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Here is a unique idea in the world of gallery shows. "Fill in the Blanks" marries art and performance art by providing canvases, frames and lumps of clay for artists to develop over the course of the show dates. Mary Brooking of the Maine Illustrators' collective will be one of the featured artists.

I am busy prepping for my trip to New York. The SCBWI conference does not start until Friday, the 8th but I am going early to show my portfolio to Art Directors and do research at the New York Public Library and meet up with friends and family. A week away from home! ACK! I've thrown myself into a whirlwind of laundry, packing, and list making. Lists for portfolio revisions, lists for what to take, lists of addresses and phone numbers, subway maps, amtrak timetables... I like traveling, love the train, and can't wait to visit the city but I am a little nervous too.

A list:
1. Remember to breathe
2. Work on Chapter 2, Ballet
3. Revise cat montage
4. Finalize portfolio, make sure you have 2, dummy books attached
5. Pack clothing
6. Pack sketch book, traveling drawing kit.
7. Confirm appointments
8. Mapquest directions for Providence train station
9. Highlight relevant subway routes.
10. Check on subway passcard for the week
11. Society of Illustration hours?
12. Breathe.

So let me just clarify that I am not down,  or blue, or sad. No, it is a "Down Day" because I have no deadlines or places to rush to. Today my parents are coming to visit. That means that I should be cleaning house.  But since they are my parents, they will understand when they arrive and have to wade through the dog hair puppies. Therefore I am coming to post on my blog, check in with the numerous wonderful friends I have on LJ, catch up on Brotherhood 2.0, and order new illustration promotional postcards for the Fall Folio Feast and my fall mailing. I am in the waiting room on so many things but I'll try to list them here:
Illustrated Activity to Highlights High Five
Written story to Highlights High Five
Non-fiction query and board book to agent
Numerous picture book manuscripts to various publishers.
Illustration samples to Boyd's Mills and an Educational publisher with local author.
Conference work:
8 spaces left for the Fall Folio Feast- sign up now!
Reviewing over 65 (WOW 65!) workshop proposals for NESCBWI meeting next Friday. (Hmmm... maybe that's what I should be doing instead of cleaning my house. Isn't that conveeeenient.)
Here is the postcard. You get it first!

1. NESCBWI workshop proposals are due on Oct. 1. Get 'em in! Think big, propose two workshops. Click for guidelines, rubric, and leveling continuum.

2. Robert's Snow auction will be starting in November to benefit cancer research in memory of Grace Linn's husband who recently died. The snowflakes for 2007 are not available for viewing yet, but I got a sneak peak at jacques beautiful artwork at the conference planning meeting yesterday. (I can tell you it has frogs, but if you know Laura, you probably already know that.)  If you are a lesser know illustrator, I'd like to post your snowflake link, web link, and short bio here. (ie: not Lynn Munsinger, Kadir Nelson, or Bruce Degen) Leave me a comment and your contact info.

3. To-do: stop blogging, redraw dummy pages, manuscript status and resend, first two chapters of non-fiction.

4. October is the month we'll hear about SCBWI work in progress grant applications. I'm waiting on a non-fiction proposal, anyone else?

Any of my "self-time"  comes to an end tomorrow when summer day camp ends. I had lofty goals of all I'd accomplish during the summer while my boys were at camp. Here's what I've been doing while I haven't been blogging:

1. I have a new non-fiction picture book manuscript (in verse) and a finished piece of art for the same project complete. Well, it's never really complete is it? I still need to complete the dummy. I'm sending it off to an expert reviewer before I start submitting. Hoping that helps. My crit group has been wonderful at catching beats that are off. This one just called out for rhyming.

2. Research for the "dance" book has been on the back burner while the picture book took my attention. However, the kid interviews I've received for this project make me so excited. I'm hoping that the SCBWI non-fiction grant comes through but I've applied to too many of grant, and award competitions without getting chosen to get my hopes up.

3. On the conference stage, the call for proposals is online at NESCBWI. Click on "Conferences". Please note the new Workshop Rubric PDF and the Workshop Continuum that I designed. I'm working on exciting things for illustrators...(rubs hands in a wickedly secretive manner)

4. I should be busily addressing and posting our Fall Folio Feast postcards but that will be on hold until tomorrow. Promise they'll be out by Friday.

5. I have also been applying to day jobs. I've had a couple of interviews, and in one way it is nice to be "back in the game." It feels great to remind myself of how confident, organized and competent I am in dealing with other adults instead of just carting my children around all day. On the other hand, I have all these wonderful projects that seem to be taking off, and I have "that " feeling. You know "that" feeling. The feeling that says, someone is going to call you any day now. That last manuscript will sell. This is your year. And yet, I have had "that" feeling before. I think it was New Year of 2006 and 2005. Maybe "that" feeling is really called hope. If you don't have hope, you don't have much. And hope, plus tenacity and talent? Boy, I've got it all...
except that contract.

6. Have read Reaching for Sun (wonderful!) Deathly Hallows, (very Narnia-esque I think) and I'm reading Goy Crazy (I can so identify with this book).

7. I'm headed off right now to interview a couple with an interesting story for a possible picture book. (don't want to jinx anything)

8. Submitted a couple of magazine queries and stories, one response "maybe if you spin it as an essay," and two others no response yet.

9. I think I left out a couple of other manuscript submissions and a ton of sketching but that is just the regular day to day. So the past six weeks have been really full. I hope you forgive my inactivity on LJ. I'm going on vacation for a couple weeks but see you again at the end of August.