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Our theme this week for our blog is "Flower/Flowers". The above is an adult greeting card design I did for Ronnie Sellers/RSVP cards a number of months ago. Not in my usual style, is it? I've been focusing on line work this last year but previous to that, I had done a lot of jobs with collage and mixed media. Over the last decade-plus, I experimented around for a style that would be enjoyable, creative and marketable, and ultimately (or at this point in time), I'm back to my initial style of humorous line work.

I still get jobs for collage and mixed-media, and this card is one of them. I do enjoy working in collage and pushing paint around (in this case, digital paint), so jobs like this are a nice break from my primary style.

Birthday Party, originally uploaded by crystal driedger.

Every year it is my goal to use the skills I developed while working full time at my last job (I was there for four years and the company sold gift bags, childrens books, greeting cards and other fun things to quite a variety of companies including Walmart, Costco, American Greetings and many a dollar store among other places). One of the downsides of selling to these big companies was that the end results of my work (the actual products) weren't sold or created in Canada. Now normally this wouldn't be a problem, but I am a very far drive away from our nearest border (which for me is Montana, a beautiful state packed with mountains and sweet smelling forests)... and for those of you who have had the wonderful experience of seeing your work in stores it's so so satisfying to see it being touched and admired by real people, even if they are standing on it while it's on the floor (this, by the way, happened to me when I was lucky enough to be able to go on a business trip to Nashville. In a dollarstore in the middle of the city people were frantically searching for the "perfect" Christmas gift bag all the while tossing things on the floor where the faces of my paintings were being covered by the mud on the streets beneath customers boots).

This story reminds me of the reality of commercial illustration, or perhaps illustration in general. We create art that is essentially disposable. Our paintings get admired for seconds, perhaps a few days at most then is thrown away or recycled. There are exceptions to this rule: Children's books can be cherished and read over and over, some greeting cards are saved for years and I've heard of people framing copies of art they've clipped from magazines.

While I know that not every child who gets a card I've created in their mailbox will treasure it I can't stop trying to make similar images than those I loved when I was little. Greeting cards and childrens books were the first things I could call mine and they were certainly evidence that an artist could influence and brighten my world. Not to mention it dispelled the idea that if you wanted to be an artist you had to be "starving". Someone must have been paid to create the cards I got for my birthday and there was no way the artists behind the Lion King weren't being compensated in some way (although at the time I would have licked dirt to have been one of their artists, forget paying me!).

So I'll continue to illustrate and create concepts that might, if I am so lucky, be turned into cards that are eventually thrown away (or at best recycled). Because heck, people might like my design so much that they will buy my card and fill it with money. If that doesn't make my card worth more to someone, I don't know what will!

After a week of thinking about boys and books, I'm honored that Tami asked me to come on back and talk briefly, if that's possible, to combine our topics with a giant exclamation point.

Early this week, Tami talked about books that let the reader infer.  Let's be honest:  whether our books are for girls or boys, they better do this.  Good books trust the reader.  There is nothing that makes me put a book down like an overabundance of self awareness, whining, and telling.  Sometimes, when I'm reading, I think, "PLEASE, DON'T TELL ME EVERYTHING."  I'm not sure about this, but I suspect that one big difference between books identified as "boy books" versus "girl books" have a lot to do with interior monologue.  Feelings.  And letting them all hang out.

I think readers today want to SEE.  They are used to seeing.  We have the tools to do this.  We can think like a director and give our readers a world they can imagine.

This is one of the great tools of writing.  We can get into a person's head and see what they see.  We can take the camera and turn it on the world in the unique voice of our protagonists.  No two people witness the same event the same way.  Your protagonist must narrate his or her story in a unique voice.  I hope this was clear during my posts last week.  In light of Andy's comments, isn't that crucial for writers who want to reach boys?  If boys want to conquer the world, we need to see that world and the obstacles in front of him.  David Klass's FIRESTORM offers a great example.  It is action packed.  The world is familiar and new.  In fact, I couldn't help noticing how often Klass uses sentence fragments that begin with action words.  There is very little looking within. 

And to go back to the boyless CLEMENTINE, we know she's spunky because she is told with broad visual strokes.  We can see her.  It does not surprise me at all that this book is loved by girls and boys.  

Last, I'd like to offer a twist to this debate:  Walter Dean Myers's MONSTER.   It has a boy protagonist.  I believe it fits the criteria of BOY BOOK.  Now, check out what he does using screenplay and narrative.  It is really quite extraordinary.

In Monster, Steven Harmon, the protagonist, is on trial for murder.  He is accused of being the look-out man in a burglary/homicide.  During the trial scenes, Steve turns a virtual camera on himself.  He scripts his trial, like a screenplay, complete with director’s cues.  Examine how Steve, the narrator, uses cinematic techniques in the following excerpt:

COURT CLERK

Two minutes!

CUT TO: GUARDS, who hurriedly finish breakfast.  STENOGRAPHER takes machine into COURTROOM.  They unshackle STEVE and take him toward door.

CUT TO: STEVE is made to sit down at one table.  At another table we see KING and two attorneys.  STEVE sits alone.  A guard stands behind him.  There are one or two spectators in the court.  Then four more enter.

CLOSE UP (CU) of STEVE HARMON.  The fear is evident in his face.

MS:  People are getting ready for the trial to begin.  KATHY O’BRIEN  sits next to STEVE.

O’BRIEN

How are you doing?

STEVE

I’m scared.

O’BRIEN

Good; you should be.  Anyway, just remember what we’ve been talking about.  The judge is going to rule on a motion that King’s lawyer made to suppress Cruz’s testimony, and a few other things.  Steve, let me tell you what my job is here.  My job is to make sure the law works for you as well as against you, and to make you a human being in the eyes of the jury.  Your job is to help me.  Any questions you have, write them down and I’ll try to answer them.  What are you doing there?

STEVE

I’m writing this whole thing down as a movie. (15-6)

In this scene, Myers demonstrates not simply what a director adds to a screenplay but also what a writer adds to a cinematic suspense novel.  Steve shifts the camera, pulls it in and out to show the reader both people and physical objects and details.  He cuts the film to strategically create and enhance the tension.  He films close ups of all the actors, including himself.  He relays the dialogue and the action as he sees it through the camera.  When he closes in on a witness or detail, the reader sees what the camera sees without explanation, not what Steve necessarily wants the reader to interpret. 

But by using a camera instead of subjective narration, Myers also avoids showing us the scene.  He tells us what the director should do, but the reader is kept at a great distance.  In spite of the format, Myers’s text avoids showing us the very details that make movies visual. 

When asked why he structured the novel this way, Myers answered, “In interviewing inmates I noticed a tendency for the inmates to attempt to separate their self-portrayals from their crimes.  In Monster I have Steve speak of himself in the first person in his diary, but when he gets to the trial and the crime he distances himself through the use of the screenplay.” 

But Monster is more than just a gimmick.  Pull back from Steve, the filmmaker, to Walter Dean Myers, the real director.  In Monster, he juxtaposes Steve’s journal entries and innermost thoughts with the screenplay of the trial.  He gives us a little bit of interior monologue.  We see him.  We hear him.  
            Or do we????

In Monster, Myers abandons the “omnisensual dream” for the screenwriter’s tools.  By inserting cinematic commands like “close up” and “cut” instead of describing what Steve sees, the screenplay is oddly distancing.  It tells, even as it claims its intention to show.  The text offers a format, not the full picture.

At the novel’s conclusion, when Steve is found not guilty, the camera catches him turning to his lawyer to embrace her.  She stiffens and turns away.  Steve stands awkwardly. 

The novel ends with one last journal entry, which concludes:

That is why I take the films of myself.  I want to know who I am.  I want to know the road to panic that I took.  I want to look at myself a thousand times to look for one true image.  When Miss O’Brien looked at me, after we had won the case, what did she see that caused her to turn away?

            What did she see? (281)          

What did O’Brien see?  The camera does not show, and the journal does not say.  The reader leaves Monster no longer entirely sure of Steve.  Will his friends and family always look at him with doubts?  Will his self image change?  Is Steve in danger of fulfilling society’s prophecies?  In the final entry of the novel, Steve tells the reader that he speaks daily into the camera.  His mother doesn’t understand him; his father was “thankful that he did not have to go to jail” (280).  But he looks at his son differently.  With doubts.  And questions. 

Steve wants to use the camera to see the truth.  He wants to see what he looks like.  For Steve, the visual image is the authority.  He trusts the camera.  But Myers never answers these questions.  Steve does not see the truth in his films; even at the end of the novel, the camera does not reveal exactly what O’Brien saw. 

If Monster were indeed a film, the viewer would be able to see O’Brien’s expression.  If Myers had chosen to write the novel in descriptive prose, he might have described the moment.  But instead Myers lets the reader imagine the glance.  He does not show his readers the images a camera would reveal. 

Myers's intention--not to show us his face--not to sew up the ending--works for me.  It plagues me.  I think about this kid and kids like him.  And I bet a lot of boys and girls feel the same way.

I'll be back after CARRIE JONES to talk about SEX!
If there are issues you absolutely want to talk about--if you have questions for the experts--email me at saraharonson at verizon dot net.

Cheers!!!!

Since today is Valentine’s Day, I can’t think of a better time to share some work I did this past year for this most-holy day set aside to boost restaurant, flower, chocolate and greeting card sells. Heh. Yesterday I posted a Valentine Bear card, today it’s a Valentine Kitty!

Below: The finished card, front and inside copy.

Below: The first seed of the idea in a quick, thumbnail sketch. When I’m in the concepting stage of a project like this, I’ll do a slew of thumbnail sketches, which I try to do quickly, keeping them simple. If one gets chosen to turn into a card, then I’ll spend more time on flushing out the initial idea.

Below: And since the above thumb was selected to be turned into a card, I then played around with the layout, text, and colors. The sketch on the bottom-right was chosen to go to final by the client, with some slight changes (they didn’t want any lines showing hair on the cat).

Here's a fine young reindeer from Santa Claus's crew -- it's Cupid! enjoy!

Hey, where have I been?? I 'fell off' my blog. There is no other way to put it. And certainly there's no *pretty* way to put it. It's sort of like falling off a cliff, but there's no cliff...anyway, here I am, and I am happy to be here!!! I've missed posting the past couple of weeks!!

“Joyful Christmas”

“Christmas Wishes”

It's been a long time coming, but I have *finally* started my Etsy shop! I only have three greeting card designs in there thus far, but I am proud of the work. I am excited to have these vibrant and whimsical designs to share with you this year!! :)

If you would like to, please check out my little (...tiny, right now ;) ) shop and tell me what you think!!

If you are saying to yourself, "Why is Kathy opening an Etsy shop? She already has a Cafe Press shop.. What's the difference??" The answer to that is this: Cafe Press creates all of the actual product for you. You upload your design onto their own stocked product, and you "design" the product online with their tools. They also pack it, ship it and deal with returns. This is all great stuff, but if you want to craft something yourself, or have your original design printed by your own chosen printer and have the most quality control over the final product, Etsy's where it's at. You do all the shipping, packing, and any returns yourself. But it is nice to be able to sell one of a kind art pieces in a unique, safe "online shopping mall" where people visit specifically to purchase hand-crafted or otherwise original works of art and crafts!! It's GREAT!!

while you are at Etsy, visit my sister's jewelry shop, Nancy Rosetta! She's got some cool stuff..

Here is a greeting card which I created - it's one of several in a series with this little kitty character!

See another of my "kitty" cards here on the Picture Book Junkies blog. Greeting cards are fun to create, and fun to brainstorm ideas for. Greeting cards are one of my favorite things to make/create - the medium fits my creative sensibilities very well (as well as my penchant for decorum). I am very into the concept of 'art for the masses' : art on postage stamps, greeting cards, stuff that people buy and really use in their daily lives.

Hope you enjoy the kitty!! :) Make your own wish on the kitty!!

I'm taking a greeting cards class at the School of Visual Arts this summer. When I tell people this, I get alot of "Why do YOU need to take a greeting cards class?" Partly for motivation and inspiration, meeting new people, and simply for me to get out of my studio once in a while. The first assignment was to "create two 5 x7 cards using an icon, exploring different mediums." Ok, I have to admit, I was not thrilled about this assignment. After all, I know how I like to create my illustrations (the computer) and thats that, right? But after a little thought and seeing it as a challenge, it made perfect sense that I started using my left over scraps of fabric to create something.

These cards were made using leftovers- watercolor paper (when I use to paint!), fabric scraps, felt. sobo glue and the sewing machine. They were like mini quilts except I feel they were less constricting....I didn't have a need to sew everything, some pieces were glued when I felt necessary. Anyways, I enjoyed making these very much, so you'll be seeing more of these soon!

An anniversary card for Math Boy- its been three years and I can still remember our first date like it was yesterday- meeting on the corner of Houston and Mulbery St. And yes, he turned out to be a good egg!