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I often read this blog for bits of inspiration. This weekend she posted a great quote from one of the hackers responsible for some big time sabotage. A condition of his bail required that he not be able to use the internet. Here is what he had to say about the experience.

We've talked before about simplifying and work/life balance, but to be totally unplugged indefinitely? How long do you think you could last? Do you think it would make you more creative? I don't think I've gone more than a few days since day one. Although the way he describes it makes me want to try for longer:

"Things are calmer, slower and at times, I'll admit, more dull. I do very much miss the instant companionship of online life, the innocent chatroom palaver, and the ease with which circles with similar interests can be found. Of course, there are no search terms in real life – one actually has to search. However, there is something oddly endearing about being disconnected from the digital horde.

It is not so much the sudden simplicity of daily life – as you can imagine, trivial tasks have been made much more difficult – but the feeling of being able to close my eyes without being bombarded with flashing shapes or constant buzzing sounds, which had occurred frequently since my early teens and could only be attributed to perpetual computer marathons. Sleep is now tranquil and uninterrupted and books seem far more interesting. The paranoia has certainly vanished. I can only describe this sensation as the long-awaited renewal of a previously diminished attention span.

For it is our attention spans that have suffered the most. Our lives are compressed into short, advertisement-like bursts or "tweets". The constant stream of drivel fills page after page, eating away at our creativity. If hashtags were rice grains, do you know how many starving families we could feed? Neither do I – I can't Google it."

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As Alvina mentioned yesterday, we're all excited to be posting regularly again this fall. Thanks hanging in there with us!

A few links for you:

* Some artwork I've been admiring.

* The Foundation for Children's Books has a fabulous new web site.

* I've started a new series of posts on my blog, called Thank You Thursdays, where I post a sampling of some of the wonderful letters and drawings I get from kids.

And lastly, a recent sketch:

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As you've probably noticed, posting has been quite sparse this summer. We want you to know that we have not forgotten you and remain devoted to the readers that have inspired us to post for so long. This has been a particularly busy time for all us Blue Rose Girls; I don't think we have ever had a stretch where each and every one of us has been so occupied by other things! Between travel and new babies and wedding planning, I'm afraid blogging has been the last priority on the list. Please bear with us while we soldier on through these next couple months and know that we will be back full force soon. In the meantime, we will post as often as we can.

Below are a few things going on in my world lately.

First plane trip with a toddler:


(she quietly read the in flight magazine for much of our first leg)


First haul of pick-your-own at our CSA:



First visit to a local beach:



Soon we'll be packing up for Alvina's wedding! Can't wait!

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Another character sketch on my desk...

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Recently I joined a book club, thinking it would be good motivation to start reading books for an adult audience again. Sadly, I haven't finished one! My reading time is so limited now that I'm a mother, there is only room for the books at the top of my list. That is, children's books.

Here are a few I've had on my desk lately. Since I've been writing in a new genre (chapter books), I've been trying to read up on some new ones, as well as review old classics. Most recently Winnie-the-Pooh has been on my nightstand. I had forgotten how utterly hilarious those books are, what genius. I can't wait to read them to Tilly when she's older!

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Much of the past year has been spent at my computer, writing and plotting and organizing myself. In the past few months I've set up my studio again and begun to paint. It's a little makeshift at the moment, but the view is great:


Some character sketches for my new project:

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This Saturday afternoon I will be giving a talk for kids at the Meekins library in Williamsburg, MA about how a children's book is made. If you live in the area, come join me! The talk is ideal for grade schoolers, but all are welcome. There will be a drawing activity for the kiddos and books for sale. Book sales benefit the Meekins, a truly fabulous little library Tilly and I adore.

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Getting emails from kids about my books is really just the best. Last week this photo from a second grader named Arden, who used A Photo for Greta for her book report, was sitting in my inbox. Her shadow box features hand-colored illustrations from the book, a light made out of coffee stirrers and foil, and a camera made out of electrical tape. Such genius!

And on an unrelated note, I had such a wonderful time at the Eric Carle Museum last week, signing books with the below authors and illustrators, as part of the SCBWI-NE spring conference. If you haven't been to the museum, now is a great time to go... there is the most fantastic exhibit of Kadir Nelson's work! Here we are standing in front of a giant Eric Carle painting.

(from left to right: Heidi E.Y. Stemple, Shelley Rotner, Brian Lies, Harry Bliss, Carlyn Beccia, me, Jane Yolen, Dan Yaccarino)

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This Friday, I'll be signing books and chatting with attendees of the NESCBWI annual conference at The Eric Carle Museum. If you are attending this year's conference, please come by and say hello! Details below.

Book Signing and Mix and Mingle at The Eric Carle Museum on April 20th from 11:30-1:30 pm. This event is part of the SCBWI-NE spring conference. Anna will be joined by Harry Bliss, Dan Yaccarino, Carlyn Beccia, Brian Lies, and Shelley Rotner.

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Next week I will be packing up the car and heading south for the Virginia Festival of the Book. It takes place in my hometown of Charlottesville, so it's always a mix of visiting friends and family, visiting schools, giving book talks, and enjoying an early dose of spring. In the past I've flown down. But this year Bruno and Tilda will join me and given the mountain of stuff a traveling baby requires, we decided to drive. I am mildly terrified of 10 hours in the car with a toddler, but very excited about the festival.

This year I'll be visiting 5 schools (including the first elementary school I ever attended!), giving a couple of weekend events, and will be interviewed on the local news. I grew up watching my hometown news, so that will be an extra thrill.

If you are in the area, the festival is well worth checking out with hundreds of events around town. But most especially, come join me if you can for these gatherings:

Making a Picture Book with Anna Alter
Sat. March 24th, 2012 - 10:00 AM

A StoryFest Event! Anna Alter shares her latest picture book. Children learn how a book is created from start to finish and then participate in their own art project. Original artwork from Anna's books will be on display. Anna's own books available for purchasing and signing.

Location:
CitySpace--Charlottesville Community Design Center
100 5th Street NE
(434)984-2232

Book Signing at Alakazam
Sun. March 25th, 2012 - 1:00 PM

Author and illustrator Anna Alter shares her book A Photo for Greta and an art activity with her Alakazam fans.

Location:
Alakazam Toys and Gifts
100 E Main St
(434)971-1717

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It seems to me, in general, there are two types of writers. People for whom ideas come easily and the craft and follow-through are a challenge and people who struggle with their idea, but the craft and revising flow unimpeded. This is a vast oversimplification of course, but in general it seems like most writers I've met lean towards one or the other group.

I am in the second group. I wrestle with ideas like slippery fish, but once I've caught one I can make a damn good stew. This is probably not the best analogy, I am after all a vegetarian, but slippery carrot doesn't work quite as well. Anyhow... I long to be one of those writers with ideas buzzing round their heads all the time, who need merely choose which spark will make their masterpiece. But I do love the rush of energy once I've got my momentum going and can really sink my teeth in. Right now I am at the cusp, about to dive in, writing aimlessly until the pieces I need come together. It's a place I cannot stand and will do anything (blogging for instance) to avoid, but usually passes quicker than I think it will.

Which type of writer are you?

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It's a quiet, snowy day up here in the mountains. Not much to do but look out the window and wait for the driveway to be cleared. No babysitter and no writing, just cookies, tea, and Sesame Street. Happy winter to all!

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Aren't they fantastic? More here.

(Via Cup of Jo)

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As a follow up to this post, this article explains what B&N is doing in response to Amazon's business tactics (essentially refusing to carry any books published under Amazon's imprint). In a way it seems only fair; if Amazon is going to try to undermine brick and mortar book stores, doesn't it make sense that they fight back? What do you think?

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If you haven't seen this article yet, it's worth a read. Depressing yes, but lays out how Amazon has influenced publishing in clear terms. I knew they were a threat to brick and mortar booksellers, we all know that, but I didn't realize to what degree.

On a side note, the article says there are a mere 1500 independent booksellers left in this country. So finite! That just makes me want to cry.

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I am a week short of a deadline and painting like a maniac. Recently a 9 to 5er pointed out that as freelancers we don't HAVE to do everything at the last minute... painting into the wee hours, and ignoring any and all other commitments to make a deadline. Its true and a really good point I think that many times there is an option, that a carefully planned out schedule could prevent the last minute crunch that often happens. Now granted there are times when a publisher will rush you, spend a long time with revisions and then expect that you can magically cut your work time in half to make the deadline. But that is not always the case.

Often times I think we illustrators (and writers perhaps too?) let this situation happen on purpose. There is something about the momentum of focusing ALL your time, energy and attention on one thing that is really gratifying. Its like a little break from your ordinary life where everything becomes really simple and your paintings become the only thing that is important. Even when you are doing other things... eating a meal, talking with a friend, making the occasional venture outside the house, your creative mind is still engaged. Sometimes in the middle of a conversation about, I don't know, the weather or something, I will bust out with "WAIT, thats what I need to do, a little more green!" Usually the comment is met with silence. Or if the person knows me, they'll just say "Go."

This kind of feast or famine intensity is something I've struggled with over the years. There is something satisfying about it, and yet as I get older, sometimes I don't want such an extreme lifestyle. Sometimes I want to be able to disengage and go to the movies, without obsessing about the project at hand. But its a tough balance to strike. Sometimes I just think this is the nature of the beast.

Originally published October 10th, 2006

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Clearly we've all got a lot going ton right now, as is evident by the lack of posting, it's such a busy time of year with the holidays looming and lots to wrap up by the end of the year. Today, at my house, we take a step back to do some celebrating; it is little Tilda's first birthday! Over the weekend we had a few friends over for cake and singing. Today we'll go to lunch and open presents. What a wonderful year it's been.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

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New England got hit with a big storm this weekend, some of us are still digging out! It took us a bit by surprise, it is October after all, so we were a bit underprepared for loosing our power and water. Still, it was very pretty out here in the country. Tilda just stared and stared.

That lump in the yard is a picnic table.


It was surreal seeing the yellow and red fall leaves underneath all that snow.




Hope you all are staying warm and cozy!

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I feel a little like a squirrel preparing for winter (and not because it is once again 40 degrees in Boston). I'm about to start the paintings for a picture book and hole up in my studio, my little hollow in a tree.

This involves several stages:



1. Getting rid of all sketches, notes, books, odds and ends that are filling up all usable table space in my studio so that I won't be distracted (above was my desk at the beginning of the day).



2. Now I can start filling up all usable table space with new sketches, notes, books, odds and ends that will weave their way into the illustrations for this book (this is my desk at the end of the day- I'm in OCD paradise!).

3. Settling all unfinished business that has been hanging over my head and dragging on for weeks so that I can, without guilt, completely withdraw into my head and live in the world I'm about to try and paint.

Its a little like going away to camp when you're a kid. You feel a little nervous about going somewhere new. Hopefully I will make friends with my characters and fall into a groove quickly. Then, before I know it, I'll be emerging from this cave and blinking at the sun. I am glad I have my pen pals at the BRG to send postcards to!

Originally published November 21, 2006

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Isn't it lovely? More here.

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While unpacking boxes, I recently came across a stack of books from my childhood that I haven't seen in years. I LOVED this series. The books originally belonged to my mom, they were first published in 1913. I can't wait to reread them! Finding them was perfect timing, as I've been working on my own chapter book of animal stories.

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It's been a busy month with sadly not much writing or drawing going on. We are packing up for a move once again, this time to a little house in the country:

It's been a long time since I've lived in the woods, twenty years I guess? Since leaving home as a teenager I've lived in Richmond, Virginia, Providence, Boston, San Francisco, and most recently Northampton, Massachusetts. Lately though I've been feeling the strong urge to live in a remote, beautiful, quiet place. Maybe the work of taking care of a baby has become enough stimulation and I need more of a calm, relaxing environment. Or maybe I've just come full circle and want to raise Tilda in a place similar to where I grew up. Either way, I'm excited to see where the change of environment takes me personally and creatively.

More soon once we settle in!

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I recently read this article about advice for aspiring photographers by Cheryl Jacobs Nicolai. It struck me as very true for any creative professional. Some favorite excerpts:

"Don't look outward for your style; look inward."

"Never apologize for your own sense of beauty. Nobody can tell you what you should love. Do what you do brazenly and unapologetically. You cannot build your sense of aesthetics on a concensus."

"Accept critique, but don't apply it blindly. Just because someone said it does not make it so. Critiques are opinions, nothing more. Consider the advice, consider the perspective of the advice giver, consider your style and what you want to convey in your work. Implement only what makes sense to implement. That doesn't make you ungrateful, it makes you independent."

"Excellent technique is a great tool, but a terrible end product. The best thing your technique can do is not call attention to itself. Never let your technique upstage your subject."

"Never compare your journey with someone else's. It's a marathon with no finish line. Someone else may start out faster than you, may seem to progress more quickly than you, but every runner has his own pace. Your journey is your journey, not a competition. You will never "arrive". No one ever does."

And aren't her photographs lovely?

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"The first Penguin edition of EV Rieu's translation of Homer had a Greek sailor on the cover, with a disclaimer inside: "Not an authentic depiction of a Greek sailor". They then put a penguin on the cover instead – but forgot to change the disclaimer."

-from The Katharaine Whitehorn experience

Maybe I should start including disclaimers in my books, eg "not an authentic depiction of a rabbit photographer."

(Via Peonies and Polaroids)

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