yellow!
Last snowstorm, I fought off Winter with a tube of aqua and some grocery store alstroemeria....
I think it's good to get brave and messy with color, paint with it, play in it, eat it, seek it out. Let color remind you of the warm and bright days ahead of us... (even if it snows again!)
Happy Spring, ladies and gentlemen!
2 Comments on OK, Spring! Let's do this thing., last added: 4/9/2013
I'm turning 30 (oomph) on Sunday. I was born in the heart of winter. I will be honest and tell you 29 has been hard. (I hear the 30's are a piece of cake! ;) But this year, friendship is what has pulled me back when I reached for it. I am learning too, that it is OK to reach for it. Does it make us grown-up to realize we're small? That it's ok to be vulnerable? That we can't do everything ourselves? That sometimes we need to rely on hearts around us...that it's an honor to rely on, and to be relied upon.
Friendship is the thing I am most grateful for as I come to the end of this decade. It is a deep treasure! To have one and to be one. To need one and to search for one. To find one and to become one. It's what can bloom between us in the heart of Winter, when we are not afraid to let it Spring. ♥
An enormous Happy 30th to my best childhood friend, Kay, today! (She goes over the hill first!)
6 Comments on A Wonderful Thing., last added: 2/27/2013
Oh, Julia, I love this post. I've always had a hard time relying on others in an attempt to not burden them. As I get older, I, too, am learning how to let others help me. You are a wonderful friend and I'm so happy to know you. Happy almost 30th! xoxoxo
Happy Birthday, my fellow Piscean blogger! Welcome to the world of thirty-year-olds. I turned thirty-five yesterday and I think the thirties are wonderful.
Beloved friends, family & readers, THANK YOU for your love through the years. I'm shooting it right back to you (in creepy kitty form–remember him?). Don't forget, hugs sink extra deep today!
Love, Julia
2 Comments on Happy Valentine's., last added: 2/22/2013
Hey, Tuesday! Interrupting fairy deadlines with a bit of news: I'm excited and honored to be included in this cheery collection of contemporary watercolorists. The book is beautifully designed and includes some of my esteemed favorites like Becca Statdlander, Sujean Rim, what company! Watercolor hits stores in April. Thanks to the fine folks at Chronicle, and author/curator Leslie Ann Dutcher.
Have a beautiful week, folks!
10 Comments on Chronicle's "Watercolor" Collection, last added: 2/22/2013
Good morning! (Sidenote: I've just broken my own freelance-rule: walked into the studio in my jammies. Oops.) Oh well, such is January. Everything I've been working on in here is top secret, but since that's no fun, I'll share some warm-up sketches. Here goes:
In the fairy realm I am working in, the author has decided to treat wings as detachable accessories, which is very kind of her considering there is a lot of dressing up and going to balls (wings and gowns-eek). Swimming might be another perfect situation to take advantage...
After drawing her, I realized she might be my own version of Thumbelina(above).
Sneaky sprites.
Hope you have a lovely week! If you spot a fairy under your nearest toadstool, be sure to report.
4 Comments on Wings Warm-Up., last added: 1/29/2013
Just so you know, we *all* wish we could work in our jammies in January (altho, I did have the same rule when I was freelancing) so enjoy it for the rest of us ;) xo*
It's crunchy out. The sun is in your eyes, ice is underfoot. City people hurry by, faces wound in scarves. We are on the freshest edge together, newly whet by winter.
Isn't it exciting? There is hope on this edge, that things can change, that we can shape our own little worlds. It's fresh and clean and everything is new...you've got new ideas, (new socks, maybe), new plans, new hopes. It's a time for travel, opening the eyes (I've been keeping my eyes on this important movement), learning a language, reading deeply, and dreaming long dreams, interior adventures, interior decorating, prayer, nesting, gathering friends and family to light up the corners. It flavors your back-to-work tasks with possibility, re-enlivens your livelihood.
My sister, Christa, aptly dubbed it, "home keeping/possible magical worlds season"...YES. (She always says it best.) I like the in-between-seasons, maybe even more than the main events. I think it's because of their quiet power. It's when all the secret work is being done before something is ready to bloom....
As far as seasonal nesting, my eyes always return from break fixed on pattern and color. I've been aiming to surround us in delft blue and Scandinavian pattern. I love how pattern can turn a corner into a "place" with a story of its own. Another domestic-cozy goal has been to create a homemade "hearth" for folks to sit around. We started to bring it to life this week (and escaped a fire emergency!) At least I can pretend it's the real thing. Isn't it neat what a little dancing flame can to a dark room (and cat)?
Right now is also a time of visual starkness. Color and imagination are VERY powerful because of that. The palette here in Quincy is gull-gray, white, and sharp sea blue. Stories are clearer and louder against those colors. Dream-life seems to mix with real-life too...a winter alchemy. I always dream vividly when the new year begins, too. Do you? The past few nights mine have been full of symbols, adventures, tunnels and good advice from strangers (is it weird to dream of strangers?) Every dream has been focusing around the prospect of "being ready"...(I hope this is a good thing!) I think it's all part of the humming work that has begun. Here's a doodled symbol from a dream: full of roses.
So Happy New Year, friends! And vivid dreaming too! I hope you are refreshed and ready for it. Can't wait to watch it bloom together, I think it's gonna be a good one.
4 Comments on Freshest Edge, last added: 1/13/2013
Happy New Year, Julia! You have such a gift for finding beauty and creating beauty in the world, right down to your adorable boots! May 2013 bring you all good things! xoxo
Hey Julia! I'm a vivid reader of your lovely blog. So I decided to stop by and send you a message to say hello. I found your work while googling about Audrey two years ago. So I felt in love with your lovely illustrations! You captured her essence so deeply. So I bought Audrey's book and it's really a good one! I love your watercolor illustrations... so simple but incredible in the same time! And It's always a pleasure to read your inspiring posts. Thank you! Happy new year! And I can't wait to hear more news about your new book project! xo
Hi Aline! Hello and thanks for the nice note! Thank you too for the kind words about Audrey. I'm so glad you enjoy the book, it was so much fun to study such an inspiring lady and try to paint her.
Ah! December? Where is the time going? How have you all been?
I've been writing my novel (thanks for the encouragement!), revising fairies, heading south for research interviews, and getting lost in journals of people that lived hundreds of years ago. Before the holidays totally consume us, I wanted to quick get this old post up. Because it's all about Almost-Winter in New England, which is one of my favorite times, and it's nearly done already.
During this particular time of year, the land here is enchanted:
(I tried to paint it last week, out the studio window.)
The palette across our land here in New England becomes rich and complex during this season. Out on an echoing walk through the hollow woods you can see mulberries, purples-bruised-to-blacks, plums, poisonous reds on neutrals, rumbling umbers, steely evergreen and that perfect hard-to-mix slate blue sky. It is soggy under your feet, the light is long and a little bit sad, the air is dense and sweet with the smell of leaves turning to earth. You think about the people who have felt home here too, over thousands of years, and everyone, for a moment feels connected and alive. The deciduous trees become ringed kings topped in copper crowns. Forests seem alive with old-fashioned ghosts...and Christmas will settle into the land if you cue a Coventry Carol or two!
At the very edge of night and day, was when we'd love to go out and play in it, wrapped up in old table cloths for "old-fashioned dresses", "stewing" our rotten Halloween pumpkin in the burgundy dark over a flashlight, pretending we were putting up onion grass for the long winter under the deck, being chilled to the bone so when our mom would call us in for soup, it would be an unimaginable luxury...
I actually wrote and re-wrote this post about a dozen times, because it's nearly impossible for me to talk about my landscape. So, I usually don't. My relationship to the land here is personal and bone-deep. I have entries saved about New England in the summer, the spirit in the land, the seagulls and the green. But I'm always stopped from posting by two things: (1) the belief that no one would want to read about things like seagulls and ocean! and (2) I am always at a loss for words, re: the land. Sometimes something is too beloved to explain.
(If you have read this far already, you should have a copper crown yourself!)
When I view hazy New England hills on a car drive, my reaction is always immediate. It's from the center of my chest. Peace settles through me while I scan the stacked golds and fire-tinged sphere against sphere. Is it having been born here? Having been lulled to sleep in the backseat watching them roll since I was born? Maybe. I will probably always always live here, I don't think I'd ever be able to part with them (the hills-or the ghosts).
Sometimes just doing a little painting unlocks the language of the land for me, keeping my imagination planted firmly in the cold wet dirt while I write.
Is there a place that bewitches you, where you live?
13 Comments on New England Blood, last added: 12/13/2012
I feel like I was just living in your mind for a little moment there and it's a nice place. I will always read your posts about the seagulls and the ocean to the very last word. :)
I too, am bewitched by where I grew up, though I didn't realize it until I moved away. I can see the "special" in New England and that's why I stay here...but Northeastern PA has a magic all it's own. I've been trying to capture it for years...impossibly.
You might have just given me inspiration to try again. <3
Japan. There is a special smell that I can sense sometimes and it immediately makes me think of my aunt's home in the countryside of Japan. It makes me feel so nostalgic and even though its been years since I've been there and I'd only been there once or twice (once as a baby!) I still feel so close to that place.
I've been here so long with few-and-far-between visits to my hometown (North Palm Beach, FL) that I sometimes forget what NPB felt like. But whenever I go back to visit, it washes over me, like a memory becoming physical. The air is different, the sun is different, the light, the smell, the sand, the ocean. The landscape is flat with big open skies. I love being in New England--you're right in that there's something enchanting about it--but whenever I go back to FL I feel a type of happy that I don't feel up here. It's actually kind of wonderful to love two places so much that they're both home, in totally different ways!
Ohhh I can totally imagine the warm rays of NPB, Ellen. Thanks for sharing, so neat that everyone really does have that relationship with their own "places". I like your "memory becoming physical" bit, that's just how it feels!
Absolutely beautiful, Julia! I totally understand a love affair with the land that is hard to put into words! That's how I feel about the Smokies :) xo*
Janet Kemper said, on 12/7/2012 11:48:00 AM
Beautifully written! I miss New England. I grew up there and lived there until I moved to Colorado 4 years ago. I love and appreciate the beauty that is the Rocky mountains everyday now. I knew I would miss New England, especially the ocean, but I am so surprised how deeply I miss it. Every time I visit...I just appreciate it more and more.
Can you imagine the mess a flock of fairy sisters (and each with a pair of wings) can make in your house? Well, imagine it, and you've got my studio for the next few weeks! The music is loud, inky bristol board is everywhere, and if you come to the door, I will greet you in all my sans-make-up-scary-haired-brow-furrowed glory, while whisking my collection of old tea mugs away to the sink, Kathleen Kelly style. I become slightly non-verbal in final art mode, too. It's a strange thing. For days, my eyes and hands do all the conversing by pushing and pulling line, shape, and value. In my head it sounds a little like this: "WIDE GREY THING, CHALKY EDGE, SPLATTER, BRINGS THE DARKS OUT, MUTE WITH OPAQUE, DEFINE LINE, MORE CAFFEINE." I become a render machine. Am I making sense? No? Here, have some toast...
(Fairy fuel)
This coming Saturday, I'll have an excuse to put pants on and remember how to talk: I'll be speaking at Foundation For Children's Books "What's New In Children's Books" with authors I admire,Grace Lin and David Yoo. Details HERE. Come say hello!
2 Comments on The fairies have descended..., last added: 11/14/2012
Thanks, Ms. Annie. I just jumped into your magical online sketchbook...so beautiful. I also realized we've been blog friends from the very start~cheers to that!
It is a magical day for black kitties everywhere! Mine is hamming it up over here (juggling pumpkins, growing extra arms...) I hope you have a sweet little Halloween.
The creative life is never quite what you expect. And it's really good to hear about the process when it isn't pretty and isn't one tidy solution. Thank you for sharing that. Hold on the the simple truth that you are a creator, a maker, a magician. I have confidence you will find your way.
Hi, I really love your work and I will be excited to see whatever you produce next.
I'm new on this journey and can say that I very much relate to all those pesky fears + worries. I think that when we are honest about how we're feeling, it pushes us to continue to be brave.
And when we're brave and strong, we can squash those nasty little fears. Or at least put them in our back pockets for awhile.
I'm hoping this is true, anyway.
Thank you for sharing.
And I am sure - absolutely - that you shouldn't pack-up those dreams. Tell your story. Don't get a job in the city. :)
oh my goodness I know EXACTLY how you feel! I struggle with this too, often. I think its because to make a piece of work/book/whatever you have to focus on it and get passionate about it which makes it extremely hard to flip to being focused and passionate about something else at the same time. Constant dilemma of my life!
And Victoria-so glad to know I'm not alone in the zany "passion switch" between two (or more) creative projects, it sounds so silly but it can really mess with you, right?...focus means leaving one behind. Art doesn't like to wait. But we must focus to move forward, I suppose.
I think your mom is very wise and I love her idea of introducing. Perhaps creativity comes from one good place and all of our creations (instead of bickering) can realize they've got a lot in common under the surface.
boy am I nodding my head along with you... quiet times without pending deadlines are nerve-wrecking even when you need them to create personal work. In the end I truly believe that making work you like and would like doing will get you paid work doing these... if you only do what pays the bills you will be stuck doing those projects forever! Creativity is like trying to hold water with your hands... you can always catch some but sometimes it feels like a lot gets wasted... or missed as we thirst. but I constantly look at what you do here as inspiration as I'm sure so many others do as well. My husband and I constantly talk about this sort of thing... ;) know you are not alone. and everything you do does matter. :)
Mary denos said, on 10/5/2012 11:59:00 AM
Thank you Julia for your tribute. You and my four other children are beyond doubt. The greatest creative work in my life...next writing...music...hmm. Introductions came so naturally in the family. More unwieldy in the world of creative production. There is always room for whatever new is coming along. Enjoy.
I have the same problems and I am SO glad that I'm not alone. It is monday morning here in Munich and I should work on my book for adults AND my book(s) for children. But somehow I just can't get myself to write just one line..or draw something..or write another story..
At first I wasn't going to leave a comment because sometimes it's just nice to vent and not have people popping suggestions at you, but I've been thinking a lot about this post.
For me, I'm a writer and that comes first. Writing a novel is a big project. We can't just wait for inspiration, we have to plug at every work day. Do you have to work on more than one project at a time? That's up to you and your muse.
If you decide to both at the same time, for the shorter projects, it helps to have one or maybe two days set aside in the week where you work on just that project. You wake up excited because that becomes a special day where your muse gets to play.
Having that special day of fun can also set the creative juices flowing and make the novel writing days more fun.
Of course, nothing's set in stone and if I finish my writing early for the day I may work on a different project in the afternoon even if it's not 'the day' for it, if you know what I mean.
It's so good to know I'm not alone in the "writing and drawing" brain fight...thank you and good luck Christina!!
C.E., I am HEARTILY welcoming suggestions and your suggestion is a GREAT one. I think it's all about time division, too. And it's really about disciplining the brain, isn't it? It's hard because after many years of letting "art" do its thing whenever it wants, telling it to stop and move over for the writing has been a challenge. Maybe one day I'll get these kids to be friends. I'm going to try to implement your idea, thank you! Good luck on your projects as well. <3
It's class picture day today in Room 23. Everyone is dressed in their best pose, plaid, and pencils. I have good back to school memories, do you? The morning air has a cool edge while you wait for the bus, the smell of new erasers overpowers your jitters over gym class. A shout-out to my sister, Anna, for whom the blonde was named! More children's fashion HERE.
Anna
Kenneth
Tila and her crazy pencils.
Benjamin
6 Comments on Class Picture Day, last added: 9/6/2012
Last week my studio was turned into an all-hours kitty hospital of sorts. My steadfast and whiskered coworker got himself a life-threatening case of FLUTD. He came into the studio as I finished a book cover, hung his head and cried. Off to the hospital we went. A week of invasive cat hell ensued. But he is home now and recovering! Thank you, Hancock Animal!
The hardest part of Seri's ordeal was encountering my human frustration with the animals I love: not being able to speak to them, especially in times of need. It would be my SUPERHERO POWER of choice. Interspecies communication is mind-bending and heart-melting when you think about it: To converse, we slowly construct a common language together with eye contact, voice, and patterns of touch. But there are moments of fear and heartbreak, when you would give anything to SPEAK CAT or RABBIT or DOG, just so you might explain. Luckily, after all he went through, Seri was still wagging his taped-up little tail when I sung to him from across the room. He was still speaking our "language" and that's the most humbling thing.
Do you and your pet have a "language" together?
Editor in chief:
Ay! Get to work!
Hopefully he'll be back to his usual "wild foal" energy levels next week (thanks Boggy!) :
Oh, no!! Poor little guy. I'm so glad he is doing better. My cat, a tortie named Emma, had a UTI three years ago and it was absolutely no fun for any of us. She's very vocal, though; she chirps, squeaks, and trills. When one of us speaks to her, she responds vocally. I've read that cats understand as much of our vocabulary as a two year-old child. I definitely think it's true!
what a trooper of a kitty!! love the video and the pics! as far as languages between animals, I can totally relate to what you are saying as I've lost one puggy to illness and almost lost another at a different time- and they always told me immediately when it was serious. but they tell me other things, too... its the craziest thing but they all have within each animal a little person and a little voice.. and if we're lucky, we can hear it. :) good for you for listening!!
The second president of the United States once lived down the street from our house:
View of the Adams' Peace Field, Quincy MA
This morning, one of his letters came to me by Twitterfeed (not messenger, horse, or carriage) thanks to the MHS. The letter is an antiquated thing dotted with agelessness. From his spot in the 18th century, from our spot in the 21st, especially this week, we are sharing something pretty fantastic: WONDER. He asks the same grand questions about our universe, ones we are still shouting out into space today. Considering his level of excitement over the view of the Milky Way via Sir William Hershell's new-fangled "glass" (telescope), let's imagine what he would have thought of the view from the Curiosity! (I'm taking historical liberties to imagine he'd probably yell "Great Animalcules!", drop his pen, have a merry fit and then sit down to feverishly pen some new correspondence...)
View of Mars
In his letter to Cotton Tufts:
London June 2. 1786
"...Herschell indeed wit
3 Comments on Space & Time., last added: 8/13/2012
I know! I love to wonder about what they would think of OUR use of language. My next goal is to incorporate "Learn-ed Pigg" into a 21st century sentence...
Mary Nicoll Denos said, on 8/12/2012 7:15:00 AM
Socrates (long lost relative?) said 'Wisdom begins in Wonder' I trust we will always have reasons to wonder, imagine, daydream and question. That is the surest road to any art or creation. Thought-provoking post.
Happy August! How have you been? I've missed you so, blogger buds!
Work has really ramped up. The blog and house have grown quiet except for the sounds of tweeting and talking to my cat to keep sane (do you Tweet? let's Tweet...@JuliaDraw).
Matt is also art lead on his company's latest video game project so our little family is running an art marathon together! WOOSH. There are dreams of vacation in September (Virginia or Nantucket–any hotel recs. welcome!) but for now, summer exists in savored little visits: blueberry farms, escape-for-lunch dates, late night walks on Wollaston beach ("around town" Quincy pics to come). My work-away-from-home spot : Crema Cafe in Harvard, where the food is good, the tables have a charming wobble, and the people are tip top...
Speaking of little visits, I just had two virtual ones. One was at The Girls of Summer blog by two award-winning authors and women whom I greatly admire,Gigi Amateau and Meg Medina. The other was an interview with the very gracious Rosa St. Claire for Examiner.com. Monday, I real-life visited a beloved spot with my talented lady-friend Amanda Atkins,The Curious George store in Harvard Square. We met the lovely manager and buyer, Broche Fabian, and friendly staff and I signed some stock. As you know, this was my first place of employment in Boston, under the original owners. I'm so glad the space has reopened as a bright spot again in the heart of Harvard Square. It's beautiful!
SUMMERTIME! I've been out exploring the wilds of Massachusetts. In the studio, I've been drawing a lot of be-wing-ed little girls for an upcoming project (eee!) Have you ever touched the inside of a milkweed pod? I can't remember if I have, but it's one of my summer goals.
4 Comments on Milkweed Slippers, last added: 7/12/2012
Love your her wings and outfit with your cute pencils sketching. So adorable!!! You make wonderful and stylish characters.
Anonymous said, on 7/12/2012 4:16:00 PM
Of course, everyone must touch the inside of milkweed! We set the feathers free and do double duty as seeds and wishes. Attractor of monarch butterflies and perfect for outfitting fairies' feet!
Have you spotted Alice McKinley in the wild yet? I was invited into her zany world by the good folks at Simon & Schuster to repackage Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's classic series. They're out in bookstores now just in time for summer reading. Alice's voice is so blushingly honest and true through the entire ordeal of growing up, so I tried my best to zoom in on her open heart. She is the queen of quirk and awkwardness, the best mixture of courage, freckles, and innocence. She cracked me up. I loved meeting her. I hope you will too!
Big thank yous to the talented Jessica Handelman for her introduction to Alice and her fresh take on the design (don't you just love her san serif punchiness?) It was fun going bold, graphic, and candy-colored for this series. I painted these in watercolor, with a background in one layer of acrylic paint. These Alice covers made third place in the 2012 New York Book Show, for Trade Paperback Series!
"The kiss went on so long, I wondered when I was allowed to swallow. What we the rules about this? Should the boy let you up for air every ten seconds or were you supposed to sort of keep your nostrils to one side?" –Alice's second kiss, Alice In Rapture, Sort Of
Click on the image to see them up close on my website...
My 2 oldest sisters and I absolutely loved Alice growing up. She made us realize the things we thought were so weird about ourselves were in fact just part of life. Now my youngest sister is hitting that stage and I'm so excited that you're illustrating the new Alice books! Guess what she's getting for her birthday... :D
Meet Indigo, Saffron and Cadmium and Permanent Rose Casson, children of two artists, living outside of London, and all named after colors on the color wheel that hangs in their kitchen.
The whole family arrived at my door last week, care of McElderry/Simon & Schuster (merci, Michael!) It was thrilling to see all of the covers together. The Casson siblings, who enchanted me from the start, weave in and out of a 6–book family epic by Hilary McKay, the acclaimed award-winning author from the UK. The repackages were done in time for McKay to release the prequel Casson fans have been waiting for: Caddy's World. With a starred review from SLJ, I think Caddy and the Cassons are set to fly. It was an honor to be involved in this process.
I worked with a splendid team: prolific art director and designer, Michael McCartney, and editors Karen Wojtyla and Emily Fabre, to bring a fresh look to McKay's series for what we all hope will be a new batch of readers in America.
After signing on, I received a bit of some of the most memorable art direction to date. It made me both wonder if I could and fill with determination that I must, the best kind of art direction an artist could get. Michael wrote:
".....Hilary McKay’s work is charming and endearing beyond compare. Her readers are as completely smitten with the Cassons as the loves of our youth....We must have artwork that possesses the same ability as the characters within the text to induce a captivation li
13 Comments on Book Cover Series: The Cassons Have Arrived!, last added: 4/27/2012
I think they chose the right illustrator... as it sounds like you really connected with these stories. I must read all of them now. I have a family much like this as well- my twin sister and two older sisters... we are all really close. I wish I could write something more poetical now because I want to describe the feeling that this post, along with all the quotes, have really resonated for me. Something about "heart"... and a little about "souls"... =family. :)
I love this post!! The Casson series have been my have now since I discovered them nine years ago. That family is so dear to me, and I really appreciate the way you chose to describe the books here. I love your illustrations - they capture the whimsical feeling of belonging to the Casson household. :) One day I would like to own the books with all of your covers.
your illustrations are beautiful. they make me feel like i already know the characters. so excited to read this series! ps. i'm an older sister, too.
Hilary McKay said, on 4/25/2012 12:42:00 PM
Julia, I hope you don't mind me commenting on your blog, and thank you so much for your very kind words. When I first saw your artwork I thought, that is exactly how Eve would draw the children. You have caught so perfectly the people I have known and written about for so long.You couldn't have done better, and I couldn't love them more! Hilary (McKay)
Dear Hilary-Thank you, thank you! It means so much to hear you are happy with them, most of all. I bet Bill would not approve though, since they are "scenes"...not exactly art... :) I'm so glad you thought of Eve...thank you for the unforgettable stories!
Hi Posse, yes yes read read!
Shaz, it means so much that the covers pass your inspection being a longtime fan.
Jana, thank you!
Hey Mai! I didn't know you were a twin, that's a magical thing...fun that you are one of 4 girls too :)
Thank you, Heather! Gap city flats in tangerine (they come in a pouch!)
This is one of those blog post windows I have a hard time closing. You are so intricate and thoughtful not only with pictures, but with words as well! <3
Thank you Renée, glad you found it interesting, and as the avid middle grade/YA reader that you are, you would love these books. I bet a lady tea party on it!
Mary N. Denos said, on 4/27/2012 1:50:00 PM
We treasure our copies- thank you for the set! I can't wait to read them all- Now especially since you filled us in on the creative process!
When thePlymouth Antiquarian Society put out a call last week for help at an archeological dig they've begun in Plymouth Center, I said: Yes, please! Digging for history is probably the EXACT way I'd like to spend any Sunday afternoon, so we jumped in the car and headed south once again to grab some shovels. (Thank you to husband! His sifting skills were much appreciated <3.) They are still working and needing volunteers to anyone who might be local.
We met Donna Curtin, curator at P.A.S, when we arrived and she set us out on a hunt for 2 types of evidence to prove this storage shed was a Slave Dwelling. We worked under the direction of local archeologist Craig Chartier (director of the Plymouth Archeological Discovery Project). Having met the rest of our digging team: Joyce and Noelle Poremski and Robin Tozzi (all lovely and welcoming and connected to PAS as well), we set out to find chopped bone and shell bead evidence...here let's let Donna explain more (by Rich Harbert via Wicked Local):
I used to work as an archaeological illustrator on digs in North Africa (for Roman fishing ports). And I also was in love with the Munsell soil charts. Such a fun way to think of soil, all those lovely colours!
JaneA! No way, I would love to see the illustrations you made in North Africa! Did you illustrate artifacts themselves? And yes, I would like to bring a little Munsell book around with me all the time :)
If you are living near the East Coast, chances are you've been living in a cloud for the better part of this month. I don't mind cloud-life too much. Rain wakes me up on the skylight in the morning, birds still go on building their nests in the rafters near our windows. The storms haven't been meddling or mean, but mild enough to just add a little curl to your hair or an umbrella to your bag. Rainy days make me FINALLY sit still and that's good for work! And I can't get over the GREEN that they bring.
The best studio days are rainy. There is a productive energy to them, the Earth is busy with photosynthesis and you are busy at your desk. I'm usually (selfishly) wishing for a week full of them. They have always soothed me, been able to put me under a spell. It's that constant chanting, hushing "shhhhhhhh" outside the window. Nature's entranced too, I think...the birds sound like they are singing in the shower. And my cat is seriously cozy-ing himself out in here:
I love rainy days, too. We don't get nearly enough of them here in California, so I cherish each one. It's the perfect studio weather. I'm so much more productive when it rains. Enjoy!
As a teacher I have a different perspective. Rainy days mean we are trapped! Personally I enjoy them but professionally they are a thorn in my side. I can't wait to see what you have created with all of these rainy days.
Rainy days is good. Although I shouldn't walk in the rain because I'll get sick as my family told me, I love rainy days.
Mary N. Denos said, on 5/16/2012 2:11:00 PM
Rainy days make my flowers grow, but my patience shrinks...(also work with children who need to run outside) Rain is my favorite reading weather. YOU loved indoor recess cause you could draw with your classmates ;-) Enjoy the rain while it lasts!
Good morning busy bees! Hope you had a restful little holiday. I've been secretly assembling a new home for my fashion work and I can't wait to share it with you!
Today, I'm happy to introduce :
It's my new fashion blog. You can click here to go and visit if you'd like. With the launch of several recent style projects, my fashion work requested an exclusive place to sprawl and stretch and spread its wings. "The Cinnamon Rabbit" continues on as a blog for all things narrative and children's publishing. "Palette" is a fresh new place for all things visual, a place for color and line to live and breathe! ENJOY♥
2 Comments on Introducing a New Blog!, last added: 6/1/2012
"The earth spins at a thousand miles an hour. Sometimes when I remember this, it's all I can do to stay upright – the urge to flatten myself to the ground and clutch hold is that strong."
I'd like to describe Summer of the Gypsy Moths as haunting and moth's-wing delicate...Sarah Pennypacker deftly weaves an impossible balance between the macabre, innocence, and balmy summer vacation. Stella and Angel are two abandoned girls who summon incredible courage during one fateful summer, and learn how to survive together. I am so afraid to give anything more away! I read it in one sitting...page one cast its spell and I didn't look up again until it was time to make dinner:
Many thanks to Amy Ryan and Donna Bray for their keen eyes, design and delicate direction. And congratulations on a stunning piece, Sarah Pennypacker! Published by Balzer+ Bray.
Why I Love Making Book Covers
I presented to Lesley University this weekend (mother university of my alma mater, The Art Institute of Boston) and spoke on the creation of a book cover. I admitted to the audience that book covers were possibly my favorite format because of the challenge they pose: the challenge of funneling the entire written work, and characters you've become attached to yourself, into that one gripping moment. This cover was the stage for Stella's moment.
There are many elements that need to be working together for that moment I'm working toward... I'm thinking first about choosing style: it needs to aid the moment while also translating the author's voice
10 Comments on Making the Cover: Summer of the Gypsy Moths, last added: 6/5/2012
I read an ARC of this a few months ago and loved it. I also spotted your artwork a mile away, and was so excited to see something new from you! Glad this one is going out into the world (and into our bookstore) soon!
Summer of the Gypsy Moths arrived at the Curious George store with a larger book order about a week or so ago, and a number of my co-workers were oohing and awing while the books sat patiently waiting to be received and shelved. Your work always has such a way of intriguing the viewer and setting the right kind of atmosphere, which is so perfect for book cover illustration. I hope you make many more for the rest of us to admire! (:
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6 Comments on Oh, Alice..., last added: 6/21/2012
8 Comments on Rainy Day Spell, last added: 5/17/2012
Love! Do you ever sell your originals?
Is it acrylic or oil paint is one of mix media?