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By:
Tim Bowers,
on 5/3/2016
Blog:
Tim Bowers Art Blog
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A big box of shiny new books landed on my doorstep. Memoirs of a Parrot is the fourth "memoir" book, written by the very talented Devin Scillian and published by Sleeping Bear Press.
 |
| "Yay, new books!" |
When I read that a parrot would be the main character, I had to choose an African Grey parrot. I have fond childhood memories of my grandpa and his African Grey, named
Chico. I chose a Hyacinth Macaw as the other parrot in the story. Mostly because of the color. I live in Ohio and Devin Scillian lives in Michigan, so it just made sense to use Ohio State (scarlet and grey) and Michigan colors (maze and blue). Plus, my wife's family is from the state up north (we're a "blended" family).
 |
| A drawing that I did in High School of my grandpa and his parrot, Chico. |
Also, the main character (human) in the story plays a ukulele. I said, "hmmm, I need to get a ukulele (as reference) and begin my career as a ukulele rock star". Then I met Emily Arrow, a true ukulele rock star, so I bought one. Now I need to start practicing my ukulele
licks.
 |
| "Hey, I think that I need a ukulele." |
Anyway, you must take a look at
Memoirs of a Parrot. It's got parrots, ukulele players and a very funny story.
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| End papers from Memoirs of a Parrot. |
Thank you, Heather Hughes, Felicia Macheske and Sleeping Bear Press.
Now, back to the drawing board. -Tim
By:
Patrick Girouard,
on 11/13/2015
Blog:
drawboy's cigar box
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Man is the only animal that blushes - or needs to. - Mark Twain
By: johnmanders,
on 8/7/2014
Blog:
John Manders' Blog
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Illustration Friday – Exotic
Water and Ink on Moleskine
By: Hazel Mitchell,
on 4/27/2012
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Hazel Mitchell
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Today's half hour sketch. Darn - it goes quick!
Tinkety Tonk!
Hazel
My favourite fabric so far is a new version I designed of the
Art Deco Parrot, this time in a blue, white and grey colour scheme.
I ordered a yard so I could make a pair of cushions in the cotton-linen blend fabric they offer. Being able to design the fabric myself was great because I actually adjusted the scale slightly so that I could fit two cushions with parrots down the middle of the front and back with just 1 yard.
Here's a picture of the cushions:
I love this fabric, it has a bit of weight to it and the nice feel of linen while the cotton makes it less floppy than pure linen. Incidentally, I also love the new Kona cotton that Spoonflower is now offering for a quilting weight fabric.
So I feel I've finally reached the point where I can design exactly what I want to decorate the home without having to compromise. I'd like to do curtains too, but that's a lot more expensive so it may be a while!
By:
admin,
on 10/30/2011
Blog:
Litland.com Reviews!
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Brown, Bea (2011) Wally the Cockeyed Cricket. Mustang, OK: Tate Publishing. ISBN 978-1-61777-106-4. Recommended age 8 and under.
Publisher’s description: When Wally the Cockeyed Cricket finds himself trapped in Mrs. Grumpydee’s kitchen, he sings a sad song and Mrs. Grumpydee’s locks Wally in a jar. When the jar is knocked over and shatters, Wally the Cockeyed Cricket sings a different tune.
Our thoughts:
Read it—see it—listen to it! The great thing about books from Tate Publishing is that you do not need to choose between print and audio formats because books have a code that permits you to download the audio version on MP3 too! The print version has beautifully captivating illustrations. Yet the young man (ok, he sounds young to this old reviewer!) reading the audio does an excellent job at it. A great enhancement to teach reading to little ones :>)
Of course, the most important reason to consider adding this book to your child’s bookshelf is because they will enjoy the story! As evidenced by its title, Wally looks a little different than most crickets. He doesn’t think anything of this difference and is happy as can be. Until, that is, he unfortunately wanders into Mrs. Grumpydee’s kitchen! Captured, bullied and made a public spectacle, Wally never loses courage or confidence. Helped with the aid of a complete stranger, he is rescued and makes a new friend. Virtues exhibited are courage, justice and friendship. A feel-good story where the good guys win! Great parent-child sharing, Pre-3rd grade class or homeschool, bedtime reading, gift giving, therapy use, and family book club! Grab your copy at the Litland.com Bookstore.
More art for new Dino Book... Red Robin Books - coming this fall.
By:
Roberta Baird,
on 10/27/2009
Blog:
A Mouse in the House
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What be yer pleasure matey….. be it a little trick or maybe a wee bit of the treat!
Have you ever thought that life would be easier if all writers married other writers?
Look what happens when you ‘marry out’.
When a writer marries an architect, she gets to type her manuscripts gothic-ly onto a dusty keyboard in a dusty corner, quaffing her coffee from chipped cups. For she dwells in a permanent building site.
On the other hand, the writer also learns to see things in a whole different way: whereas I look at the Venetian palazzi that surround us only to read the murders and rampant romances inscribed on their blistered paint, he sees the architect’s blueprints. Sometimes these are not uninteresting: sneaky soil-pipes, rampant rustication, Boschean chimneyscapes.
That’s all well and good. But what happens when the architect comes home with the seedling of a story that’s just begging to be nurtured into life, but literarily-speaking empty-handed?
Frustration, that’s what happens.
Like the day my husband rescued a parrot for the Guardia di Finanza, the Italian VAT tzars.
The tzars slouch about in a long grey barracuda of a boat. One day last summer, my husband saw the barracuda ripping its sides in an attempt to reach a narrow bank where a vivid green parrot was clinging to some moss. Uniformed tzars barked peremptory orders. My husband and our friend Bruno were to approach the parrot in our tiny boat, the Coniglio galleggiante, (‘the floating rabbit’). Bruno grabbed the bird, and, slightly pecked, handed it over to the officers.
This had the makings of something good, right?
But even under torture, even under scorn, even subjected to blatant bribery and other pleasant blandishments, my husband was been unable to deliver any more salient details about the rescued parrot of the Guardia di Finanza: the stuff writers ask about. Was it, for example, the Guardia’s own office parrot? A more exciting escaped contraband parrot? Confiscated from Columbian drug-runners? Pining for the Fijords? Escaped from gilded cage in a contessa’s gilded palazzo? Was it a he or a she? Did it have an exotic name? Did it speak, or better still, swear? In Venetian? Or Italian? (Venetian swears are like obscene short stories, often involving mothers, household implements and biologically-challenging insertions). What (getting desperate) about the architecture of the parrot itself? What were the Intelligent Designer’s plans for it? Green, red? Yellow tailfeathers? Lovely plumage?
No. Not a chirp. Not a whistle.
The spouses and offspring of writers should be constantly aware of their responsibilities. If something good happens to them, they should put on the siren and rush home with a stack of fresh, throbbing, juicy detail in the mental equivalent of a padded organ-transplant cool-box, every little incident lovingly packed away for the writer’s use, uncorrupted even by interpretation, exaggeration or embellishment. (That’s the writer’s job.)
Oh dear. I remind myself of the ever-charmless James McNeill Whistler, who came to Venice in 1879. Whistler affected a Japanese cane wand to orchestrate conversations, often referred to himself pompously in the third person. When his housemate, also an artist, showed Whistler his sketch of a Venetian scene, he was told: ‘This is a good subject. When you find one like this, you should not do it, but come and tell Whistler.’
But seriously, the more I think about it, the more I think there should be Arvon courses and UEA degrees in ‘Being Married to, or related to a Writer’. Lessons in making coffee, anxiety therapy, but most of all: delivering the raw material urgently and in good condition. I’d sign up my husband right away.
Meantime, we’ve appointed our boat the new Servizio per la Salvaguardia dello Pappagallo, the Parrot Rescue Service, ‘su appuntamento’ to the Guardia di Finanza. I had a logo designed by the talented Lisa Pentreath, whose daughter Emily was the very first reader of my novel The Undrowned Child.
But I remain inconsolable. I love my new insignia, but I know that the really good story got away.
On Saturday February 9th, my friend Jen and I met in Salem, MA to shop around at the town's "Salem's So Sweet" promotional day (running for a week)! See photos here.
Dear John,
Stop calling. I’m tired of getting messages on my answering machine reminding me that today’s the primary and to get out and vote for you. It’s over between us, Mr. McCain. It has been for a long time. In fact, I take that back. It never really even started for us, which only makes your continual calling all the more pathetic.
Okay, there was that brief flirtation years ago. But c’
There’s good timing, there’s bad timing, and then there’s annoying timing. The first two are well understood. The last might best be explained by this situation.
The family and I were in Virginia Beach to visit my mom, brother, and niece. It had to be a quick trip, driving down on Saturday morning at leaving at dinnertime on Sunday because we had to be back Monday morning. All well and good.
When I heard that John Edwards was dropping out of the Democratic primaries, I felt a little bad. I love Obama, but I like Edwards, and I’m sorry to lose his voice in this part of the process. But Clinton and Obama are certainly sucking all the oxygen to feed their brightly burning stars, and let’s face it, Edwards can’t debate hooked up to an oxygen tank.
When I heard that Giuliani was
A few invitees brought along their favorite special tea cups to share!
These beauties belong to Rose. Aren't they lovely? (Thanks, Rose!)
Table covering is a selection of papers from Paper Source ( www.paper-source.com). The flower and polka-dot napkins (in the background) are from iparty (www.iparty.com).
A few weeks ago, I told you about the baby shower tea party brunch I was organizing for my friend Steph. The party went off on November 18, and it was so much fun! We put a lot of thought into the decor and into the theme, and we delivered a few small details that really made a difference. It's the first anything I've ever thrown, so I am very happy that it went so well. Everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves, and most importantly the Guest of Honor was so happy with the way everything turned out! :) I don't think I'll be going into event planning any time soon, but I can say that this was very fun and I got to indulge my Inner Martha a bit, which I don't make the time to do very often, so that was very refreshing. Enjoy the pics and story...
On our first baby shower shopping trip and brainstorming, we visited Paper Source.for inspiration, ideas and a few purchases! These invites caught Steph's eye. Instead of printing the information on the invites (...like any normal person would do), I took on the task of hand-writing the information. Okay, so I wasn't thinking about the quantity of invites at the time - 30. But, it was a good call. I was so glad I did! The hand-writing lent a special touch we would not have gotten had we printed them, helping to set the tone for an intimate, personable ladies-only tea party! :)
At Paper Source, we saw some paper flower kits. They were so unique, we thought they would add a nice touch to the buffet table. I made them the night before the shower.The next time I take on such a project, I will make sure to give myself more time. (They were pretty intense to make!)
We wanted to have some special teas for the brunch, so we splurged on a selection from the Tea Forte (www.teaforte.com) line of teas. It was not a mistake. The teas were fabulous, and oh-so-cute! (I would buy again!)
They are expensive, so to save money, I shopped around online. I was lucky to find this great online store (www.candlesandsuch.com) where I got a good deal on them, and I also got excellent customer service as well!!
The spread: Bagels with many different cream cheese varieties, smoked
salmon, tomatoes and capers. Different varieties of jams, butter.
We also got breakfast pastries from Flour Bakery & Cafe (the covered platter).
Steph made this beautiful flourless chocolate tart. She is a master! This is just as good as the best chocolate pie, tart or cake I've ever had. With this one though, I think I could eat this whole thing in one sitting, if given the chance. ;) (Not kidding!)
The Guest of Honor opens her gifts! Steph is going to make a GREAT mom!!
...which explains why it's been so quiet around here lately. I am getting better now, and will soon be back up to speed with a little luck (and with a LOT of taking care of myself!)
I hope everyone had a GREAT Thanksgiving, and did not get too swallowed up by the malls this weekend. I plan to do as much of my holiday shopping as possible online, and at local businesses. I figure, I am going to spend the dough anyway (which I am, I always do!!), I'd like to help support my local businessfolk, and fellow artists. I'm definitely going to check out Etsy.com for some unique gifting... But, of course, I cannot get away from the biggest online mall of all, Amazon, where I do a ton of shopping, holiday or no. It's just so darn convenient and quick.
Happy Holidays, everyone!!
This weekend I went baby shower shopping with my friend Steph, (the glowing mom-to-be)! We are designing her baby shower so we visited our local Paper Source for some creative inspiration. I had been toying with the idea of a Tea Party theme on and off - - the idea had been brewing for weeks, but I was not sure. Thinking it might be too quaint an idea, I shelved it. So it was serendipitous when we came upon a tea display at the shop. We got to discussing tea, and it proved to be a natural theme for the party! Tea plays a big part in her lifestyle, and it helps that her husband is English, so it was a perfect fit!
It just so happens that lately I've been into this new tea I discovered at Whole Foods - Zhena's Gypsy Tea. The first one I tried was the Rooibos Lavender, and I was immediately hooked! It's somewhere between tea and aromatherapy. Lavender is one of my favorite herbs so I was eager to try it and very curious whether it would work as an herbal tea blend or not. It could have come off 'soapy' but it didn't - it was a great blend!! Aromatherapeutic, but totally drinkable and fabulous! I'm now on my second canister of Red Lavender. I've also tried the Fireside Chai (which has no caffeine, by the way) and the Gracious Green, and love them both. I look forward to trying other varieties! Another very impressive thing about the company that is just as fabulous as the tea itself is how morally upright this company is. You can read all about it on their web site (on this page and also on the Press Page PDFs, one with a more detailed interview). But, of course, the very first thing that drew me to the tea was the packaging. It's fantastic!! This is a company that produces A) Exceptional product B) Sees the value and importance of good design AND illustration (!! Yay) and C) practices not only fair-trade but supplies great benefits for workers and practices earth-friendly and ecologically safe ways of doing business. That's it - - Zhena SUPER-rocks!!!!! Try her tea and sip peacefully.
On our travels, we also hit Vintage Etc., a local shop (in Cambridge, MA, my 'hood) which specializes in clogs, eco-friendly, foot-friendly and people-friendly footwear, and loads and LOADS of socks and tights! The selection of socks and quality of the lines they carry is the best I know of, anywhere. My favorite socks are from a line called Ozone. They not only have the grooviest designs (which look cute peeking out of a pair of clog Mary Jane clogs under boot leg jeans) but the quality is there - - these socks actually last longer than any other sock I have ever purchased. These people know their socks. The fabric they use, the toe reinforcement - they don't look tough and mean at all - they look whimsical and silly, even - but make no mistake - they are built to last! I can't mention socks of any kind without mentioning the coolest socks of all - The Red Sox! YAY, RED SOX!!!!!!! But, in my book (and for my money), Ozone socks come a close second in coolness factor!!
Barbara Johansen Newman tagged me!! So, I get to share some oddities about myself with anyone who happens to be reading, here, all in the name of duty to my fellow-artist-bloggers.... :) To be honest, I'm kind of honored to be asked to share my mental lint.
Here we go..
Eight Things You Never Asked To Know About Me...
(Ok...there is nine...)
1) I have never had the desire to have biological children.
That's not to say that I am non-maternal, or don't ever want to have a kid. I might adopt some day, and I've always thought that if I decided to have human kids, adoption would be the way to go. I love kids (and the older I get, the more I love them!). But, I never felt the desire to have my own biological one. I am an excellent pet parent, though!
2) Speaking of pets, I am a pet portraiture artist.
I'm not sure how many people know this. It's not something I keep to myself but I don't talk about it here very much (I have another blog with pet portrait interests). It is really a wonderful thing to be able to experience getting to know other people's pets in the way that I am lucky to be able to, through the pet portrait process. I really love doing it, and I've met so many genuine and excellent people through the work. I keep in touch with many of them. People who adore their pets are, generally, an excellent bunch of people!!
3) I have been known to catch an informercial every now and again...
Occasionally, I will even (gasp!) try an infomercial product! (Cat's outta the bag!) Sometimes they're crap. But sometimes the products knock my socks off (ProActiv Solution, Bare Escentuals). And sometimes, they are really good (Cindy Crawford's Meaningful Beauty), but it turns out they clash with my other informercial skin-care regimen. But that's another story for another day...
4) I bite my nails sometimes.
Icky habit? YES!!! But, then I stop. Then I might begin again a few months later. Oh well. It's probably my worst habit/vice, so I can't say I'm doing too bad. I think it tops my "decaf coffee" habit...
5) Dark Chocolate - an important food group.
I only really like dark chocolate, and I like to try different "gourmet" chocolates. Two of my favorites are Cote D'Or and Lindt ( I doubt that Lindt is actually considered gourmet anymore - and it probably shouldn't be - but it is a sentimental favorite and is still really good, even with all the newbies on the market). I like 70% dark or more. I live in an area with easy access to the good stuff. Thank God.
6) I don't drive.
It's not that I don't want to. In fact, I'm a pretty good driver, if I do say so myself, for someone who doesn't drive. I took private driving lessons, and I even took my driver's test (twice). I failed both times. The State Trooper even recognized my problem as test nerves. But he still didn't pass me. Someday, I will dutifully go through the motions again. I do want to get my license.
7) I am a shameless TV - aholic.
Okay, maybe TV is my worst vice. But I'm not sure it counts, because my love for TV really outweighs my actual watching time these days. This is a vice is definitely under control. But, I don't just love TV though. I will even cop to watching a fair amount of choice reality TV. Survivor is my favorite show. I have every available season on DVD...and one of the seasons was even bought for me twice accidentally (a gift). This summer, there is a "this-should-hold-you-over-til-next-season's-Survivor" show called Pirate Master which I at least had to check out (not sure if it will stick). Amazing Race is another favorite! This summer I will jump in the mud ( ...or stick a foot in...) and watch new seasons of Hell's Kitchen and Big Brother. (Hey, a girl's gotta watch something while awaiting the new seasons of the "respectable" reality shows!) All of this docu-drama TV chat leads me into sharing a bonus thing...
7, part 2) I have a fascination with Everest.
I read Everest books, watch Everest documentaries. Everest holds endless fascination. Why anyone would be so magnetically drawn to conquer this beast of nature is beyond me. People leave their whole lives behind on a quest to climb Everest, knowing full well that they may not come back at all. If they do make it back, they have a pretty decent chance of having lost a body part to the mountain. I think my obsession with Everest encompasses all aspects of the Everest prism: The human drama! The pushing past human physical limitations - mind over body/matter! The mental anguish! Man against impossible-to-control natural forces! It's the whole ball of wax.
8) I'm crazy kuckoo about any type of asian fare.
Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, you name it. I've never tried an asian cuisine I didn't love. Maybe it is because I was introduced at an early age: my step-mom is Japanese and she introduced my sisters and I to the cuisine at an early age (way before sushi was trendy). I even like (Korean) tofu kimchee hot pot soup. I ordered it a few weeks ago at a Korean/Japanese restaurant. After my order was delivered to the table, I had the distinct feeling I was being watched, presumably to see if I had made a mistake in ordering the extremely spicy hot soup! Nope, no mistake. Just please keep the ice water coming!
I now must tag five...here we go!
Roz Fulcher
Alina Chau
Nicole Falk (Halloweenville)
Elizabeth Seigel (Tofusquirrel.com)
Tommy Kane
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Qapla’!
Fantastic. Love the palette, the crazed look in the eye is perfect, and that gold tooth! Beautiful.
Thanks, Mr Kiser!