Karen Lee Illustration

#KidLitArt Dummy Challenge

2012-01-26T10:29:00.001-05:00

I signed up for the #KidLitArt Dummy Challenge this year as a way to motivate myself to complete a few abandoned picture book projects. I started by spreading everything I had for three stalled projects on the dining room table, manuscripts, drawings, page break dummies, and comments from my critique group. I decided to shelve one indefinitely, put another aside to work on later, and pick one that stalled out for no other reason than that I began another one before I completed it.

The first thing I did was to read over the comments from my critique group - they are so wise! Then I looked over my story with fresh eyes. Very fresh. My last manuscript update was dated 2007.

It took me a while but I was able to immerse myself again and do some heavy revisions. There is still room for a little more but being primarily an illustrator I was anxious to get on with pacing the story. I made a grid for the page spreads on a large sheet of graph paper then I wrote each character's dialog on color coded sticky notes so I could move them around to establish the page breaks and turns.

Once I was fairly happy with where the stickies were I moved them to a mock up (8 legal size sheets of paper folded in half). I moved the stickies to the mock up and then with real page turns, I shifted things around until I was satisfied.

The next thing I did was to sketch out my characters without looking at the previous versions. I didn't want to just copy my old approach. I've sketched out one scene so far to see if it is going to work:

For comparison here is the original version: (so glad I got rid of the hat in the revise)

Black and White sample

2012-01-25T10:52:00.001-05:00

My gal Maggie pitched some of her artists for a chapter book series and I didn't have much of anything appropriate for the project, so I whipped one out over the weekend.

Traditional Paintings

2012-01-11T15:15:00.000-05:00

I was offered an opportunity to do a show with my husband at a downtown gallery. Not having any paintings did seem like a bit of an obstacle. After a year without touching traditional media I steeled my nerves, quashed my insecurities and dipped a toe back in. I now have three new works in watercolor.

Brothers, Watercolor, 9" x 9"

Metro, Watercolor, 9"x9"

Queue, Watercolor, 9"x11"

As an illustrator I can't let the idea of "story" go even in non-commercial work. That's why I chose this theme for the series. There is setting, mood, characters, and some implied action. By showing just feet and legs my aim is to allow the viewer an opportunity to create their own story.

What?! It's January!

2012-01-11T14:59:00.002-05:00

2011 was a busy year and in spite of the personal and national economy, not too shabby. It was a year filled with art, music, and general and miscellaneous creativity for my whole family. Tim the Husband achieved some great success with his art and his bluegrass band The Hey Brothers. The High Schoolers immersed themselves utterly in marching band. The Odyssey of the Mind team went to World-Freakin-Finals. I started playing euphonium in the Town Band, had a great big birthday party with great friends and music.

Oh, and I did some art. I finally became fluent in Photoshop and my web portfolio is now completely digital. I did lots of personal development pieces and some very rewarding assignments. I can't wait to see what comes next. Shine on you crazy 2012!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-21T09:13:00.003-04:00

In this month's issue of Highlights For Children, some of the art for How I Became a Halloween Hero by Sandra Breswetherick.

Backyard Bug Party

2011-09-26T13:54:00.003-04:00

My newest developmental piece took an insane amount of time, a staggering number of layers, sketches, revisions, backtracking, and some of the bugs are still missing arms! But I am glad that I have finally done a line art piece at this scale. I never would have believed this was possible even just two years ago, thank you brush and ink, thank you Photoshop and Wacom.

Lil Bug

2011-08-23T15:44:00.000-04:00

Trying some textured and colored line. Eh, not sure if I like it.

I finally finished!

2011-07-29T10:54:00.004-04:00

I was able to get back to this sample last week and finished it off. I always hated pen line art - too scratchy, too permanent - but a few years ago I discovered brush + photoshop. Oh brush, how I love you. Oh photoshop, you complete me.

It also seems I have finally surrendered and immersed myself in cuteness. I give up - I'm yours. I'm thinking about adorable insects for my next piece.

The rundown: individual characters and backgrounds done separately in FW acrylic ink on Canson Vidalon with brush, scanned @ 600dpi, in photoshop --> levels -->set white point to eliminate shadow, set black point to crisp up, clean up, correct, and layer together. Altogether only about 8 hours for the finish.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-23T15:15:00.003-04:00

Sparky's Birthday Party Kit!

2011-03-31T09:13:00.004-04:00

I've had the pleasure of doing a lot of work for the wonderful folks at the National Fire Protection Association for the ongoing fire safety awareness program featuring Sparky the Firedog. He's a real hero! I did much of the artwork for their new Sparky the Firedog Birthday Party Kit. They also have a fun interactive website for kids here.

Scruggs

2011-03-10T14:40:00.002-05:00

Chef

2011-02-24T11:58:00.002-05:00

My phone doodle became a chef.

2011-01-17T17:09:00.002-05:00

So this is the complete page from that last very sad drawing I did. It really isn't any more uplifting. Welling up a bit here...but there is hope! This story doesn't have a sad ending!
And this is from earlier in the story. I found myself myself chuckling a bit as I worked on it; just one of the benefits that come with the job (but not paid vacation, 401K, health coverage, diversity days, sick days, maternity leave, dental insurance, or disability insurance, sigh...)

Sad Doodle

2011-01-14T19:31:00.002-05:00

I needed to draw to bring a little joy into my day and this is what I came up with...

New Work

2011-01-08T14:17:00.006-05:00

What Is It?, December 2010

Train Chain, January 2011

Here's a few new pieces for my favorite - Highlights For Children!

I just had to sketch

2010-12-17T11:08:00.003-05:00

Wildlife in North Carolina Magazine

2010-12-16T10:11:00.004-05:00

I'm very pleased to be working with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Wildlife in North Carolina Magazine again. I'm doing the art for an essay by writer Shari Smith about her almost sixteen year old son, Walker, and his enduring passion for nature and wildlife. It has been a real treat to do something that feels more like fine art. I'm trying to channel Andrew Wyeth with a muted palette and a stillness in the composition. These are details of larger images, in the early stages of the painting.

Odyssey of the Mind 2010-2011

2010-11-29T08:17:00.006-05:00

First : My new website is up. See my newest work at www.karenleeillustration.com

My Odyssey of the Mind team is off and running. I am sharing coaching responsibilities with a fantastic co-coach and we have seven eighth graders - most of them with State and World Tournament experience. They are doing the tech problem this year and are required to build a Rube Goldberg style contraption and incorporate it into a skit. We took them to the Museum of Life and Science in Durham on Saturday and they spent an hour in the Contraption Room building one. They were focused and showed great teamwork. And they had a blast. This will be my last year coaching - next year my youngest will be in high school and they will self coach. It was taken an enormous amount of time, mental bandwidth, and food for those teenage bottomless pits over the past five years but has been one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. Bittersweet. But I still have four months to the regional tournament!

Holiday mailer on the way

2010-11-15T19:33:00.003-05:00

New website announcement/holiday greetings. Multi-tasking mailer.

Teddy Bear's Picnic

2010-11-03T12:50:00.006-04:00

I've been expanding my portfolio and my skills lately. Here's another anthropomorphic animal image in the new style. It is a pencil drawing, scanned, digitally colored in Photoshop. This is just the bottom portion of the image; I'm still fooling around with the top. I love doing these though still insecure about where exactly I am going. Tim is building a new portfolio site for me - just a splash page so far but I love it: www.karenleeillustration.com

...and the final art, plus

2010-10-15T10:26:00.004-04:00

Work in Progress

2010-09-24T17:15:00.004-04:00

From my own project. I still need to add a figure to the upper left and upper right.

Bored

2010-09-14T11:25:00.001-04:00

No, not me. Another sample: pencil with Photoshop.

...and the finish.

2010-09-08T16:24:00.004-04:00

I'm going to call this one a success. It flowed a bit - it was painless, almost entirely fun to do, and super quick - start to finish in about ten hours. But come to think of it - shouldn't start have been on the left, finish on the right? Aggh, back to the drawing board (thank goodness for Photoshop)

A New Direction

2010-09-05T10:40:00.003-04:00

I recently spoke my rep Maggie Byer-Sprinzeles about ways I could expand my portfolio. She suggested trying to reach a younger market, adding anthropomorphic animals, perhaps doing something more painterly. This is my first stab at it and it has been incredibly fun. After a few little thumbnail character sketches I dove into the full sketch - maybe it took three hours - then scanned and tweaked in Photoshop. I am coloring it digitally - Photoshop as well. I have finally achieved enough ease working digitally that it has become a right brain process and not the mental torture it used to be for me.

One of my favorite poems...

2010-09-01T12:12:00.002-04:00

Poem: "One reason I like opera," by Marge Piercy, from Colors Passing Through Us (Knopf).

One reason I like opera

In movies, you can tell the heroine
because she is blonder and thinner
than her sidekick. The villainess
is darkest. If a woman is fat,
she is a joke and will probably die.

In movies, the blondest are the best
and in bleaching lies not only purity
but victory. If two people are both
extra pretty, they will end up
in the final clinch.

Only the flawless in face and body
win. That is why I treat
movies as less interesting
than comic books. The camera
is stupid. It sucks surfaces.

Let's go to the opera instead.
The heroine is fifty and weighs
as much as a '65 Chevy with fins.
She could crack your jaw in her fist.
She can hit high C lying down.

The tenor the women scream for
wolfs down an eight course meal daily.
He resembles a bull on hind legs.
His thighs are the size of beer kegs.
His chest is a redwood with hair.

Their voices twine, golden serpents.
Their voices rise like the best
fireworks and hang and hang
then drift slowly down descending
in brilliant and still fiery sparks.

The hippopotamus baritone (the villain)
has a voice that could give you
an orgasm right in your seat.
His voice smokes with passion.
He is hot as lava. He erupts nightly.

The contralto is, however, svelte.
She is supposed to be the soprano's
mother, but is ten years younger,
beautiful and Black. Nobody cares.
She sings you into her womb where you rock.

What you see is work like digging a ditch,
hard physical labor. What you hear
is magic as tricky as knife throwing.
What you see is strength like any
great athlete's. What you hear

is still rendered precisely as the best
Swiss watchmaker. The body is
resonance. The body is the cello case.
The body just is. The voice loud
as hunger remagnetizes your bones.

New doodle

2010-08-27T12:25:00.002-04:00

The kids are back to school and I totally needed some fun in my life today. Found some in Photoshop.

2010-08-16T09:53:00.003-04:00

I've been working on so many different things this summer - a leveled reader, sixteen page ESL, two books for Lifeway VBS, the art for this year's Scholastic/NFPA school campaign for National Fire Safety Week, some Sunday School workbooks, and several rewarding projects with my favorite client - Highlights For Children. As summer break winds down I am ready for a fresh start and will delve into a few manuscripts and personal projects I set aside during the hectic summer. Here's a doodle just for the fun of it!

2010-06-15T10:21:00.003-04:00

I've been busy - 95 pieces of art in 50 days! Still not much that I can show, though. These are both for Highlights For Children. Traditional watercolor with Photoshop.

In other news - my oldest child has graduated middle school and is heading into high school in all honors classes. He starts marching band this summer. Daughter is heading into 8th grade and is pitching for her softball team this summer and doing a fantastic job. We are so proud of both of them.

Maggie Byer-Sprinzeles

2010-04-07T09:54:00.005-04:00

I am officially "up" on my new agent, Maggie Byer-Sprinzele's website. So far we are off to a fantastic start!

I've been working a bunch but have nothing to share since none of it has been published yet. But I could draw Sparky the Firedog in my sleep (and have been).

In the meantime both my daughter and son's Odyssey of the Mind teams are going to the state tournament this weekend. In fact (braggingly) all four of the teams from our middle school are going to state. I am a coach so it has been a big time commitment for all of us. Wish us luck this weekend in Charlotte!

Andrew Loomis

2010-03-29T08:48:00.007-04:00

Here is a link to scans of Creative Illustration by Andrew Loomis, 1947.

From the closing chat:

Let us as artists, then, feel that we have a trust. Let us be sincere, if for no other reason than to give our craft character. Let us choose to reproduce beauty rather than the sordid, if only to elevate the standards of beauty. If we seek an audience to our way of expression, let us make the things we have to say worth while. When we have a choice, let us build, not tear down. If we are endowed with the vision to encompass beauty, let us be grateful, but not selfish about it. To live and work only to please one's self, using art as a means of display for uncontrolled temperment and undisciplined license, for divorcing oneself from the normal and ethical standards of life, to my mind is wrong. Art belongs to life, and essentially to the common, everyday man.

2010-03-17T08:39:00.001-04:00

What's new and why I'm not blogging

2010-02-25T09:00:00.006-05:00

Because it's Odyssey of the Mind season! We are going to tournament in just a little over a week. I love it! I hate it! I live for it and I might die from it if I don't get more sleep. I have a fantastic middle school team again! I love these kids and love to see them grow and change, become brave and funny. I will post pictures after the tournament.

Also - I am very very pleased to announce that I am now represented by the fantastic Maggie Byer-Sprinzeles! Yes! We are off to a fantastic start already.

...and - The March 2010 issue of Highlights For Children is out. I did the cover art!

Sharing the Love

2010-01-29T13:38:00.005-05:00

I want to share this - because I LOVE it! I love everything about it. It is a breakthrough in developing the main character for a book I'm working on, it was quick, it was easy, it was fun!

Some more good news yesterday but I can't quite share it yet. Also, I'm working on not one, but two Highlights covers currently and have another cover coming out for the March '10 issue.

Tim didn't get laid off, his new hours aren't going to kill us, and he has picked up a new client for both of us. The kids are thriving, our Odyssey of the Mind teams are starting to kick it in high gear, Tim's bands are gigging around and playing like they are on fire. 2009 ended badly! But so far 2010 is looking up!

What I'm working on today...

2010-01-15T13:50:00.002-05:00

..and loving the freedom to mix techniques! Ink line, watercolor, photoshop!

Sylvan Dell's Blog

2010-01-11T10:06:00.003-05:00

Sylvan Dell Publishing does a fantastic job of promoting their books in unique and meaningful ways. Have a look at this week's blog post about kids in the kitchen and how you can use cooking to teach science and math skills.

In addition they offer e-books in English and Spanish, all their books have For Creative Minds sections in the back that extend the topic of each book in fun and engaging ways, all the books are curriculum aligned, are Accelerated Reader, and offer tons of teaching activities online. They are truly unique - delicious, wholesome, healthy brain food. Plus recipes!

Vintage Ad Browser

2010-01-11T09:38:00.004-05:00

From Seth's Blog today a searchable vintage ad site! Vintage Ad Browser

Character study...

2010-01-08T11:14:00.003-05:00

I'm having a hard time figuring out where I want to go with my drawing. I've always valued a skilled drawing in my own work and am drawn to it in other's. Not that I don't respect it, but a naive or super cartoony style just isn't something that blows my skirt up. Especially for children's work, the viewer needs to be able to identify with the characters. I think having characters that are too realistic creates a barrier that prevents the reader from truly engaging in the story. The goal is not to have the artist intrude on the relationship between the story and the reader, nor to have the characters become so individual that the reader can't occupy the story.

So I am trying, really I am, to let go of my bias toward skilled drawing and let it live a little. I'm not there yet. This kind of drawing is fun for me but I am not convinced that I couldn't get a little closer to that balance that would make my art unique but leaves enough unsaid that the viewer can fill in their own details.

Year in Review

2009-12-31T10:09:00.008-05:00

It's time again to look back on how far I've come and make plans for where to go next. Aside from my personal goals of finishing off a few quilts I started forever ago, raising brilliant, confident children through the teen years, and finishing off the "pit" we began in our backyard a few years ago I have many, many, many career goals.

It was a year of transition for sure. I began the year working part-time in a job that was mostly unrelated to writing and illustrating for kids (though it was in a school library, so it had books, with pictures, and kids). In return for a small but steady paycheck and the sense of stability that gives, I gave up time that would have been spent doing what I really love. Ehh, who needs stability? Life's a tightrope act.

Some things I accomplished this year:

Got a new rep.

Became accomplished in digital media.

Fell madly in love with ink and brush line work.

Am now able to produce work fast.

Wrote (and produced) a play for teens.

Wrote, revised, revised, revised a picture book.

My goals for this year:

Not to have to get a "real" job.

Diversify my client base (I'll do just about anything for money).

Sell a book.

Push my drawing style.

My survival philosophy these days is to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. I'll be teaching some drawing classes this year as well as a few drama camps. I've got a few school visits scheduled for the spring. I've committed to open studio figure drawing with a friend at an arts community. I'll continue to rely on my fantastic writing group, The Goalies, to inspire and guide me (plus drag me through the rough bits). I'm still coaching my OM team and collaborating with a friend on plays for teens and tweens. I can't wait to see what sticks this year.

Wishing all of you walls covered in sticky stuff for the next decade!

Maquette

2009-12-30T13:36:00.005-05:00

the sketch

Here is the baked maquette. I still intend to paint it. I will have movable ears where the wires are coming out of his head.

Overall I think it was a successful project. It's always good to learn, although what I am learning is that I put waaaay more effort into things like this than they need. If I were to change anything I would make his arms less heavy - love the little tail though. I think his ears will help a good bit too.

Making a Maquette

2009-12-21T10:30:00.004-05:00

I decided to try something different for the picture book I am currently working on. One of the characters is an imaginary monster named Rex and I felt the best way to create him fully was to make a maquette. I started Saturday afternoon with armature wire and foil (and wine, of course). You can see my sketch laying on the table.

Then I started laying on the sculpey. It's been a long time since I've worked three dimensionally and I forgot how much I love it - and how obsessive I can be. I spent a good six hours on Sunday, woke up this morning and spent another hour or so...Thankfully my equally obsessive husband understands and forgives. This is Rex after about seven hours:

Now seriously I have to finish off a sketch and start my holiday baking (plus I promised myself I would finish painting the bathroom I started exactly one year ago over the holidays) but it is so hard to walk away.

Jib-Jab Halloween Card

2009-10-06T11:07:00.002-04:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Essential Art

2009-10-02T11:48:00.005-04:00

From my bud Ian Sands' story The Top Ten Essential Items For Surviving Fourth Grade. I'm not sure I'm done but it is suddenly less fun. Thinking I might add a bit more pattern to the foreground characters.

On to the next thing! My Play! Yes, I wrote a play. It will be performed Halloween. It's a Halloween play. I will share more later!

Day One - Top Ten Essential Items

2009-09-30T17:26:00.004-04:00

Here's my first day of work on the final piece. Black colerase pencil on copier bond, photoshopping ensues.

(Lately I have been finding a mini-Barack Obama in just about every piece I do. What's up with that?)

Top Ten Essential Items...

2009-09-29T13:25:00.004-04:00

I asked my friend, artist and writer Ian Sands if I could do some black and white pieces based on his story "The Top Ten Essential Items For Surviving Fourth Grade". It went something like this - me - "Ian I'm doing some stuff based on one of your stories." Ian - "Okay".

He is an incredible writer and this story is, well, incredible. I needed this - it's the most fun drawing I've had in a long, long time.

Sparky*org!

2009-09-28T13:18:00.003-04:00

I have been working with the National Fire Protection Association lately. Sparky rocks! Tough yet tender, smart and silly. And they like me pretty well, too. They blogged about me here.

Crazy things I do when I have the time

2009-09-28T12:52:00.006-04:00

I just completed several long months of heavy deadlines and had some time on my hands to do what I wanted. This isn't always very good for my family since I tend to be pretty determined and focused which means I am essentially gone. But my down-time and the beginning of our new OM season coincided.
I have been an Odyssey of the Mind coach for several years and am always so excited to start up with a new team of kids and a new challenge every year (links to previous posts here and here). Part of my job as coach is to get them to work together to build innovative ideas. Being me, I thought some sort of visual presentation would be best. Good gracious I couldn't have just stood up in front of them and told them!
I started with the idea that a PowerPoint presentation might be kind of cool. I drew out a few little doodles. Ten hours, three computers and five programs later I had a pretty rockin' little one-minute slide show presentation - with sound, okay. So it was overkill. The kids watched it, liked it, maybe got the message. I had a truly great odyssey of my own learning how to make PowerPoint squeak and laughed myself silly when I got some of the sound in.
But, being me, I couldn't leave it at that. I spent another several frustrating/engaging/exciting hours converting it to Windows Movie Maker and then uploading it to YouTube. The animation is really rough, okay. The soundtrack I ended up using is so canned and cliche. If I had planned on making an animated short from the start I wouldn't have ever used PowerPoint in the first place (what a clunky mess that is) but I never planned on making an animation from the start. I was just going to scold some kids to listen to each other - right?

...and the final

2009-08-28T18:23:00.006-04:00

Not that I should be doing this because I have a devastating deadline, but I couldn't resist finishing this sample. I have a new rep and I am going to be sending her a postcard of this image for a dummy she's hoping to send around. I am also going to use it for my anonymous First Impressions at our SCBWI/Carolinas conference in a few weeks. So much for anonymity.

My new love is Photoshop. I know, I'm as surprised as anyone. This is my new "everything but the kitchen sink" technique that is totally super fast. And super fast means more work and more work means more money. So this is working for me. And it's fun. FW sepia acrylic ink line, blocked in watercolor, the pattern in the background was ink line, processed in Illustrator and completed in Photoshop, many, many digital enhancements in Photoshop to finish. Me = happy.

Family Fotos

2009-08-13T11:58:00.013-04:00

the son

the daughter

the husband (on mandolin)

the dog

the cat

WIP...

2009-08-11T11:10:00.002-04:00

for a picture book I am working on...

Today's doodle

2009-08-05T09:22:00.005-04:00

I'm waiting on approval on a few jobs...drumming my fingers, checking my email. After months and months of doing nothing but working, I don't know what else to do when I have a free moment...

Uncle Bobby

2009-07-23T10:26:00.007-04:00

Tim's brother Robert Lee is coming for a visit this weekend. The kids are out of their gourds with excitement. Having Uncle Bobby come is like a weekend at Disney - only crazier.

Robert and his business partner Mark McDevitt, who attended the same art school that Tim and I went to, were interviewed on CNN segments that ran a few weekends ago for their company Methane Studios. They create fabulous hand-screened posters for band tours, fantastic t-shirts, and super cool design and illustration.

North Carolina Wildife Resources Commission wins award (and I helped!)

2009-07-23T09:41:00.008-04:00

Congratulations to our very own North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission for winning first place at the 2008 Association of Conservation Inf ormation awards for their calendar entry. I am proud to say that I did the art for this project - The Best Job Ever. Greg Jenkins, Editor; Vickie Cumbee, Art Director; and Designers Marsha Tillett and Kristie Rhodes.

Diversity

2009-06-26T11:08:00.009-04:00

Sparky's Activity Book, NFPA; acrylic ink with Photoshop

In this economic environment it seems you must adapt or perish. I've been working on my own evolution and that includes diversifying my client list, my skills, and my resources. But I feel better equipped to survive this climate than ever. I have a new resolve to do what it takes including working longer hours, working faster, doing projects that I may have turned down in the past, and doing more pre-production and client service because of new digital skills and software. And I'm getting Tim to "collaborate" with me more (meaning I beg him to do some of his digital magic on my traditional work). I am happy to say that this old dinosaur may be growing wings.

I'm working on new digital skills constantly but have also been trying different traditional media as well. The marriage of digital and traditional media is the most comfortable for me right now. Let's have a look:

Highlights For Children, July 2009; traditional acrylic ink with watercolor (fast and fun!)

Black Enterprise Magazine, June 2009.
Special Report: What Obama's Economic Agenda Means for You;
traditional watercolor with Photoshop

Cover for American Bar Association Natural Resources and Environment,
traditional acrylic with Photoshop.

I've Returned

2009-05-26T12:03:00.003-04:00

Free! This is how I feel today! This was for Highlights March '09. I've been very lucky to have been doing a lot for them lately - working on one right this very, very moment that is beyond fun.

A study

2008-11-24T16:51:00.003-05:00

I don't know why I never tried this sooner but maybe I didn't have the chops. This is a recycled image (see it here), FW black acrylic ink line applied with a #2 brush on Fabriano Artistico hot press, quick and sloppy watercolor over. So easy! So quick! So fun!

I've been experimenting more - doing several pieces in acrylic with a very limited palette. I am enjoying it more than I thought possible. I'll post some of those when they are done.

And some stuff I am doing this week...

2008-11-08T10:52:00.006-05:00

Monday November 10th I will be one of the visiting authors at Ravenscroft School in Raleigh NC along with Frances O'Roark Dowell author of Shooting The Moon, Dovey Coe, The Secret Language of Girls: and Sarah Prineas author of The Magic Thief.

Thursday, November 13th, I will be at the Duke School in Durham.

Friday, November 14th, 4:00pm - 5:00 pm at The Regulator Bookshop in Durham.

Tuesday, November 18th, Robeson County International Reading Association meeting

Patrick Moberg says this...

2008-11-08T10:38:00.002-05:00

Adam Rex Rox

2008-11-02T08:49:00.008-05:00

My most favorite author/illustrator, the incredible Adam Rex was in our lovely state this week to accept the North Carolina Children's Choice Book Award in the junior book category for his outstanding Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich. Fortunately for me he also swung by to visit my most favorite book store, Quail Ridge Books & Music. The guy totally rocks my world and seeing him perform his drawing magic live was nothing short of incredible. I picked up a copy of Pssst (so funny!), his middle grade novel The True Meani ng o f Smekday , and his latest Frankenstein Takes the Cake. Go out and get yours today!

A Day Late...

2008-11-01T18:36:00.005-04:00

Happy Halloween!

Hot Off the Press!

2008-09-15T18:15:00.011-04:00

My Half Day is Hot Off the Press!

This is the third in the zany math series by Doris Fisher and Dani Sneed, Sylvan Dell Publishing, that I have illustrated. Have a look! If you want to know more about my role in this book, Elizabeth Dulemba graciously hosted an interview with me on her blog.

In other news:

I will be at our SCBWI/Carolinas annual fall conference in Durham this weekend, September 19th through 21. What a treat it is to have such a dynamic chapter. We've three great keynote speakers, Anita Silvey, well-known for her 100 Best Books for Children and 500 Best Books for Teens. Martha Mihalick, Editor at Greenwillow Books and Alyssa Henkin, Children & YA Agent for Trident Media. I will be hosting a round-table portfolio discussion on Saturday.

The following Saturday, September 26th I will be returning to Broadfoot's of Wendell for their annual North Carolina Experience.

The weekend after - I'm going to Honesdale, PA with my husband and kids to celebrate the 22nd annual Highlights For Children's Illustrators Party! See you there! (I'll be one of the mushrooms).

After that - thankfully nothing!

2008-08-23T12:21:00.001-04:00

I was scrounging around in my website control panel and found a report on keyword refferals. It lookes like a concrete poem to me.

lee
karen
tim
storyboard
book
picture
dummy
illustration
a
for
illustrator
to
storyboards
how
of
make
dummies
books
and
story
in
photoshop
storyboarding
size
page
boards
illustrations
art
on
create

Best Friends

2008-08-12T19:51:00.004-04:00

Here's what's interesting to me about this piece (besides that I did it and it was fun). I've been teaching private students this summer and have been drawing along with them. I've been digging up photos - matters little what it is - and drawing it. Then re-drawing it without the reference, then redrawing it using only the previous drawing, and on and on until something happens. This is what happened here - a couple of boy emerged, up to no-good, defending the world against evil. Oh wait, maybe they are evil. Doesn't matter. But there is a story here sure enough and my wings are feeling wider.

a drawing...

2008-08-07T14:43:00.002-04:00

Rejected...

2008-07-21T19:37:00.005-04:00

I was asked to do a sample sketch for a publisher and this is what I sent them.

They passed on it. I rather like it. Actually that's a lie and the truth is I like it a bunch so at least I get to post it on my blog to salvage some usefulness and good will about it. Still, scratching my head...

Setting Goals

2008-06-19T14:55:00.017-04:00

My awesome local crit group, The Goalies, has put together a group blog. Yesterday I posted on the topic of creating believeable characters which you can read here.

Building the characters in the book I am working on now has been a very important step. It is a very quiet story that takes place in a very, very brief period of time and it is taking more than the average amount of character development from me to bring it to life. I have had to create a backstory for the two main characters and I have found the questionaire I posted on the Goalies Group via Betsy Bird, via Cheryl Klein, via Joan Bauer very helpful.

So, this part is a bit painful. I am going to post some of my early steps, then the more refined versions and why I think they work better.

This isn't quite the earliest step - I have more pride than that! But it does demonstrate a certain stiffness. In this version my older sister character is named Bridget. She dresses like a preppy dork, looks older than she should. The younger sister is named - who knows what I called her here. She is the more spirited of the two one and boy can we tell. It's like being hit on the head by a brick. No subtlety in those high-top Chucks, the tu-tu, I think I even had her in cowboy boots at one point. And what is that creature in the cage?

I kept noodling. This is teeny, done at my kid's ball game. Getting there! Now my older character is named Hannah and I love the palidromomic name - so like her to have even her name perfectly organized. Her younger sister is called Cricket now. She cut her own hair.

This is what Cricket looks like now. She got the t-shirt at the Fish or Cut Bait Shop where she really expected to land a marlin.

Hannah has smooooooth hair, wears BFF approved matching outfits, ballet flats, and carries a Vera Bradley backpack. Her biggest fear is having food stuck in her braces.

And the line art here now shows their character through posture, facial expressions, and clothing. The wall Cricket (short for Kristen - blehh) is walking on is missing in this version. Hannah sticks to the sidwalk, crosses at the crosswalk, does not stop to smell the roses or anything else. She is horrified by Cricket's grubby t-shirt and shoes and the sock monkey backpack. Let's not even speak of the hat!

On Tour: Meet Author Terry Pierce!

2008-06-08T18:48:00.022-04:00

July is National Blackberry Month and what better way (besides a big old slice of fresh blackberry pie) to celebrate than getting a copy of Blackberry Banquet/Sylvan Dell Publishing by author Terry Pierce and beautifully illustrated by Lisa Downey. Terry is the author of many terrific and funny books for children including Tae Kwon Do/Random House and several joke books (what's not to love about that combination?). She is a former Montessori teacher and now conducts writing workshops when not writing or perfecting her recipes for all things blackberry.

Now, let's ask her some questions, shall we?

KL: You are passionate about so many things and have enviable boundless energy. What are the benefits that come from your many interests and what negatives (if any!)?

TP: Boundless energy? How nice to hear, however I must say that I’m basically solar-powered. When the sun sets, so do I ;-). I do have many interests though, and pulling from them gives me material to write about, whether it is a picture book, easy reader or novel. For example, a hiking trip I did in my twenties hung in my mind until it finally surfaced as a middle-grade novel I’m currently writing. A hike across the lava fields of Kilauea inspired my first picture book. The entire time I was hiking, I kept thinking, “I’ve GOT to write about this!” When an editor had invited me to send her more easy reader work, I had to brainstorm what kind of topic would make for a fresh, new easy reader with lots of action. That’s when I pulled from my taekwondo experience working with the Tiny Tigers. We all have so many experiences that we can draw from to create terrific stories.

The only negative aspect of this is that I honestly believe I’m an extrovert trapped in an introvert’s body, so after I do a trip (professional or personal), I’m wiped out for a day or two. It’s like I want to crawl in to a cave so I can re-energize!

KL: Blackberry Banquet was inspired by a blackberry-picking excursion you had with your son. What other aspects of your life have been the source of inspiration for your writing and work?

TP: I’m always drawing inspiration from the things around me (I have one story that was inspired by a ceiling fan!). I love nature so I’m always drawing from my outdoor experiences. I think because I still look at the natural world in complete awe, it’s easy for me to see something as a child would, whether it be a beautiful piece of quartz I notice on the ground, a lion’s mane jellyfish I paddle by while kayaking or an unusual sound of a bird while hiking.

KL: Tell us about a breakthrough moment for you in your early steps into children's publication.

TP: Two separate incidences come to mind, which both gave me a feeling of validation (I think all writers/illustrators need to feel validated no matter where they are in their careers). The first was when I received an email from an editor about a non-fiction alphabet manuscript I’d sent her. The first line of her message said, “I really like your writing.” I printed that out and still have it on my office bulletin board. It was the first time an editor complimented my work.

The second incident happened about a year later, when I won a regional writing contest at an SCBWI event. It was funny was because I didn’t think I stood a chance of winning, so I wasn’t paying much attention when they announced the contest winners. They had to say my name twice! That was the first time I received validation from other writers, so it was very meaningful. Both of these incidences helped me to believe in myself.

KL: Name five things you couldn't write without.

TP:

*My cerulean blue Hello Kitty mechanical pencil (its nine years old and the original logo has long since worn off so now it’s just blue).

*A yellow legal notepad.
*The Scholastic Rhyming Dictionary.
*A thesaurus.
*My two cats, Sylvester and CocoaPuff (Sylvester is my co-author).

KL: What is something that surprised you about your career after publication?

TP: To be frank, I’d say how little money a children’s writer makes. Like many people, I always thought that book royalties would be at least enough to provide my family with a decent second income. I soon discovered that most writers have to make ends meet by doing school visits, teaching, or having a second job. I think that’s why when I talk to groups about writing, I’m very honest about the money aspect of it. I tell people that you don’t write for children for the money, you write for the love of writing and the love of children.

KL: Are you a disciplined, regular office hours writer or do you write when the muse strikes? What is a typical work day like?

TP: I do write when the muse strikes, but the muse seems to enjoy tap dancing in my head for a few days before she really strikes hard. At that time, I’m able to schedule her for an appointment during my office hours.

My basic schedule is that I walk/exercise in the morning then begin my workday between 8:30-9:00. I write in the morning because that’s when I feel refreshed and most creative (gets back to the solar-powered thing). I stop for lunch around noon then finish the afternoon at my computer. The computer work involves many things; typing up my notepad-scribbled work from the morning, doing marketing research, promotional work, updating my website and/or blog, or email correspondence. I usually stop working around 3:30, when my husband gets home from work (he’s a teacher).

KL: What aspect of being a children's book writer has been the most joyful for you?

TP: There are many joyful aspects of writing for children. I love connecting with kids (something I miss from my former days as a teacher), and I love having the creative freedom to take an idea and just run with it. I’m also a bit of an introvert, so I like working at home and setting my own schedule and writing goals.

KL: And what has been the most like heavy labor?

TP: I’d say the hardest part of writing is the occasional “big” disappointment. I don’t mean receiving the standard rejection letter (I’d collected 160 of those before I got my first acceptance, so they don’t faze me). I’m talking about the one where I’m confident an editor will love my work and think it’s a perfect fit for his/her house. I’ve had quite a few of those “near misses” that for various reasons fell through at the end. These are the hardest to take.

However, I look at everything as a learning experience so I usually drown my sorrows in chocolate for a day or two, then get back on my feet and figure out how to ensure success with the next submission. I try to learn from it then move on. Recently I heard Hillary Clinton say, “Every moment wasted looking back keeps us from moving forward.” I thought that was very powerful as it applies to so many things in life, including the “big” disappointments that are inevitable in writing.

Best of luck Terry, on a fruitful life for Blackbery Banquet! To find out the latest on what's up with Terry or to get some fabulously delicious blackberry recipes visit her blog at http://terrypierce.blogspot.com/

And some places to go see Terry, buy the book, and maybe snatch a slice of blackberry pie:

Official Book Launch!
Sun., Aug. 10, 1:00-3:00
Adventures for Kids Bookstore
Ventura, CA

American Library Association Conference
Sat., June 28
12:00-2:00
Anaheim Convention Center
Anaheim, CA

Sat., July 5, 11:00 am
Hood River Library
Hood River, OR

Sat., July 5, 12:00 pm
Waucoma Bookstore
Hood River, OR

Friday, July 18,3:30 am
Kern County Library
Ridgecrest, CA

Saturday, Aug. 23, 1:00 PM
Russo's Bookstore at the Marketplace
Bakersfield, CA

Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008, 6:30 PM
High Desert Haven
Ridgecrest, CA

And some places to find out even more about Terry:

Tues. 6/10: Elizabeth Dulemba at http://dulemba.com/blogger.html
Thurs. 6/12: Anastasia Suen at http://asuen.wordpress.com/

Doodle Friday

2008-06-06T14:35:00.004-04:00

Yet another round of character studies for the book I am working on. I do most of these at the ballfield when I am supposed to be watching and cheering on my kid's teams. "Uhh, yeah - I saw that great double play you made at second... oh yeah I meant at third base. Yeah I saw the whole thing."

Yesterday's sketch got diet coke spilled on it - today I started fresh, flipped the composition so it reads left to right (bothers me when images lead me in the opposite direction of the page turn).

A Doodle

2008-06-02T16:28:00.003-04:00

I've always hated line art - never have been able to find a technique that played to my strengths and hid my weaknesses. Until now. Eureka!

This is a really quick doodle, directly on a scrap board. FW acrylic artists ink applied with a lovely little synthetic size 4 brush. Cured overnight then a quick and dirty black watercolor wash, and I do mean dirty - it was yesterday's brush water - euoooo.

But I love it. No bleed AT ALL on the line and I still have a sense of hand and control in the line. I think I will do more, possibly many more. Possibly do little bits of line art and join them in Photoshop. Then possibly color them in Painter. Maximum flexibility, maximum speed, still satisfies the artisan in me.

Keene State College Children's Literature Festival

2008-05-21T12:07:00.004-04:00

I contributed this owl painting to the Keene State College Children's Literature Festival coming November 1, 2008 in Keene, NH. He's just little - only about 6" x 6" - acrylic. The "frame" is part of the art.

IRA in ATL

2008-05-14T07:54:00.011-04:00

I was in Atlanta for the International Reading Association Annual Convention last week. It was fantastic! We lived in Atlanta for fourteen years but it was different to be a visitor and stay in the Marquis downtown with no worries about driving in horrible traffic. It is also a different city than when we moved away ten years ago - Atlanta gathers no moss. There is a terrific vital feeling to Atlanta but with a casual freshness. It made me miss living there - but then again I didn't have to drive anywhere. I had dinner downtown at a Mexican restaurant on quatro de Mayo with my friend and crit buddy Jenny Murray who was attending the conference, and dinner with my brother in law Robert Lee on the rooftop of Six Feet Under in westside Howell Mill area near my old studio in Murray Mill. Great food, great view, great company!

The convention was a fantastic experience but I never even took my camera out of my bag - so no visual aids. Highlights For Children commissioned David Harrison to do a delightful poem titled You Come, Too! and me to do the art for a poster that they gave away in their booth. David and I were sent to sign and sign we did - hundreds of them! I also had a chance to buy David's new book bugs; poems about creeping things and get that signed by the author as well. It is silly, whimsical, and lovely in its smallness with lots of white space and pitch perfect line drawings by Rob Shepperson. Although I planned on sneaking off the exhibit floor for some of the sessions upstairs I never did find a chance to get away. I really wanted to drop in on Sara Pennypacker and Marla Frazee's session. And Mark Teague's. And about ten other missed opportunities.

It was also very interesting to see an entire catalog from each of the publishers. I got a better sense of what they are all about by seeing the body of work. And I got a ton of freebies! I love freebies! I got Cartooning, The Ultimate Character Design Book by Chris Hart, signed and doodled in. And I picked up a bunch of free f&g's - my very most favorite and sure to be a huge sucess is Grace For President by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by LeUyen Pham. It is a fabulous girl-power story with a splash of civics and is illustrated by one of my all time favorites.

I also had a chance to see the advance copy of the next book in the math series I illustrated for Sylvan Dell Publishing, My Half Day by Doris Fisher and Dani Sneed. I am so delighted with this one! Hurray. I was able to sign in the Sylvan Dell booth as well.

What Next? 2

2008-04-30T13:51:00.003-04:00

The national economy is not so good - really not so good on an extremely local level. Like I don't know how I'm going to gas up the car next week with the prices rising so fast. To that end I have been getting a bit more creative with my marketing efforts. Besides all the usual sending out this, snooping around that, knocking underneath things with a stick to see what dashes out, I am also putting together classes for a few local community arts centers in the fall. My main focus is going to be sequential art for teens - that means comics! Fun! Challenging! Intimidating! More on that later.

What next?

2008-04-30T13:28:00.005-04:00

I seem to be at a bit of a crossroads. All my picture book obligations have been met. OM had been the pivot in my life for seven months and is now over. I have submitted my Halloween story and that means it is done (for the time being). Work is slow (more on that later...). With nothing to demand my time or attention I am now feeling obligated to get back into a shelved picture book project.

I finished a first draft back in September and it went through critiques in my Goalies with a bunch of helpful ideas. This project is different from the last though. In the past I wrote a draft, revised, expanded, and polished it before ever turning the least bit of attention to the art. With the manuscript done I looked at it for the first time as an artist and it was fresh again to me - it worked. But like children, every story is different and this one is demanding a different approach for me. I need to know who my characters are before I write their story so I've been scribbling here and there (on a long bus ride with my daughter's fifth grade school trip to DC, at the baseball field while my kids practice). I believe I am finally beginning to know these characters, sisters forced to walk home from school together, and they are coming alive for me.

My design approach is different for this as well, and I hoped for a fresher drawing style but I seem to draw the way I draw. But more ideas are coming as a noodle it out and I am hoping that this time I will let the characters dictate where it goes.

Tag, You're It

2008-04-28T16:08:00.008-04:00

I've been tagged with an interesting meme by Elizabeth Dulemba. I am to pick up the book very most nearest to me, open it to page 123, jump to sentence #5 and post the next three sentences.

"The idea for Top Ten Uses for an Unwor[n] Prom Dress came to Ferarro after she spotted a book along the lines of 101 Things to Do with a Bridesmaid's Dress. "I wondered, 'Are there as many things to do with a prom dress? And what if it's an unworn prom dress."

This is from a First Books interview of Tina Ferraro about her book, Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress by Alice Pope in the 2008 Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market. Interesting, huh? So why is this book the closest to me? Because I am sending out postcards to drum up some work and am gleaning it for contact persons and addresses. And because I am submitting a dummy package and am carefully sifting through the pages like it is some sort of Wish Book. Should I go for that cool new imprint or the reliable old house? So hard to choose!

I am tagging the bloggers in my fantastic Goalies group:
Christy Evers
Ian Sands
Janelle Bitikofer
Kathy Jacoby
Carol McGarrahan

Go forth and tag!

...Another Post

2008-04-11T10:34:00.007-04:00

...and the recent work. I've been working on a story for about a year and finally have all the elements completed to begin submitting it to publishers. The subject matter is a midnight Halloween Trick or Treat tale (in the Victorian era, how's that for fun?), but there is no way I can push the watercolor to do what I want for this project. Hence the new medium. I did an acrylic cover painting and didn't love the finished result, especially the way it scans and the color dies, dies , dies. A more reflective and transparent medium is always going to give a more vivid scan. But I persevered, did another painting and this one has better color and a better design than the first - so there you go. I could do a few more before I call it quits but for now I need to move this one on out!

A sketch from an interior spread.

And many thanks for the encouragement given in my previous post Help Me. Sometimes that's all it takes; that and a couple gallons of dogged determination.

News and Views

2008-04-11T09:05:00.016-04:00

So, a quick update on what's been going on in my little world.

My crit group, the Goalies, will be hosting another of our fabulous Schmoozes this coming Sunday at 3:00 at Quail Ridge Books and Music. We are hosting guest speaker Frances O'Roark Dowell, the award winning author of Dovey Coe, Chicken Boy, the Secret Language of Girls (a favorite of mine), the her latest Shooting the Moon. She will talk to us about Things She Didn't Know She Didn't Know about writing for the children's market. She is a wonderfully warm speaker and I want to invite each and every one of you to swing on by. This is free and open to the public, Frances will sign her books, plus free food!

My author/illustrated book ABC Safari has been included in the Bank Street College of Education's The Best Children's Books of the Year! I have another title coming out with Sylvan Dell Publishing very soon. This is the third in the series of wacky picture books focusing on math concepts by author Doris Fisher and Dani Sneed.

My Odyssey of the Mind season is over. Both my teams did fantastically well at the state tournament but fell short of a spot at World Finals.

I've been painting with acrylics lately but that's the subject of Another Post...

Help Me!

2008-03-13T12:28:00.005-04:00

Red Hot Jazz

I don't even know what to think about this! I've been messing around with acrylic paint. What a struggle! I am having trouble with the color being bright enough, drying darker, drying different. This painting looks okay for real but the scan is ghastly. This is totally doctored up digitally.

Shall I:

a) keep going, keep growing- change is good

2) stick to what I know

x) get a job as an animal trainer

OM - now on to STATE!

2008-03-12T09:33:00.005-04:00

My rockin' Road Rally team with the first place trophy

This may be boring for some of you but for me - it's all it! I've spent the last six months coaching not one, but two Odyssey of the Mind teams at the elementary and middle school level. Let me tell you, it's time-consuming to coach one team. With two teams I was meeting with seven kids - mostly at my poor house - four days a week. They were using power tools, painting scenery, using hot glue guns, and eating everything in sight. We went to our regional tournament this past Saturday and had a terrific time.

The good news - BOTH my teams are going on to the state tournament. The bad news - there's no bad news. Sibling rivalry is thwarted for another month. We'll see what happens at the state tournament but after that we may be on to the world competition.

My elementary school team totally rocked the tournament. They had to build and operate a vehicle that was solely propelled by them through a series of mechanical tasks (also engineered and built by them) while presenting a skit that worked to support the theme provided. Of all the teams - and there were 168 from elementary school level all the way up to college - my team had the third highest score of the entire tournament.

My middle school team came in second in their division but it is a more competitive atmosphere among the older teams. Their problem was to perform a story about one of the Greek Muses and incorporate several works of art including dance, sculpture, drawing/painting and music. I have an incredibly gifted bunch of kids on that team and they got the top score for that portion of the competition.

So, I'm still buried in OM for a while - hopefully a long while.

Win a Turtle Tie

2008-03-11T20:13:00.003-04:00

My friend Ian Sands is one incredibly diverse guy, a regular Renaissance Man. He can write, he can paint. He says he can sing (I haven't heard anything live though so not going to any lengths to endorse this), play guitar, and do super cool and mysteriously powerful things on the computer. He can bend forks with the sheer power of his fingertips and defend a hockey goal with his life and his poor not-so-young-anymore knees. And he has a huge, soft heart. He does nice things for people and here's one of them: He's selling this hand-painted, one-of-a kind, collectible, signed, limited edition turtle tie on EBay to sponsor a skater from the Triangle Special Hockey Association.

Check out the tie, bid if you can, or just give Ian a pat on the back if you can't.

Spring Cleaning!

2008-03-03T13:44:00.011-05:00

It's gorgeous out today - warm, sunny, breezy. Time to open the windows, grab a rag, and see what kind of crud has accumulated on top of everything. The first thing I noticed was this blog. It's dusty and a bit smudged in places. It's time to clean it up, touch up the paint, and get it running smoothly again.

What I've been doing the last few months:

I've been working, silly. I finished another of the fantastic math books by Doris Fisher and Dani Sneed for Sylvan Dell Publishing. My Half Day is about fractions and is crazier than ever. It has been a riot to do these books. They are fun and funny but are curriculum connected and full of ways to extend the learning through a For Creative Minds section at the back of every book too. All good stuff.

I did the art for a poster that will be given away at the IRA Convention in Atlanta by Highlights For Children. They are sending me to Atlanta as well to hang out in their booth and sign too. I will also be in the Sylvan Dell booth where they will have pre-release copies of My Half Day. Drop me a line and let me know if you will be in Atlanta during the conference May 4 - 8th and we can hook up!

I've been coaching two Odyssey of the Mind teams! These are competitive creative teams consisting of seven kids. They have to write, choreograph, perform, build sets, costumes, design and build devices all by themselves that solve a particular problem in just an eight minute performance. They use power tools. They paint stuff - well everything in sight actually. Duct tape is used by the case. And all in my garage. Oy, my garage. Help me now! But most importantly they become brave, use ingenuity, team work, and dedication to make magic. We go to tournament in just six days. It is one of the things I like best - guiding kids to do the impossible with creativity and humor. It's all super-secret before tournament but I will post more later on the incredible things these kids have created.

Other things - Our new web site should be launched in a week or so depending on what the web-master/husband has planned.

I've finally updated most of my images to Children's Illustrators dot com. I was the featured artist last week and saw some good results already.

I'll be involved in the Carolinas SCBWI conference in Durham again this fall. Mark your calendars for September 19-21.

Okay - I'm getting winded. Out of shape. Flabby. More tomorrow...

New portfolio on Childrens Illustrators.com

2007-12-07T10:42:00.000-05:00

It's about time - lazy bones. I finally put up some images on Children's Illustrators dot com. Have a look - more to come!

While you're browsing around, today is the very, very, very last chance to buy a snowflake to support Robert's Snow: For Cancer's Cure. Please go bid!

NC Kids Wildlife Art Competition

2007-11-15T08:48:00.000-05:00

Here's the cover of the final product of the Best Job Ever...

Look at that gorgeous calligraphy by Betsy Dunlap. The poster is gorgeous too in partnership with New Leaf Paper and PBM Graphics - all green paper with 100% post consumer waste, processed chlorine free, and manufactured with electricity offset with Green-e renewable energy. I feel virtuous.

Fun and Discovery in Kids Wildlife Art Competition
RALEIGH, N.C. (Oct. 4, 2007) – The nation’s top state wildlife magazine is holding a wildlife art contest just for kids.
Children, kindergarten through eighth grade, are eligible to enter the Kids Wildlife Art Competition co-sponsored by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Wildlife in North Carolina magazine and the N.C. Museum of Art.

Each child may enter one image of a wild animal native to North Carolina. The 12 winners will be published in a 2009 calendar that will be for sale to the public. They will also receive $100, a family membership to the N.C. Museum of Art and free copies of the calendar.
The competition is designed to encourage students (and teachers) to observe and appreciate native wildlife as an inspiration for art and science.

“Ideas can be found in nature, in your backyard, and even inside the pages of Wildlife in North Carolina,” said Michael Humphries, managing editor for the magazine. “Each entry is a chance to learn about the many different species that call North Carolina home.”

Entry requirements:
An original composition on 8½”x11” paper, viewed horizontally
Child’s name, age, address, phone number, grade in school and the image subject on the back of the paper

Must be received by March 1, 2008
Mail to Kids Wildlife Art Competition, P.O. Box 12089, Raleigh, N.C. 27605
Entries will be judged and winners contacted by April 1, 2008. To download a printable poster with full rules, click here. For questions via e-mail, click here.

My Half Day

2007-11-13T10:11:00.000-05:00

Been work, work, working lately but don't have much to show for it. But in the interest of keeping this blog from getting too dusty I am going to post a finished spread from My Half Day, Sylvan Dell Publishing - 2008.

And check out Sylvan Dell's site! Boy have they been busy! Free audio books, Spanish translations, online comprehension quizzes, author interviews and school visit resources - even stuffed animals! They mean business!

Blogging For a Cure...

2007-11-01T17:38:00.000-04:00

As part of the effort to raise awareness of Robert's Snow: For Cancer's Cure the folks over at Seven Impossible Things have started a grassroots effort to feature the artists that have contributed hand crafted one-of-a-kind, precious and valuable snowflakes. Huff, huff, long sentence, let me catch my breath.

Stephanie Ruble claimed my snowflake to feature and is hosting an interview over at her place - srubles world. Have a peek. Buy a flake!

Other snowflakes today:
Molly Idle at Shady Glade
Victoria Jamieson at AmoXcalli
Melissa Iwai at Cheryl Klein's Brooklyn Arden
Diana Magnuson at A Chair, A Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy
Meghan McCarthy at Fuse#8

An Interview With Alan Gratz

2007-10-31T13:48:00.000-04:00

As part of our ongoing series of interviews today I am featuring author Alan Gratz. His book Samurai Shortstop hit the shelves last year with great success and he has recently launched his latest YA, Something Rotten. This book is a new twist on Shakespeare's Hamlet set in modern times in a small town. "A stinking-rich family. A reeking paperplant. A murder most foul. Something isdefinitely rotten in Denmark, Tennessee,and only 17-year-old detective Horatio Wilkes can sniff out the killer."

Sounds intriguing! Let's ask Alan some questions, shall we?

KL - I attended your appearance at the View From Tuesday Evening at Quail Ridge Books and Music in Raleigh and I found your manner to be engaging and your topics very thought provoking.

AG - Thanks! Once you've taught middle schoolers, there's no crowd you can't handle. :-)

KL - You hate doing research but have been forced to come to terms with it and embrace it because of the subject matter and settings of the books you've been writing. Can you explain what writing life was like before you embraced research and how knuckling down and doing it has changed your writing?

AG - Before I embraced research, I simply picked projects that didn't “require” any research. I was too lazy. Or, perhaps better put, I lacked discipline. That's not to say that only writers of historical fiction are disciplined. Once I learned to be a more disciplined writer, I looked back at “all” the writing I'd been doing, historical and otherwise, and realized I could be applying more disciplined techniques to everything I'd been writing. There was a “reason” Samurai Shortstop was the third book I'd written and yet the first one I'd sold. I was a much better writer then. I'd learned so much. But before Samurai, I couldn't imagine putting in the time and effort that a research project like that would require. Those days were filled with a lot of writers block, a lot of banging my head on the keyboard waiting for the muse to strike. I have a much better handle on those things now.

KL - How do you go about gathering your research and then how do you keep it organized?

AG - I outline everything I do now, historical or otherwise. That helps me keep my story straight, and allows me to deliberately develop themes and repeat symbols and metaphors. When doing a lot of historical research, I spend a few months taking notes, then another month or so outlining my story, and then I move all my research notes, line by line, into my outline. Do I have a chapter set in a Shinto shrine? I move all my notes about Shinto shrines to that outline page. Do I have a scene where a doctor explains dioxin poisoning? I move all my notes about dioxin and its effects to that page of my outline. Now, instead of sitting down to write the first page of a 250 page novel, I turn to the first page of my outline and begin writing the first page of a “seven” page chapter. Now I'm not sifting through an inch of research notes looking for that one detail I need, I'm running down a list that's one, two, maybe three pages at most. And I know all the info I'll need is somewhere in those pages. That's essentially how I conquered my writer's block--by making sure I was always “prepared” to write when I sat down to actually write words and sentences and paragraphs on the page.

KL - You are working on several books at once - how to you manage that?

AG - This is getting more difficult. I've been very fortunate to sell a handful of books on pitches, but now I have to get them all written! At this very moment, I'm on deadline for two books that have to be wrapped up about the same time, by the end of this calendar year. Both books are written and in the revision stage, so while one is back with my editor, I'm working away at the other one. Very soon I'm going to have to “begin” two novels that are both due by the end of next summer. Neither is written or outlined. One of those novels requires a great deal of research, so I'll be splitting my days. Part of my day will be spent reading research books for one novel, and then the second part of the day will be spent outlining and writing the other. I can't “write” two books at the same time--that's just too much for me. But I can research and brainstorm one while writing another. It's actually a nice change of pace during the day. I often get burned out on the writing after seven to ten pages or so, so it's a great way to stay in my office and keep working.

KL - You wore many different writing hats before you became the successful novelist you are now. What things did you do? Were any of your past experiences helpful in forming the writer you are today?

AG - Oh, I did a lot of things to pay the bills, many if not all of which involved writing or literature in some fashion or another. I wrote newsletter copy, created press releases, sold books, wrote radio commercials, taught English to middle school, high school, and university students, and even did some freelance television writing. The number one thing I learned from all the writing work I did was to take editorial criticism. Every person who handled my work wanted me to change it somehow, and I had to learn to put my ego away and make whatever changes were required of me. That attitude became so ingrained that revisions don't drive me crazy. Oh, I still “hate” to do them, and I die a little inside with every editorial letter I get, but I had a lot of practice rewriting, and rewriting, and rewriting “again” on my freelance work, so I just accept this as part of the process now. It was through my freelance work that I learned much of the discipline I would need to write and sell my first novel.

KL - You did 30 school visits last year! What do you typically offer the students when you do a school visit?

AG - I talk about my path to publication, focusing primarily on the research, outlining, and revising phases of my writing. My goal is to pull back the curtain and show kids the reality of a writing life. I knew I wanted to be a writer when I was in middle school, and while I had a great many supportive teachers who taught me how to write, none of them taught me how to make a “living” as a writer. I hope I get through to the two or three aspiring writers in the audience, and at the same time I hope the rest of the students begin to understand the time and energy that go into the books that fill their library shelves.

KL - My twelve year old son attended Alan's talk with me and looked like he was bored out of his mind. But in working on a writing project recently he said "that Writer Guy said if something doesn't appear in the story twice then it needs to get cut". So, Writer Guy - did he get that right? Can you explain that a little further (and bless you for making an impression on my kid).

AG - He was bored? Oh dear. In my defense, it “was” a teacher and librarian program! (MOTHER'S NOTE - I said he acted bored - this is what he does and doesn't necessarily reflect what is actually going on inside his head) But it sounds like he did take something away after all. What he's talking about is some advice I heard the Newbery Award-winning author Linda Sue Park give about how she decides what does and doesn't go into her historical novels. She said that if she couldn't use an element twice in a story she wouldn't use it at all. The example she gave was that in ancient Korea people ate and drank out of hollowed out gourds, and she kept trying to work that detail into her books but she could never make it significant enough to the story to return to it a second time. It took her three books to finally work in that tidbit. The rule works best for historical fiction because it keeps you from throwing in every last bit of research you did, but it's also a great exercise in making everything you put into your stories relevant later on. As long as he understands how to use it, yeah, it's a great piece of advice!

Thanks a bunch Alan!

Read more about Alan on these blogs:
Elizabeth Dulemba
Kim Norman
Kerry Madden

A Fondness for Johnny Gruelle

2007-10-24T09:21:00.000-04:00

I am finishing off an interview for Stephanie Ruble's blog post interviewing me for Blogging For a Cure. One of her questions asked of a favorite doll from my childhood and I happen to have two of them keeping me company in my studio everyday (they live on a book shelf and these days they're snuggled up to my copy of HP7). Notice if you will the patina of affection on my eldest Raggedy Ann. She was well loved. I remember the day when her button eye chipped although I couldn't have been more than three or four. It was horrifying and the next Christmas Santa brought me a replacement. She doesn't seem nearly as loved as her predecessor but by the time I got her I wasn't using my mouth as my primary means of discovering my world.

I took the ladies out for a photo op with the stack of Raggedy Ann and Andy books that I had as a girl. My mom signed me up for the book of the month club and I still have about eight of these books written and beautifully illustrated by Johnny Gruelle. The copyright dates for these run between 1920 and 1930 on the editions I have (of course I was not alive then - mine have '68 written inside in my mother's handwriting).

This is a spread from Raggedy Ann in the Deep Deep Woods. It would have been one of my earliest contact with illustration - which leads me to a great big Ah-ha! It is still magical - even more than I remembered as a child. He was also a political cartoonist and creator of Twee Deedle for the New York Herald.

Robert's Snow

2007-10-24T09:16:00.000-04:00

There is something amazing going on - Blogging for the Cure. These folks took it upon themselves to promote the artists that have donated their hand painted snowflakes for the Robert's Snow: For Cancer's Cure Auction beginning November 19th through December 7th. This grassroots effort was spearheaded by Jules and Eisha of Seven Impossible Things. My Blogger host will be Stephanie Ruble of Sruble's World coming November 1.

Check out Blogging For a Cure everyday to find the list of artist interviews!

ABC Safari is a Bronze Medalist

2007-10-18T16:17:00.000-04:00

ABC Safari has been awarded the Bronze Medal in the category of ABC/counting books by the Independent Publishers Moonbeam Children's Book Awards! I am delighted beyond words.

Lin Oliver at the SCBWI/Carolinas conference part I

2007-10-15T14:04:00.001-04:00

Year after year our Carolinas chapter of SCBWI puts on a pretty fantastic fall conference but this year’s Crystal anniversary conference stood out as a rare gem among them. Much hard work went into pulling this all together by our RA Stephanie Greene, ARA Candy Dahl, and the rest of the hard working volunteers. The tone of warmth and energy for the entire weekend was set by our keynote speaker Lin Oliver, co-founder and executive director of SCBWI. Her sense of humor and passion for writing for kids brought a sense of camaraderie, hope, and resolution to her opening speech. I couldn’t possibly capture the electrifying effect of her candid talk but here are my notes for what they are worth.

Lin seems to love a certain degree of structure so here are her eleven steps to becoming the best writer and/or illustrator you can be.

1) The most important element of being a good writer is being a good listener. Eavesdrop wherever you go and whenever you can.

2) Once you have acknowledged yourself as a writer, develop your language skills

3) Put yourself in the company of other writers.

4) Plotting is a skill; practice refines it.

5) All writing is good practice (even blogging)

6) Lin follows the 3 act structure: beginning – middle – end. She also writes in scenes. A new scene always starts after a page turn.

from Wikipedia:
The Three Acts are Beginning, Middle and End (or, more specifically, setup [of the location and characters], confrontation [of the problem], resolution [of the problem]). The first act is generally used to establish the dramatic situation and introduce the main characters. At the end of the first act, an inciting incident complicates the story and moves the screenplay into the second act. The second act, commonly described as "rising action", typically depicts the protagonist attempting to solve the problems caused by the inciting incident. The Climax, which ends the second act, is the scene or sequence in which the main tension and dramatic questions of the story are brought to their most intense point. Finally, the third act features the resolution of the story and its subplots.

7) Read the best of children’s books.

8) A good writer must write from the heart. Write what you wonder about.

9) Cling to your own voice and know that you have one.

10) Synthesize, dig, polish. Then follow your weirdness (a quote from Bruce Coville!)

and finally…

11) Love your characters, love your work.

Lin Oliver at the SCBWI/Carolinas conference II

2007-10-15T09:08:00.000-04:00

Lin Oliver’s Writing Effective Dialog workshop. (again with the bullet points)

1) Each character sounds like themselves. (Read aloud the dialog of each character only and listen. Does it sound like it is all coming from one individual?)

2) Each character is distinguishable from the others. (if they all sound alike then they haven’t come to life)

3) Speech should sound natural, unforced and flowing. Develop your ear. People speak illogically, elliptically and emotionally.

4) Back and forth has a rhythm and pacing that is pleasing

5) Suspense is created through dialog

6) Emotion is expressed through good dialog – not adverbs!

What can go wrong?

1) Sounds forced or unnatural

2) Characters all sound alike

3) Monologue, not dialog. Nobody delivers a “butt load” of information in dialog (quote attributed to Cole Elington Baker, Lin’s son).

4) Linear and logical to a fault

Mini tips!

Write elliptically…

Only attempt dialect if you really know it and then refrain from over-use of phonetic spelling. A little goes a long way. Using “ze” instead of “the” can give you all the color you need to give your character a German accent.

Use a tag phrase to identify your characters, don’tcha know.

Always read your dialog out loud.

Beware of question marks.

EAVESDROP!

SCBWI Carolinas conference

2007-10-04T09:48:00.000-04:00

It was good - actually it was great! I'm going to type up my notes and post them. Here's a picture from Saturday

That's me with my crit group in the bottom right - explains why my notes aren't very clear.

I'm being interviewed this week!

2007-09-24T08:49:00.000-04:00

My darling friends are focusing on me this week in our series of blog book tours. We kick off the week with extraordinary writer and illustrator Elizabeth Dulemba. Check back every day this week for the next stop on the tour!

Elizabeth Dulemba
Kim Norman
Ruth McNally Barshaw
Barbara Johansen Newman
Dotti Enderle
Kerry Madden

Thanks guys! It was fun.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To read more book tours about these wonderful authors and illustrators follow these links

Kim Norman
Kerri Madden
Barbara Johansen Newman
Dotti Enderle
Joe Kulka

New Release! My Even Day

2007-09-10T11:25:00.000-04:00

The most recent book I have illustrated, My Even Day by Doris Fisher and Dani Sneed, is now available. This companion to One Odd Day is a wacky look at even numbers. Both books have been selected as a Learning Magazine's Teachers' Choice Award winner for 2008! Congratulations to Sylvan Dell Publishing for another great title. Look for My Half Day (about fractions - yes!) in spring 2008.

I've been me-me'd again

2007-09-04T11:29:00.000-04:00

Okay, okay already. My pal Edna Cabcabin Moran has laid that last straw on my poor aching back. This is for all of you nosy people that want to know more about me. I hope you find it fascinating.

Here’s how it goes: Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names (see below), then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

Eight possibly unique things about me:

1) I almost went to clown college

2) I can juggle a little bit (I didn't go to clown college).

3) I am hopelessly bad at decorating cakes. The have fault lines in them that cause major quakes, they get unsightly chocolate crumbs in the white frosting, they have frosting that has the viscosity of glazing putty, words such as Happy Birthday come out in Cyrillic (or something else I can't read), and they have caught on fire (only the one).

4) I am really good at painting walls - I can cut-in perfectly both left and right handed.

5) I used to work in the woodshop for the college I went to. I can make stuff with big power tools and hammer nails (I learned to juggle in the woodshop).

6) I am a quilter - please don't use that information to hurt me.

7) My favorite smell in the whole world is Art Supply Store.

8) Some people think I am funny, but nobody thinks I am as funny as I do. I crack myself up all the time.

And the handoff - other fascinating people to read about:

Ian "The Barbarian" Sands

Christy "Chicken Fingers" Evers

Janelle " Galadriel" Bitikofer

Kathy "Crafty" Jacoby

uhh, that's all the people I know.

Remembering Robert Mercer

2007-09-01T08:47:00.000-04:00

Remembering Robert Mercer

In memory of Robert Mercer who lost his fight against sarcoma in August 2007. Robert and his wife Grace Lin founded Robert's Snow: for Cancer's Cure in 2004. Since that time, the event has raised more than $200,000 for Dana-Farber.

Darn those quizzes...

2007-08-18T09:19:00.002-04:00

A book quiz from Blue Pyramid, courtesy of Christy Evers gave me this result on my book/personality test.

I don't know what to think. I guess this is right. Yeah, maybe...

You're Siddhartha! by Hermann Hesse

You simply don't know what to believe, but you're willing to try anything once. Western values, Eastern values, hedonism and minimalism, you've spent some time in every camp. But you still don't have any idea what camp you belong in.This makes you an individualist of the highest order, but also really lonely. It's time to chill out under a tree. And realize that at least you believe in ferries (my note: I do most frevently believe in ferries - it's faeries I have a difficult time with)

Two Things...

2007-08-17T09:47:00.000-04:00

First - my writing and all around talented pal Christy Evers has invited me to share my books at her Chick Fil A Kids Night on September 21st 5 - 9. Come join us and eat more chikin!

Second - Registration is open for the SCBWI Carolinas 15th Annual Fall Conference. This is an extraordinary chapter and we are hosting an extraordinary event Sept 28 - 3oth in Durham NC.

Featured speakers include:
LIN OLIVER, a Co-Founder of SCBWI and a sensational speaker, is joining us for the weekend and will kick off the conference with an Opening Talk on Saturday morning. Lin will also lead a workshop on dialogue.
Julie Strauss-Gabel, Dutton Children’s Books, Sr. Editor (just announced Assistant Editorial Director)
Caitlyn Dlouhy, Simon and Schuster, Associate Editorial Director
Joy Neaves, Front Street Books, Sr. Editor
Molly O’Neill, HarperCollins, School and Library Marketing Associate (just announced moving to editorial side!)
Carole Boston Weatherford, author of many books, but most recently, MOSES, a Caldecott Honor Book, New York Times Best Seller List
Frances O’Roark Dowell, author of Chicken Boy, Dovey Coe, and Where I’d Like to Be, among other middle grade novels

Special Events include:
*Friday Editors’ Evening. This new and exciting addition to our fall conference will allow attendees to meet and mingle with all of the guest speakers on Friday evening while enjoying hors d’oeuvres, and then listen to Julie Strauss-Gabel, Joy Neaves, and Caitlyn Dloughy talk about what they think makes a good book, and why, plus read from their favorite book or work-in-progress.
*The Saturday Night Crystal Ball. All conference attendees are invited to get together for two-hours of a light dinner buffet and lots more, to help celebrate our 15th anniversary.

...and much, much more!
Download registration form here.

My Half Day

2007-08-07T11:18:00.000-04:00

Next in the series, or sequence, or whatever... This is the cover art for My Half Day which follows the fractured events of our hero and his friend to infinity and beyond (Sylvan Dell Publishing 2008).

My Even Day (number 2 in the...whatever) is now available! (although not Officially released)

The Best Job Ever

2007-08-04T11:04:00.000-04:00

NC Wildlife Commission cover

I finished the best job I've ever had. It is also the best painting I've ever done and to have that happen in the same project is phenomenal - I hope not a once in a life time thing.

It could have gone all wrong. The client is the state wildlife commission. Not that that is wrong - they put together a gorgeous magazine every month and use amazing art. But they didn't originally ask for me - this was another "my husband's too busy to do it so he passes my name to them" jobs (not that I'm complaining). So right away I was second string. Then they point out another artist's work that they really love. It's my brother in law's work. I think it's great that they are all into the family but - well, you know, he's someone else. Then they ask that I use a limited palette. Okay, I'd love to. And they'd like it more stylized. Sure.

Was I mad? Heck no! This is art direction done by talented professionals. This is someone pushing me to try harder. And boy howdy did I. I love, love, love doing animals. I do all kinds of more animated art and this was going to be more stylized and designy.

The sketches flowed! The painting process was rapturous. Seriously, I welled up a few times. I worked much later in the evening than I normally would - because I couldn't make myself stop. I was sad to deliver it and let it go. The good news - they loved it and they are going to do wonderful things with it!

The purpose of the larger piece is to promote and then be the cover for the North Carolina Wildlife Commission's kids art calendar contest for 2009 and will go out to every school in our state. They are partnering with the art museum and a paper company so production on the whole thing will be done first class, elegant, and totally green to boot. They've even asked me to be a judge for the entries.

Sigh.

So here it is - the cover (at the top) is what the brochure/poster will show when all folded up. The poster is on the opposite side.

NC Wildlife Commission Kids Calendar Poster 16" x 24"

Filling the well, or in this case - the fountain

2007-07-31T16:01:00.000-04:00

A couple of years ago I reached the conclusion that technically my progress in art was only going to move forward at a certain pace in spite of all effort I made to hurry that along. I decided to look deeper at things I could do to enrich the art and it all boils down to the thinking process that begins before pencil ever hits paper (or stylus hits tablet). It's ALL about creativity. But how to develop that? There's loads of ways really but I am always seeking ways to further that along too.

A friend in my critique group recently recommended The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron (thanks Kathy!) I have enjoyed the book but am going to have to postpone the full 12 steps until I don't have quite such a deadline/childcare burden going on. One of the things it teaches is to make certain you re-fill your creative well. In skimming the book I discovered a few things about ME that I hadn't been paying proper respect to. I have always made stuff. As a kid my folks didn't have the resources or time or patience to provide me with all the raw materials I wanted so I had to scrounge for it here and there and use my creativity to put it all together. I still do! I need to do this, it is a part of what makes me, me. It re-fills my well.

On Sunday I got the idea to make a fountain from a random comment my husband made about our old turtle tank pump. Monday afternoon I had a fountain! I re-purposed (Macgyvered) everything in it. I got a ceramic frog a few weeks ago from my favorite garden store, had a cast aluminum turtle trivet from the flea market at the fairgrounds, three flower pots and a saucer, and the turtle pump! It is fantastically wonderful to sit next to and I can see it from my kitchen window. Other things in my house: my headboard is an old coal room door, I pierced the bottom of a lamp shade and put all my old dangly earrings around it, we have an old cigar store humidor that I put a stained glass window in and a string of Christmas lights - sparkly!

This totally blows up my skirt! More importantly it fills the well.

This rooster in my backyard blows my skirt up too, but I didn't make him. He's doing his best to encourage the grass to grow.