Paperlady's Sketch Journal

Illustration Friday — Midsummer Night

2011-06-26T11:39:00.006-04:00

This is a self-promo piece I did a few years back.

Art Exhibit at Holderness Library

2009-10-16T07:31:00.006-04:00

My artwork is currently being featured at the Holderness Library on Route 3 in Holderness, NH. Stop by and visit if you can. Included is at least one piece from each of my books, a few pieces for children magazines and other less seen pieces like the piece below. This is a quaint library and worth the visit even when my art isn't being displayed. Check their website for hours and directions.

Illustration Friday — Flying

2009-10-11T10:00:00.006-04:00

This was created for Keene State College's Festival Gallery Collection Owl Project. It can be seen at Rhodes Hall on campus. It's called "Flying Lessons."

A Recent School Visit

2009-10-08T09:47:00.014-04:00

Last week I visited the children at Tuftonboro Central School. As the crow flies, Tuftonboro is maybe 10 miles away, but when you have to drive all around Lake Winnipesaukee to get there, it takes about an hour. It was a nice fall day and well worth the time.

Here's why: after driving for an hour, drinking my super-large-soda-with-ice-and-a-straw that accompanies me on every long drive (89¢ @ Irving stations!), my first stop is always the restroom. No surprise there. But what surprised me when I exited the bathroom was what I saw— Those clever little second graders had created beautiful artwork based on my book, Good Morning Garden. I loved them all! They were wonderfully expressive, energetic and full of life. Thank you for that wonderful tribute. Here is just a sampling. I'm sorry I couldn't include them all.

I would have love to have taken them all home! Of course, I saw lots of other great art there as well—self-portraits, collages, cartoons, etc. Thank you Tuftonboro Central School for inviting me and for keeping art alive in your school. Your children were bright, inquisitive, charming and engaging.

"Meet the Illustrators" Show at Hampstead Public Library

2009-06-25T19:10:00.004-04:00

My artwork will be shown among nine other children's book illustrators at the Hampstead Public Library in Hampstead, NH through the months of July and August. My illustration medium is sculpted paper, and one piece from each of my illustrated books will be represented there.

On Saturday June 27 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm, there will be an exhibition open house. The illustrators will be there to meet and chat, and sign books. A limited number of books will be available for purchase.

Displaying artists, besides myself, are Mary Newell DePalma (Nutcracker Doll,) Vicky Enright (It's a Beautiful Day,) Marty Kelley (Summer Stinks!), Barbara Johansen Newman (Tex and Sugar: A Big City Kitty Ditty), Ginger Nielson (The Adventures of Cali), Susan Paradis (Snow Princess), Ilene Richard (Let My People Go), Andy J. Smith (Stink Bug Saves the Day,) and Susan Spellman (Mabel Takes a Paddle).

More info, and directions at:http://www.hampstead.lib.nh.us/meet-the-illustrators.asp

Hope to see you all there! (Okay, I'll settle for one or two.)

On Writing and Genealogy: Shaking the Family Tree

2009-01-16T07:57:00.005-05:00

I recently sold several articles to SCBWI (Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) for their Bulletin, on using genealogy when writing. The most recent, Keeping Those Characters in Line, appeared in the January/February 2009 issue. If you're a member of SCBWI, you can log in to their website and read it. In it, I discuss how organized genealogists are, and how they have a form for everything. I list my favorites and how to download them for free. But I should warn you that using those forms may lead to a new hobby—genealogy! Then you'll have write your whole family history, because truth can be stranger than fiction!

Apparently someone at the Redlines and Deadlines blog liked it, and posted the links. Redlines and Deadlines is written by the editors at Ellora's Cave Romantica Publishers. I found a lot good advice on writing, editing, submitting, etc. But children's writers be forewarned! There's a lot of frank discussion about writing erotic scenes! LOL

Other articles in the series are Using Genealogical Resources for Research (SCBWI Bulletin, March/April 2008) which discusses historical research, and Watch Out For Those Falling Nuts (SCBWI Bulletin, forthcoming, TBA) about interviewing family members as a resource for your writing.

I cannot say enough about SCBWI. If you are an aspiring children's writer or ilustrator, do consider joining. Their publications are informative, and their conferences are first-rate.

What Would You Do With Two Burros?

2008-10-23T08:08:00.005-04:00

New York Times posted a story of a Columbian elementary school teacher that packs up his two burros with books every weekend, and treks to a distant village in order to bring a little literacy and education to his area of the world. Brings new meaning to the BookMobile, or as he calls it, "BiblioBurro." Check it out. He's truly inspirational.

What would you do with two burros?
Assuming I had room to house two burros, I could use them to mow my lawn, or plow my road in the winter. My husband could ride one to work. That would save on gas and be better for the environment. They could be fun to sketch, but who am I kidding, I don't even sketch my cat.

My fantasy burros would be Greek (of course!) wearing worry beads around they're necks. I'd have to plant olive and lemon trees for them to munch on. They'd take long naps in the afternoon and Greek dance around the yard till the wee hours of the morning. Oh, wait! I already live with three Greek burros!

What would you do with two burros?

See Our TV Splash

2008-08-30T08:50:00.027-04:00

My apologies—the technilogical aspects of posting this last weekend didn't work out, especially when your sweet husband forgets to pack the wireless card! Ah, well.

We made it to Taunton, MA safely this year (last year was the road trip from hell) and arrived around 5 am on Thursday, Aug. 21st. It was still dark out. Our crew consisted of myself, hubby, college boy and middle school boy. Around 5:30 a group of carowners arrived as scheduled at the boat ramp on Lake Sabbatia for our debut on Good Morning, America.

The satellite truck and crew were already there. The lake was gor-jush that morning, just as smooth as silk. Here's the pontoon boat that the cameraman would later film from.

It was great fun to watch the TV crew set-up. I'm not sure why they wanted us there at 5:30 when they didn't air until 7 am, but it was entertaining none-the-less. Sam Champion showed up a little later. I hadn't watched GMA since Spencer Christian was the weatherman (yes, I know that was eons ago), so I had no idea what Sam Champion looked like. But I knew the second I saw him; he had the hair!

Watching him prepare for the broadcast was interesting. He had his little earpiece in, and stood there studying some papers, probably weather reports from around the nation. Then, out of the blue, he would start laughing or say some random comment, like, "Strawberrry Rice Krispies," and nod. I wanted to hear the other side of that conversation!

As it became lighter out, people stopped, attracted by the satellite truck and armada of amphicars. I heard several comments, "I'm going to be late for work," and "I was suppose to be there an hour ago."

A minute before air time, the producer, Darcy, would holler out for everyone to be quiet on the set and we all held our breath. And held our breath. And held our breath. Apparently we were waiting for the news to be read, then Sam jumped in with a ten second forecast. I was amazed at the amount of information he could rattle of in so little time. And that he could remember it all! There may have been a tele-prompter there, but I didn't see one. Even if there was, he didn't have time to look at it.

After the 7:30 report, we lined our cars up—12 in all—to get ready for our splash-in at 8 am.

During that time, Darcy had us surround one car and practice our group wave. Dorky, but fun. You can see a quick clip of that here.

I don't have a photo of the splash-in because I was obviously in the car. If I had one, you would see a large spray of water in front of the car, and water sloshing over the back onto my lap. This is not what other back seat passengers endured, only me!

After we splashed in, we drove around for a bit. Here's a great shot showing all four of the original colors the amphicars were sold in—mint green in the back, ivory, lagoon blue, and red.

Here's our boy Sam taking Ron Green's (International Amphicar Owners Club President) navy car for a test drive. He did okay, but really, he just went in circles.

After the shoot was over, we all drove around for a bit longer. Here were two of the best passengers of the day. Not the adults sitting up in front, but the two dogs sitting in the back seat. They were so good, you'd swear they were statues.

Then the real fun began!

Unfortunately, Lake Sabbatia has some type of weed growing in its waters. They wind around the props and make it hard to turn. Sometimes we drive out and the front bumper looks like a mustache, there are so many. We definitely remove those before we head north to New Hampshire. We don't want those growing around here.

By 9:30, we were on the road looking for some breakfast. Stopped at McDonald's and some people there recognized us from the show!

Have you read this far? Here's a clip from Good Morning America. Right after you hear Sam say, "They really do look like little cars out there," you will see us in our car. I am in the back seat (you can miss the white hair), middle school boy is next to me. Hubby is driving and college boy is co-captain. I'm sorry, I couldn't figure out how to imbed it the blog post. (Anyone?)

You can see more videos on my son's website, Amphicar Ventures, or on YouTube. I'll post more later about the rest of the trip.

But I'm a fan of Sam's now. The perfect hair and teeth belie the fact that he is warm and generous. Was it worth getting up at 1:30 am to drive there? You bet.

TV or Bust?

2008-08-20T13:20:00.003-04:00

We're taking the family on the road and leaving tonight (tomorrow morning actually) for Taunton, MA for the 2nd annual Taunton Swim-In. What is a Swim-In you ask? It's where Amphicar lovers converge on an unsuspecting lakeside community and invade their waters with our bobbing cars. Great fun!

And this year, Good Morning America promises to be filming during the weather reports tomorrow (Thursday) morning. If you keep a sharp eye out, you may see my husband's car splashing in. It's baby blue (lagoon blue to amphicar aficionados) but there may be other baby blue cars so . . . .

If hope to blog all weekend, technology willing. Other activities will include a spin to Cape Cod, a car show, a pig roast and spectacular fireworks over the lake. If you want more amphi-information, go to my son's website at amphicarventures.com.

New at the Gallery

2008-07-15T08:10:00.003-04:00

We had a rotation recently at the gallery so my work has moved to a new location. As usual, I have original framed art, notecards, prints, and books available.

The Parrot is an image new to the gallery. It measures approximately 30" x 22" x 4".

These woven flower baskets are new too. So many people that enter the gallery are looking for something inexpensive to take home and these fit the bill. They measure about 4" and cost $15.95.

On Writing Difficult Scenes

2008-07-14T07:32:00.000-04:00

For the record, I have been keeping up everyday with WFMAD, Laurie Halse Anderson's writing challenge for the month of July. Some days I only write 100 words but that's okay. I've added over 5,000 words so far and that's 5,000 more than I would have had without WFMAD.

Here's a trick that helps me to want to write the next day—leave off in a place where you know what's going to happen next. That way you're not facing a blank page hoping your muse will show up.

So the other day I was writing a particularly difficult scene. By that I mean it was difficult for the main character, not for me as the writer because I was sitting someplace cushy, probably munching on something yummy. And yet it was difficult for me to put my character through that. It physically affected my body—I was tense and literally felt ill to my stomach. As a writer or an illustrator, these are the emotions I'm hoping to get across in my work. Whether I succeed or not is something for you to judge.

I'm one of those writers that finds it difficult to put my character in harm's way, but I'm working on it. I heard Bruce Coville speak at a NESCBWI conference and he is the master of this. From the way he spoke, I would venture to say that he relishes getting his characters in trouble. So I try to remember his glee when I need to do something bad to my MC.

My Day at the Farm Museum

2008-07-13T11:05:00.010-04:00

Yesterday I had a reading and signing at the NH Farm Museum, which was great fun. It was part of their Children's Day and the weather was beautiful. I had tons of people show up for the reading in the barn and we had to get more chairs. A good problem, no?

I didn't take the time for the whole museum tour (mostly because my family went boating for the day without me and I was missing them) but what I saw was great. They had buttermaking, cheesemaking, basket making, a blacksmith, and many interactive things for kids to play with—a cornmeal grinder, and old-fashioned washing machine (snicker), a tool sharpener, weaving loom, etc.

My favorite things there were the chickens running around everywhere and the mules pulling the hay ride. Also watching the sack race, and the kids trying to get those wooden hoops to roll. Hilarious! A great place to bring the kiddos!

Hey, Elm Street School!
I want to give a shout out to the students at Elm Street School. I visited them just before the end of the year, and I have to say, they were the greatest group of kids I have had the pleasure of presenting to. They were great fun and full of good questions. Actually, I am partial to the fourth graders there as I had presented to them the week before at the Belknap Mill Hosiery Mill program. Here I am showing them the original jacket art from Carrot in My Pocket.

Here I am showing them the cover. (Note to self: don't wear beigey clothes if you want good pictures.)

Events This Summer

2008-07-10T04:55:00.004-04:00

I'll be appearing/speaking/reading/signing at three events this summer.

The first is this Saturday, July 12th at the New Hampshire Farm Museum in Milton, NH. At 11:30 I'll be reading my book, The Legend of the Old Man of the Mountain and signing copies of all my books. This is part of their Children's Day on the Farm Weekend, July 12-13 from 10-4, and will include farm games, hayrides and more. Call 652-7840 for more information and directions. Sounds like fun!

Next, I'll be at Toadstool Bookshop, located in the Colony Mill Marketplace in Keene, NH, on Saturday, July 19th at 2:00 pm. I'll be demonstrating my paper sculpture technique and answering any questions you may have. I'll also have one or two piece of finished art on display, so come around for visit if you're in the area. Oh, and books will be for sale (duh! it's a bookstore!)

Lastly, I'll be demonstrating and signing at the Artistic Roots Art Gallery & Teaching Center on August 2nd for their 4th Anniversary Celebration. I'll be demonstrating from 12-2 and signing books just prior to that. My original art is on display there year round. Call 726-7101 for more information.

Thinking of you, Pépère!

2008-07-06T07:21:00.009-04:00

My post yesterday about the Belknap Mill started me thinking of my grandfather or, as we of Franco-American heritage call our grandfathers, Pépère. His name was Alcide Cormier and he went on to start his own hosiery mill, Cormier Hosiery Mill in Laconia, NH.

This photo was taken in 1914 when he was about 17 years old. He's standing in front of a row of knitting machines but this was typically girl's work (yes, they were very sexist in those days.) He was probably a turner boy, which were young boys that turned the socks inside or right side out, depending on what was needed. At 17, Pépère's job would not have been one of great skill or importance, but knowing him, he was taking it all in. The row of ladies near the window were probably mending or finishing the socks.

I'm not exactly sure which mill this was taken in, maybe the Busiel mill, or one of the many other mills that lined the river, but I'm pretty sure it was not the Belknap Mill.

I am currently researching my grandfather and his mills, so if you knew him or ever worked for him, I would love to hear from you.

Where Do You Live? Day 7

2008-07-05T07:00:00.004-04:00

This is my favorite historic building in town. Not because of its looks (the library and train depot are more my taste in architecture) but because of its rich cultural history and my family's connection to it. This is the Historic Belknap Mill, a former hosiery mill, built in 1823.

My family is French-Canadian, and when times were tough in Québec, they headed south to work in the mills. My mother's family settled in Laconia and worked at the many mills that lined the river. My Dad's family settled in Manchester, NH and worked at the great Amoskeag Mills, at one time, the largest textile mill in the world.
This is a picture of the Busiel Mill next door. It currently houses offices. And beyond that is city hall.
The Belknap and Busiel Mills are one of New Hampshire's most prized landmarks. They are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Every spring the mill runs a program for school kids called "My First Day of Work in a Mill". From the Belknap Mill's website: "We take the children back to 1918, when production was at its peak, and the Belknap Mill was shipping socks overseas to soldiers fighting in the trenches. Children take on the identities of people who worked in this mill and learn the different jobs to make the socks. In addition to taking pride in their heritage and practicing good management and teamwork, they also learn business applications they can use for the rest of their lives."

I love this program and I've been volunteering there for three years now. I've graduated from a tour guide to a role player. I have a BLAST with those kids! I love chatting them up with what little French I know and see their little faces scrunch up, "huh?"

This pathway runs between the buildings. I wonder where it goes? Let's go see.
It leads to this bridge that crosses the Winnipesaukee river. In the back is Avery Dam. Across the river is Avery Hill, also known as French hill because that's where the French-Canadians settled. Every morning the mill would ring its bell, typically at sunrise, to let workers know it was time to report to work. They would walk down the hill and return at sunset.
Turning your head in the opposite direction, you would see another old mill, still being used by various manufacturing concerns. The grassy area next it it is now called Stewart Park, but was the site of Cormier Hosiery Mill, started by my grandfather, Alcide Cormier in 1939. He started out as a turner boy working in one of the other mills and learned the trade through years of hard work.

Here's the Gazebo built behind the mill where they have summer concerts. Inside the mill is an art gallery, concert hall and the only industrial knitting museum in the United States.

If you take a walk between city hall and the Busiel mill you will find these odd contraptions. They are sluice gates that used to let water through canals that ran under the mills to the turbines that would power them.

Here's a close up of the area behind the sluice gates. It's hard to make out, but if you look carefully to the right of the door, you will see bricks that form an archway. It used to be open below that and the water would run under the building there. When the Busiel mill was through with the water, it kept going onto the Belknap Mill and through their turbine. If you visit, the Belknap Mill still has their turbine set up.

The aerial shot was taken by Bill Hemmell of Lakes Region Aerial Photo. The building at the top is city hall, in the middle is the Busiel Mill, then the Belknap Mill at the bottom. You can see the pedestrian bridge and Avery dam above it. At the bottom center, you can barely see the gazebo.

Where Do You Live? Day 6

2008-07-04T07:39:00.003-04:00

Here's the beautiful Laconia Passenger Station. It was built in 1892 and home to the Boston & Maine Railroad (Laconia station) until the 1960s. New York architect Bradford Lee Gilbert designed the building in the Romanesque Revival style. It's situated in the same square where the library is located. It currently houses a couple of restaurants and a bank branch. Check out this website which has a pretty extensive history of the building. Be sure to click on all the tabs at the top.

This amazing aerial shot was taken by Bill Hemmel of Lakes Region Aerial Photo.

Where Do You Live? Day 5

2008-07-03T07:30:00.005-04:00

Here's is the old Laconia Car Company factory turned into office and restaurant space. It was founded by Charles Ranlet in 1848 and became the largest manufacturer in the area. They manufactured freight and passenger cars for trains, and later electric streetcars and trolleys. There are still a few examples being used or in existance today. Check this website for a more detailed history and some photos of the cars.
This is what it looked like in its heyday. From The Illustrated Laconian: History and Industries of Laconia, N.H and Google Book Search, published in 1899. Some of these buildings are still standing and have been repurposed. Another image can be seen at this website from 1892, a more expanded view.
On Another Note . . .
I am happy to report that I've been keeping up my commitment of writing 15 minutes each day (WFMAD) and my WIP is 1100 words the better for it. But hey . . . it's only been 3 days.

Where Do You Live? Day 4

2008-07-02T09:37:00.009-04:00

One of my favorite places is the Laconia Public Library. Shouldn't everyone's library look like this? I think so. The children's librarian, Gail Drucker, is the president of the Denise Ortakales Fan Club. Of course, she's the ONLY member but . . . hey . . . say hi to her if you visit.

The library was built in 1903 in the Romaesque Revival Style. They say that there's a ghost that lives there, a former patron that hadn't returned his library books before he died. Now he is doomed the try to return them for eternity. Bwaaa, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

Oh, yes, I have original art work from some of my books displayed there, too! In the children's section, of course.

This amazing aerial shot was taken by Bill Hemmel of Lakes Region Aerial Photo. It shows the new addition which is in back and around the corner from the previous photo. I think the new addition looks pretty nice. Much better than the freakish 1960s box that used to be there. See that roundish thing in the back? It's the fountain where my husband and I had our photos taken the day of our wedding. Awwwww!

Two Challenges

2008-07-01T20:18:00.023-04:00

The Pirate Code of Writing
The first challenge has been put forth by Laurie Halse Anderson. It's simple, merely write for 15 minutes a day for the month of July (or WFMAD). The whole idea is that it takes about 21 days before something becomes a habit. So our goal is to create a new, good writing habit. See more at her blog, Mad Woman in the Forest. I am happy to say that I've met my goal for today. I typically don't have a good track record for these kind of things but I keep trying.

Second Challenge
Cindy Lord has a challenge on her blog to show a picture of your city every day for a week. I know I'm two days late but I've included extra to make up for it. Here's a list of other bloggers joining in the fun. Enjoy!

Day1, Day 2 & Day 3
Here's three days rolled into one. I live in the beautiful Lakes Region of New Hampshire. If you're wondering why it's called the Lakes Region, take a look at the aerial photo on the City of Laconia's website. The land is like stepping stones across an expanse of water. It was taken by Bill Hemmel of Lakes Region Aerial Photo.

Last weekend, which happened to be motorcycle weekend, my hubby and son and I when for a ride in the amphicar. If you don't know what that is, check out my son's website about it--basically it's a car that goes in the water. I know, how cool is that!

So let's go on a tour of Paugus Bay and up through the Weirs channel. The first photo is a shot of the Naswa Resort and their cabins. They are typical of the many resorts that line the Weirs Boulevard. The other side of the lake has beautiful large homes and condos.
Here's a photo of the Marine Patrol. They turned around when they saw us and followed for a bit. Sometimes they come to have a look at the car because . . . well . . . it's interesting!
Here's a picture of the helicopter that kept buzzing us. It was giving tourists a ride over the lake, but intimidating none the less to see it swoop overhead.
Here we are as we near the channel. Look how nicely that sky matches our car! (And Cindy, do you see that rubber ducky? He comes everywhere with us.)
Here we are just about to go under the Weirs bridge. You could probably walk across the channel on the boats. Hubby tells me it's wasn't busy that day. Usually they line up and have to wait to go under.

This is what you see as you come out from under the bridge onto Lake Winnipesaukee. The monument is the oldest monument in New Hampshire. In 1652, a survey party carved their initials into a rock and that of John Endicott, Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, to mark the headwaters of the Merrimac River. The Massachusetts border was supposed to be three miles north of this point. (Thank God that didn't stick! Though by looking at the license plates . . . I wonder.)

Right around the corner is Weirs Beach and docking for the Mount Washington. It gives lovely tour rides of the lake, if that interests you.

Here is the famous Irwin's Pier at the Weirs. When I was younger there was mini golf and arcades. When my parents were in their day, they swung to the sounds of the big bands!

As we were heading home we saw the train that was bringing people up to the Weirs.
Well, all good things must come to an end. And so does this tour. Come back the next few days for some of my favorite historic buildings downtown.

Some People Have Nothing Better to Do

2008-06-30T07:06:00.009-04:00

Whilst googling myself the other day, I came across this post on the First Person Irregular blog, written John Ochwat. Now, John seems like an intelligent guy and he's entitle to his opinion but . . . he is clearly in need of more interesting pursuits in his life.

In his post, John opins about the evils of the author bio being longer than the text in children's books (yes, he counted them). He uses Good Morning, Garden, written by Barbara Brenner and illustrated by myself as an example. Ouch! He even shows the lovely cover (and thank you for that, if you're going to slam a book, you can at least have it look good and sell a few copies, right? But I digress.) He even complains that there are duplicate bios on the back page and on the jacket flap, making the text to author bio ratio something ridiculous like 1:2.

Here's the point, John: the text and author bios are written for two different audiences. The text is written for the kiddies, or to be read to the kiddies. The bios are written for the adults who buy and read the books to the kiddies. A few adults actually find them interesting. In a small way, it gives additional resources for the teacher using the book in the classroom. So please, take a deep breath. There must be worser evils in the world for you to cast your eye upon.

Do You Post Photos Online? Read This

2008-06-26T13:05:00.005-04:00

Okay, I know I've been harping on this orphan works thing, but some people still don't get how serious it is yet. So here's just a taste of what's to come in the future. Read this and this about an illustrator whose image was stolen by a large cigarette company and used to advertise cigarettes to kids. Read this about a blogger whose photo of her pet showed up on Fox TV, and this about a photographer whose image was used by cnet without permission. Read this about a guy whose photos were used by Real Time with Bill Mahr without his permission. Then read this Washington Post article about it happening to others.

Some of these infringements were willful, some an honest accident, blamed on the lowly intern (wink, wink). Regardless, this is just a taste of what is to come.

As scary as that is, it's nothing compared to this. Websites like Google and Flickr are removing metadata—hidden data within the digital file that includes the creator's name, contact info, and copyright info among other things—from digital files. Yikes! These are two companies that stand to benefit financially from orphaned works, and they are willfully orphaning works by removing this information. This is a recipe for wholesale theft!

If you have not already done so, go to Orphan Works Opposition Headquarters and read more there. Sign their petition and write your congressional leaders using the form letters. Some of them are starting to get the message but they need to hear from YOU.

The NY Times linked to Moi! (and by the way, Tasha Tudor died)

2008-06-23T16:35:00.004-04:00

You know how you google yourself ocassionally? Well, I hadn't in a while so thought I'd do it today. Imagine my surprise when I found that the NY Times has linked to my Women Children's Book Illustrator website in their obituary for Tasha Tudor.

Here's a picture of Tasha at her work table. With her passing last Wednesday, June 18, 2008, she was the last of the featured living illustrators to die. The others preceding her were Trina Schart Hyman (died November 19, 2004 at age 65), Barbara Cooney (March 10, 2000 at age 83), and Elizabeth Orton 'Twig' Jones (died May 10, 2005 at age 94). Of course, everyone else I've featured is also dead, but these four were living at the time I wrote their bios. I hope that doesn't say something about my writing!

Orphaned Works Update

2008-05-24T08:16:00.007-04:00

Members of IPA, and associates working with them, met with congressional leaders in DC last week. It sounds as if a few are starting to get it. But we're not out of the woods yet.

Here's a link to an Op-Ed piece published in the New York Times last week by non-other than Lawrence Lessig. Oddly enough, he is opposed to the current legislation. But I wouldn't let him babysit my kids just yet, if you know what I mean.

And here's an article from the Boston Herald. So the press is starting to listen.

From the IPA's website, a listing of artist groups against passage of this OW legislation.

Post Card Campaign to Oppose Orphan Works

The Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed their Orphan Works Act. It is now headed for the full Senate. This from Joanne Fink, President of Lakeside Design:

Urgent: Do this today in order to impact next week's opposition team
meetings in Washington D.C.
Postcard mailings: It was suggested that we get everyone to start sending
postcards to the DISTRICT offices, not the Washington DC office, because mail sent to Washington gets scanned/screened and can take over two weeks to get to the
recipient, while mail sent to the district office gets couriered to the Washington office the next day. Please disseminate this information as soon as possible. We'd like to have thousands of postcards waiting for our legislators before we go to visit them. Please help with this last ditch effort!
Here's what to do:
Write "Please vote NO on the Orphan Works bill " (add H.R. 5889 for the
House; S-2913 for the Senate). No other explanation is necessary.

Sign your name and include your contact info.

Addres it to your elected official's district office. Click to find your Senator's address or your Representative's address. You will need to click through to their website.

Add a stamp—27 cents; 42 cents if your postcard is over 6" x 4 1/4".

Orphaned Works is Back! Act Now!

2008-05-09T06:48:00.006-04:00

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water!

What's an Orphaned Work?
Any intellectual property that has been abandoned by its creator, either through neglect or death.

What's the Big Deal?
Large corporations (Microsoft, Hearst, Google) have amassed hoards of public domain works and license them for $$$. Now they're after orphaned work.

So what? Your not dead?
This current legislation will change the definition of orphaned work and allow those who claim they can't find me to use my work without permission, thereby giving them incentive not to find me. It will remove any recourse I may have when I discover the infringement, yet does not limit the infringer in a countersuit. It will allow the infringer to make derivatives of my work and copyright them as their own!

It Doesn't Affect Me So I'm Not Interested
Au Contraire! Do you post family photos online? On your BLOG? If you don't register them with one of the as-yet-to-be-in-existance-for-profit-registries, it will become an orphaned-work, and large corporations like Google and Microsoft will harvest and sell it for profit. How will you feel when you see your sweet child's face advertising some unsavory product, and there won't be a darn thing you can do about! Do I have your attention now?

So, Call the Media
Sorry, they're not interested because they stand to profit. Many of them own stock photo or art houses.

That's Bad. How Can I Help?
Go to the Illustrator's Partnership to read about the two similar bills currently sailing through Congress. Then go to their Take Action page. Put in your zip code and they will email your Congressmen of your wishes.

Even if I'm a Writer?
YES! Writer, Plumber, Short Order Cook! You all have power of the pen. Do your civic duty and support Artists and Photographers everywhere! And all you Blogging Writers? I've seen the power you wield when you have your mind set on something. Post the IPA site on your blogs and let the world know.

One more Thing
I hate to be political on my blog; that's not what I'm about. But . . . Laurence Lessig is the lawyer who started this whole assault on intellectual property a few years back. Do a search for Lessig and your favorite candidate to see which candidate Lessig supports. That doesn't necessarily mean that that candidate is FOR this bill, but it might make you think twice.

More on Robert's Snow

2007-11-05T08:45:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago I attended to reception at Child at Heart Gallery for the Robert's Snow display. I met up with old friends Ilene Richard and Mary Newell DePalma. Here they are chatting outside the gallery. Both are very talented and ironically (or not), they both created 3D snowflakes as well. Ilene and I had lunch where she shared with me her latest pb dummy.

Meeting up with old friends is great, but so is meeting new ones. Do you remember my post a few years ago when I said I wanted to grow up to be Alissa Imre Geis? Of course you don't, but I did, and I still do. Even more so now that I've met her. Here she is holding her snowflake. Notice all the other snowflakes in the background.

New at the Gallery

2007-11-05T07:45:00.001-05:00

This piece is new for me at the gallery. I hung it the other day in their new Holiday section. It's a piece I did a few years ago for a paper company. They sent me a box full of their shiny, fuzzy, bumpy, see-through, glittery paper and asked me to make them something Christmasy. Oh, and the background is made from their wood paper. It's actual thin slices of wood encased within a thin veneer of plastic.

Do you have trouble keeping your artifical wreaths fresh looking year after year? Are you hard pressed to pick up a fresh wreath or make your own each year? Then this is the answer for you. It's framed with a green velvet matt and gold colored frame. And the red velvet bow is brilliant when the light is shining just right on it. You can see it at Artistic Roots Gallery in Campton, NH.

You can see an interview of me by Cindy Lord (Newbery Honor winning author extraordinaire.) It's part of the whole author-interviewing-artist initiative for Robert's Snow. Thank you, Cindy, for doing a bang-up job! I almost didn't recognize myself!

JoNoWriMo+1.5

2007-09-17T20:05:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year again. Based on National Novel Writing Month, JoNoWriMo+1.5 is a little less intense and a lot more fun. It's run by the very clever Jo Knowles. Head on over there if you're ready to commit to completing your writing for children goals in 2.5 months!

Here's mine: to finish the first draft of my so-called cemetery WIP. It's a MG novel about a girl that wants to help her dying Grammy, so she sets out to discover what it's like to die. She 'haunts' the caretaker at the cemetery, the under-taker, the grave digger and the monument people, only to find out that it's not how you die, but how you live that matters. Stay tuned for more adventures of Lily!!!!!!!!

The Copyright Office goes Electronic!

2007-09-14T16:19:00.000-04:00

This is cool—I signed up to be a beta-tester for the copyright office's new electronic registration system. After I input my login name and password, I was directed to a series of screens asking for the typical information. When I was done, I added the registration to a shopping cart, and had the option to register another image, or pay. It even lets you save your registration as a template for future use. I paid easily through a government website, then uploaded the image. Voila! It was that easy.

Those of you that know me, know I am a big proponent of copyright registration. Here's why I think this is a great leap forward:

1. Uploading your image electronically will help to make sure it will be included in any searchable online image database (if one ever becomes available.)

2. Registering online provides your most recent contact information to the copyright office, including email, fax and alternate phone number (cell). These items are not on the current paper registration forms. The more contact information you include, the easier it will be for possible licensors to find you (alternately, harder for possible infringers to say they couldn't find you.) This is important especially if you've moved and have your old address on previous registrations.

3. You save money! The fee is $35 for online registration versus the $45 fee for paper registration. You also save money on courier fees.

4. You save time. You are protected from infringements the moment your registration reaches the copyright office. Before, I sent them overnight by FedEx and they were received the next day. Now they are received immediately and I'm protected immediately.

5. More money saving—a new feature that is being considered is allowing you to enter the titles of each item on your group registration for a fee—$1 each title electronically or $3 each title traditionally. Currently individual titles from group registrations are not searchable, so this in itself would be big step forward.

6. This will make it harder for those Orphan Works people to *claim* they can't find you, and thus use your artwork without your consent, with no penalty to them.

If you want to sign up too, go the the Copyright Office's webpage and click on the left where it says "Beta Testers Sought for Online Services."

If you want more information on the Orphan Works issue, go to Illustrator's Partnership or Graphic Artists Guild websites.

And if you can't get enough of this geeky copyright talk, then head on over the Pamela Parker's BLOG called, what else, Copyright Talk!

Update part deux!

2007-09-13T22:12:00.001-04:00

Robert's Snow

It's that time of year again and here is my humble snowflake this year. This side has a three-dimensional Christmas tree with little yellow stars, and red and blue ornaments. The background is watercolor. I've attached little floating snowflake satelites around to give the appearance of a snow flurry. It's a traditional type tree that you might find inside your own home.

The back side is a similar tree but decorated with colorful birds as you might imagine if it were outside.

The auction will be especially poignant this year because of Robert Mercer's passing. If you don't know the story, check it out at Robert's Snow. The auction will take place in November and December, and be displayed at the Child at Heart Gallery, in Newburyport, MA. An opening will be held there on October 6, 2007, 2-7 pm, with many of the local snowflake artists in attendance, myself included. Hope to see you there.

Fundraiser

In other news, I've been asked to be on the board of directors for a new fundraising project initiated by Tomie dePaola, in honor of his friend Trina Schart Hyman (and my favorite children's book artist of all time.) It's all still in the planning stages but you will hear more about it shortly. If you want to know more about Trina head over to my other website, Women Children's Book Illustrators.

I also attended Tomie's yard sale this summer. What a hoot! I bought a Mexican folk art angel and a colorful paper flower wreath with ribbon streamers. Tomie told me I should wear it. I'll be hanging both in my new studio soon. Who knows. Maybe I'll channel Tomie if I wear it while I work. I also bought some colorful napkins that I hope to make lots of pillows with.

My new over-the-garage studio is almost done and I hope to post pictures soon.

Gallery

I've had my original art in Artistic Roots Gallery since last March. AR, a cooperative gallery, is locted in Campton, NH right off Interstate 93, exit 28. They are open every day, except Christmas and Thanksgiving 10-6. I have cards and signed books for sale there too. This is one of the framed pieces I there.

Open House at the Gallery will be held October 5, 2007 from 5–8 pm. As one of the newer artists there, my art will featured along with the other new artists' work.

Shall we give this another try?

2007-09-13T15:17:00.000-04:00

For two years I've been promising to post something on my blog! Two years! So what have I been up to, you ask? (I know you didn't but thanks for playing along.)

Let's see, family wise, one son has moved on to college, and another onto middle school. No big drama there. The hardest part was learning AIM and how to add buddies.

Work wise, there are no new books in the publishing pipeline, but a few manuscripts are making the rounds. I've written an upper middle grade/younger YA novel about a house I use to live in that was built by circus performers. A circus theme playes a major part in the story line. Since I'm the queen of the 2,000 word picture books (that's too long for those of you that don't know) I decided to try a novel instead. It was a blast! Who knew I had so much to say? Okay, that's my family you hear groaning in the background. Cough! cough!

This summer I attended a workshop with Executive Editor, Judy O'Malley of Charlesbridge, on shopping around your manuscript and what editors are looking for. It was held at the Writer's Studio, owned by my friend Joyce Johnson . That was very enlightening and gave me the push I needed. Next, I attended a Writer's Schmooze at the Poland Spring's Campground, run by my writing friend Tami Wight. The Editor was Andrea Tompa from Candlewick who was delightful and very down-to-earth. Lastly, I'll be attending Kindling Words East at the end of January, a retreat for working writers, illustrators and editors. Should be fun.

Illustration work has been pretty quiet. I had a piece in the July 2007 issue of Spider, and illustrated a book cover for Random House. The novel is called "Love Me Tender" by Newbery Honor author Audrey Couloumbis and will be out April 22, 2008. I had great fun coming up with the Elvis figure. I also did lots of good work for a very large office supply company.

This is the newest addition to our family—an Amphicar! An Amphi-what! you ask? It's an amphibious car made in Germany in 1964. My husband was in search of a hobby and has wanted one one of these cars since he was a kid. He's been working on it for almost two years now and nearly done. In this photo you see the new white wall tires.

In this photo, you can see my husband's car in the center, along with two friends and their amphis. If you look closely you will see the dual propellors under the rear bumpers. These kooky . . . er . . . kool guys get together and go for swims together (called swim-ins), stopping traffic and causing accidents wherever they go.

My oldest son, college boy, has become First Mate to my husband, the Captain. Hey! I thought that was my job! He's also the videographer and webmaster. He's even bought a sweet sun umbrella that matches the amphi perfectly. A chip-off-the-old-block I'd say! Picture to follow on another day.

And here's my husband swimming (that's what they call it) with his car in our local lake. In case you were wondering, the car can go 70 mph on land and 7 mph in the water.

Take a peek at the website my son (the college boy) designed for more amphi phun—http://www.amphicarventures.com/. Some of the videos there have also been uploaded to youtube.

More catching up to follow.

Visiting Our Nation's Capital

2005-09-03T10:43:00.000-04:00

Last week, my family and I visited Washington, DC. We had never been before so it was truly a treat. We gave our legs a workout that they have not had in a looooong time!

We visited most of the sites—Jefferson Memorial to the left (kind of looks like it's sliding into the river, doesn't it?), Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, WWII Memorial (really beautiful!), Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, Ford's Theater, National Zoo and Aquarium, National Archives (loved National Treasure!), Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Museum of Natural History, Air and Space Museum, Museum of American History, the Capitol and the International Spy Museum (okay, didn't really go in, just went to the gift shop!)

Yet, there was so much we missed, like the White House. My youngest son liked the subways the best of all. If you'd like to see a slide show my older son made of our trip, click here if you have a fast connection (it's a bit long.) Keep in mind that it's from his perspective. While the boys were looking at the guns in the history museum, I was upstairs looking at the first ladies! I have to admit that my favorite souvenir we brought home was Krispie Kremes!

When you have two kids that only eat chicken nuggets, finding a restaurant can be challenging. Especially in Washington because we hardly saw any restaurants. I was wondering where all these people eat. I asked at the aquarium and she sent us into the Ronald Reagan Building across the street. Well, lo and behold, there was a food court on the basement floor! So that's where all these people that work in these super-sized buildings eat. Who knew? We also ate at the Hard Rock Café next to Ford's Theater. They have a really cool stained glass window of Chuck Berry, Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis that we sat in front of. So as we're leaving town to come home, what did we find just one block behind our hotel? Yes, a Mickey D's! Just goes to show that you have to do your homework before you go on a trip. I have to say that Washington was one of the cleanest places I've visited and the quietest.

While in DC, I took the opportunity to meet with Alden O'Brien, the textile curator at the DAR Museum. They have a piece of the 'Ocean-Born Mary' silk* and we compared it to the pieces that I have photographs of. They were all consistent, but she has her doubts as to the age of the fabric, feeling it was from the 1780's rather than the 1720's (though she couldn't rule out the 1720's.) It was a productive conversation and she finds the whole legend quite plausable, admitting that my evidence was more compelling than some other national legends that shall remain nameless here! (* Ocean-Born Mary is another NH legend that I am researching for a picture book. It has all the drama of the high seas—pirates, a baby's birth, treasure—Arrrgh!)

In preparation for our trip, I read a few children's books on the topic. If the Walls Could Talk has interesting tidbits about the Presidents and their life in the White House. The story of George Washington's Teeth is told in rhyme and is quite cute! When Washington Crossed the Delaware tells of the trials and tribulations of the Revolutionary War as told by Lynne Cheney. Lincoln : A Photobiography was a perfect biography for young readers–succinctly told. This last book–George Washington, Spymaster : How the Americans Outspied the British and Won the Revolutionary War–I picked up at the International Spy Museum. It's a wonderfully designed little book–feels good in your hands, pages have deckled edges, uses a font reminiscent of the time, and the jacket is printed in letterpress. I can see where kids, especially boys, would get caught up in the whole spy thing; there are codes to decipher throughout the whole book. Kudos to National Geographic for making history fun!

Writing Update

2005-08-08T07:39:00.000-04:00

BON VOYAGE
Today is the day that I send in my "Ocean Mary of Londonderry" manuscript to my publisher. Back on the research trail, I've been traveling around the state to various libraries and historical societies tracking down those elusive pieces of the pirate's silk, to reconcile them with the differing descriptions. What fun! I also have appointments with the Museum of NH History and the DAR Museum in Washington, DC to discuss the silk and get their opinions.

None of this research will change the tale one iota, as I'm fairly confident that I have the facts correct. But I feel it's important to list in the foreward which elements are fact and which are conjecture. Also, if I wait until the research is all done, I will never send it in! Mary Wilson is one elusive character! I have yet to connect Mary specifically to the pirate attack. There is only circumstantial evidence but it's pretty overwhelming. And as far as the silk goes, it will be a leap of faith.

So my little manuscript baby, off you go! I wish you well. Godspeed. Bon Voyage.

MY READING LIST
Winnie Dancing on Her Own by Jennifer Richard Jacobson
A lovely little first chapter book with sweet illustrations by Alissa Imre Geis (love this girl's website! I want to be her when I grow up.) Just perfect!

The Irish Dresser by Cynthia G. Neale
A great novel by a fellow Granite Stater. We met while doing book signing events.

The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg
I liked the plot well enough but I had problems with the POV. It starts out in 3rd person omnitient. The next 4 chapters are in first person, one chapter for each member of the team, then switches back to omnitient for the rest of the book. Yet Mrs. Olinski didn't get her own chapter, to tell her own story. And Julian's chapter (probably the most interesting character in the book) doesn't ring true to his character that was set up in other chapters. To be honest, most of the book is back story, which can be annoying when you want to get on with the real story. (Okay, I hear my crit group snickering because everything I write is backstory! That point isn't lost on me.)

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
Ironically, I read two survival stories in a row. Both were young boys, but in Hatchet the MC was on his own. In Beaver, the MC had an Indian help him out. I thought Hatchet would be boring since there were no other characters, but it wasn't. A plot twist or cliffhanger at the end of each chapter helped. In Beaver, the relationship between the Indian and the boy was interesting to see develop, until the Indian finally respected the growth of the MC. It's the same with Hatchet except it was the MC who finally found pride in what he had accomplished.

The only problem I had was with the ending. I wish it had been treated as part of the story instead of an epilogue. It was mostly telling, not showing. And the big secret was a bit of a let down. I would have preferred the MC about to tell his father, then decide not to because of the maturing he had done while stranded.

COOL WEBSITE
http://www.visualthesaurus.com/
This is just too much fun. It's loads of fun clicking on the words and dragging them around.

My Snowflake for Robert's Snow

2005-08-02T13:35:00.000-04:00

I have finally finished my snowflake for Robert's Snow. I decided to do a flower because my mother loves flowers and she is a cancer survivor of over 20 years. So this poinsettia is dedicated to her. Love you Mom!

Finally some ART!!!

2005-07-31T10:32:00.000-04:00

If you are like me, you've been wondering why no artwork has appeared on this page for ages. What can I say, I've had a lazy summer! This is a rough layout for a calligraphy course assignment I'm working on. I was not too concerned about making beautiful letters, just the layout. Now I need to find a focus. Click above to see a larger image.

Yes, I know the text is from a Beatles song but I found it in a 1930's Mother Goose type book. I used to sing this lullabye to my children so it's one of my favorites. They still ask me occassionally to sing it. Got to keep in practice for those grandchildren some day!

A Surprise Anniversary Party!!!!

2005-07-27T16:08:00.000-04:00

Well, call us Surprised! Here it was just a few days before our 26th anniversary and my parents threw us a 25th anniversary party! My mother completely forgot that our 25th anniversary was last summer (even though she babysat for us while we went out to dinner.) So she thought she would throw us a party before our 25th year ended. I didn't have the heart to tell her that technically it was our 26th year that is just ending. It's the thought that counts, isn't it. And if you were a member of the wedding party and weren't invited, I apologize. Obviously, she has a bad memory!

Isn't this the most beautiful bouquet? There were well over 2 dozen pink roses in it. Our real anniversary is tomorrow, July 28, if any one else would like to send flowers. Any one? (JK)

Sculpted Paper Headline News

2005-07-20T08:40:00.000-04:00

CAT FINALLY HAS NAME AFTER SIX WEEKS
I am happy to report that the cat finally has a name. I had to put my foot down and make an executive decision because nobody was agreeing on anything. It was quite embarassing bringing her in for her shots and boosters, each time being asked if she had a name yet. Then I realized that if she was a baby, her name would not be put up to a vote, my husband and I would decide. Since he doesn't want to have anything to do with the cat, I decided on my own. Besides I'm the one who cleans the litterbox which is enough justification for me! So let me introduce you to PEACHES! Yeah Peaches! Go Kitty! Go Kitty! Now, if only I could remember to call her that!

A big thank you to those of you that offered suggestions. You did better than my stuborn children.

NEW TEACHING POSITION
I have joined Chester College as an adjunct faculty member. I'll be teaching Illustraiton 1 for the fall semester. Chester is a small arts college a little over an hours drive from me. I'm not certain if my vic . . . er . . . students will be minty freshmen or seasoned sophmores, but I'm looking forward to whipping them in shape! Crack!!!

FUN FAMILY REUNION
We hosted a reunion of sorts for my husbands family at the end of June. A few of the nieces and nephews were missing but his parents and 5 brothers and sisters were there. Some of them were from California, Washington and Alabama. It was a great day and best of all, no one got food poisoning!

IT'S GOOD TO HAVE FRIENDS
I have a lot of talented friends and two fo them deserve mention. First, Jennifer Kramer won the "Most Horrid Query Letter" contest (which I think is like a back-handed compliment of sorts, but I'm proud of Jen any way!). And Kate Tuthill was the non-fiction first place winner in the Smartwriters' WIN contest for her manuscript HERO OF NACOZARI! Way to go Kate and Jen! I have many other talented friends that I will plug another day.

ON MY NIGHTSTAND
Okay, I don't actually read in bed. Usually I'm on the couch. But here's what I've read recently.

HOOT by Carl Hiaasen. Really liked the characters in this one.

STAND TALL by Joan Bauer. Liked this one as well though I kept wondering what the problem of the story was. He was too tall? His parents were divorced? Also, there were way too many incomplete sentences. Now I'm not the grammar police, and normally incomplete sentences don't bother me, but there were too many IMHO. Even still I liked the book, though I can't tell you why. Best line in the whole book—One man sows, another reaps. Now you'll have to read the book to find out why.

BRINGING UP THE BONES by Lara M. Zeises. I liked this book except for the end. (Don't want to give it away.) The MC ends up a stronger person in the end. But since I'm a hopeless romantic, I would have prefered a different ending. That's all I'm saying.

SHADOW OF A BULL by Maia Wojciecchowska. I've been trying to read most of the Newbery Award books, but I've discovered that some of the older books don't stand the test of time. Styles and tastes have changed since this book won in 1965. The first half was sluggish. Many scenes seemed contrived in order to dish out backstory about the MC's father. The conflict was clear through out, and the MC solved it nicely. It's just a shame you have to trudge through the other stuff first.

Next up is THE VIEW FROM SATURDAY, by E.L. Konigsburg. Stay Tuned!

Soap Box Derby

2005-06-28T22:25:00.000-04:00

Here is my son with his team (and I use the term loosely) before the race. One kid decided that the ocean sounded more fun which left the team one man short. Travis (in the car) took an extra run for him.

They are getting ready to push Ian, Team Captain down for his first run. Alas, a wheel locked up (as did on many other cars) and he only made part way down. He had a make-up heat later.

Here comes my son neck and neck with the toilet car! This is gripping stuff!

In the end, the toilet car didn't have what it takes. My son and his teammates won all their heats! But it wasn't enough to win the day. They did, however, win the prize for the sportiest car! And thanks to Pizza Hut for donating such a yummy prize!

This photo was taken at the end of the day, AFTER my son had won his team's car in a drawing. He was not too happy with his teammates for sitting on the spoiler of HIS car! I have NO idea where we're going to put this thing!

My new Muse!!!!

2005-06-24T09:11:00.000-04:00

It's been 3 long years since my precious Tippy cat died. I've mourned long enough and finally decided it was time for a new purr in my life. So without further ado, I present to you . . . (name pending.) Yes, that is correct, we've had the little darling for two weeks and we still can't agree on a name. I even received a postcard from the vet addressed to Pending Ortakales! LOL

She is four months old, a shelter cat, and came with the name Reese's (as in peanut butter cup). She is a calico tiger mix so the name is fitting. But it doesn't do anything for me. I'm looking for a cute feminine kitty name, like Lily for instance. One son wants to give her a video game name like Zelda or Ganendorf. Uh, no. The other one (holding the kitty in the pic) is adament about keeping Reese's. And the husband would just as soon call her gone!

So please help me name her. All suggestions will be considered. Sorry, no prizes, just my undying gratitude. She has double-paws if that helps you any.

Books by Marsha Qualey

2005-06-21T14:47:00.000-04:00

Earlier this year, I picked up several ARCs at ALA in Boston. One that I enjoyed very much was Just Like That by Marsha Qualey. I don't want to give away too much but it's about a young woman who was the last person to see a young couple alive. Their disturbing death sends her reeling, until she finds someone else that understands her feelings. A boy. The boy who found their bodies. The story of their relationship and bond is touching and poignant. I highly recommend this book.

I liked it so much, I checked out another book by Marsha. What do you get when you mix one ex-junkie, one Prince-someday-to-be-King and an all-nighter? One Night. I enjoyed it almost as much as Just Like That. If you haven't read anything Marsha Qualey, give her a try.

Polar Caves Field Trip

2005-06-11T06:13:00.000-04:00

Yes, another field trip! Yesterday, I spent spectacular day with the third graders from Woodland Heights Elementary investigating the Polar Caves. For those of you that don't live nearby, they are a series of caves that were formed when the retreating glacier broke off part of the nearby cliff thereby forming the caves from the tumbled rocks. They are wonderfully refreshing in the summer. One cave still had ice in it!

As you can see below, I brought my trusty little sketchbook. Good thing because my camera batteries died before I took one pic! These were all done with pilot pen and colored pencil on a pale green mulberry paper.

This was the view from the highest point we were allowed to go. But as you can see, the cliff and boulders towered way above us.

Well, this guy thought he was hot stuff. He spread his feathers (a good 8-10 foot span) for us and his mate and shook them. We were wondering if the kids were going to get an even bigger show!

I was fascinated by how he looked from the side and back. Long gray feathers were held upright to support the showy feathers, which were cupped forward. I guess these were the tail feathers. Under that were gray downy feathers. The black, white, blue and rust feathers were his wings.

The female was very plain in comparison—brown with an irridescent patch of blue on her neck.

They had other exotic birds there—mostly colorful pheasant from China, Tibet and the Himalayas.

Some of the rocks had some large leafed lichen growing on them, about the size of a maple leaf I'd say. Others had single fern fronds growing out of the moss. All very cool!

A Field Trip to Prescott Farm

2005-06-02T14:46:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday, I spent the day with my son's third grade class learning about ecology (the realtionship between organisms and their habitats. See Megan, I WAS listening!) at Prescott Farm in Gilford. We learned all about seeds, plants, how long it takes to make 1" of topsoil (see if you can find the answer in my sketchbook), and pollenation. I sure learned a lot as you can see by my sketchbook. I had no idea what a bobolink was so I looked it up when I came home. The farm is part of the Audubon Society of NH and has hiking trails. I'd like to go back with the family this summer.

Here's a page from my new handy dandy sketchbook.
This page was created on parchment paper with
fine pointed sepia Pitt pen and colored pencils.

This page was created on #140 lb. Fabriano Uno watercolor
paper with a fine pointed sepia Pitt pen and colored pencils.

My Summer Submission for PBAA

2005-05-30T07:53:00.000-04:00

Here is my summer art for the Picture Book Artists Association's (from here on affectionately known as PBAA) website. Currently you can view the spring art there, but be sure to return on June 15th for the unvealing of everyone's summer art.

The image is from my 2004 book, Good Morning, Garden, written by Barbara Brenner. I found out recently that it received a starred review in Kirkus and no one told me! It's available on Amazon or my website.

A little about PBAA. It started out as a listserve for professional picture book illustrators but has turned into much more. These people are my mentors, my crying shoulder, my sounding board and my peers. I would be lost without them, so thank you guys!

A Handmade Sketchbook

2005-05-28T15:26:00.000-04:00

Here's a nifty little sketchbook I made with my own little hands. It's about 6" square and 1" thick. I included many different types of paper—watercolor, charcoal, pastel, vellum, oatmeal, grass, mulberry, etc.—to see which I will like the best. I hand stitched them into 4 signatures included some spacers so I can paste in other things or do a collage without having the book splay open. I'm hoping to try many different media inside. And the best thing about it is that it lies perfectly flat when sketching or scanning! I'm sure I'll be sharing some of the (more successful) sketches with you soon!

A Visit to Belmont Elementary

2005-05-26T08:38:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I visited the wonderful children at Belmont Elementary School in Belmont, NH. They were attentive and inquisitive, just the way I like them. And they weren't the least bit wiggly. Oh no, not them! Well, okay, maybe a little, but it had been raining forever so I can't fault them for that. So thank you children for a wonderful day!

(and I truly do apologize for saying that bad word! We'll blame that on the rain too. Deal?)

A Great Conference!!!

2005-05-23T07:14:00.000-04:00

WOWZERS!!!

I attended a great conference this past weekend put on by the New England chapter of SCBWI. Friday was a Nuts & Bolts day for more advanced workshops. I presented a workshop on Copyright Registration for Illustrators. It seemed to go well. I definitely had more material than my 45 minutes allowed for. I'm also so proud that I figured out the whole PowerPoint thing (though I really need to get over my plug phobia!)

Saturday was also a fun-filled day of workshops. I especially enjoyed the talk by Jacqueline Davies, et al. entitled "The Whole Shebang". Jacqueline, editor Ann Rider from Houghton Mifflin, illustrator Melissa Sweet, art director Sheila Smallwood and the marketing manager all talked about Jackie's book The Boy Who Drew Birds. Jackie is a wonderful speaker and her book is a delight. In fact I may need to buy another copy.

Melissa Sweet is one of my new favorite illustrators. I also picked up her new book Carmine. Think Red Riding Hood with a twist. You'll love it.

Sunday was a wonderful picture book retreat with the fantastic Eric Rohmann as the keynote speaker. Later, he gave me his thoughts on my dummy for Sir Draws-A-Lot, which I really appreciated. I also met a Kim Jacobs, a superb illustrator. Keep an eye out for her as I'm sure some publisher will snap her up quickly!

But my favorite part of the weekend was meeting up with my critique group. There were 10 of us there in person and two in spirit! They are a bright, funny talented group of women and I'm proud to be a part of THE HAMPSTERS!!!!! You can see their writing BLOGS on the right hand side of this page!

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

2005-05-08T06:47:00.000-04:00

I've been enjoying everyone else's BLOGs so I thought I'd try one for myself. No promises that it will be updated daily, or even weekly. No pressure, no worries. Works for me!