illustration friday ~ asleep

Once again I feel that it has been too long since I have lasted blogged, which is true. One reason is since I have been away soooooo long there is soooooooo much I want to say so I get stymied. But then I saw today's Illustration Friday's prompt: asleep, and knew I couldn't pass this up...

In fact this is a wonderful prompt for me... so much that I couldn't pick because all three if these are some of my favorite illustrations - from way back, so i'm posting all three.

And I do hope to be posting a bit more regularly because there is just so much to share, to ponder & to post. (also my teaching position is ending so i will have a bit more time on my hands, well at least until my girlies get out of school :)

peace & happy memorial weekend!!

illustration friday ~ transportation

this week the 'topic' for illustration Friday is transportation .... so many possibilities ~ boats, cars and truck, oh my!!! When I finally settled down my creative brain and perused my portfolio for an appropriate illustration, I came across this one. And even though this might not scream transportation, like a big yellow taxi :) I wanted to use it, because this painting was done for a picture book and yesterday I read a disturbing article in the New York Times about the decline in the publication of picture books ~ Picture Books No Longer a Staple for Children By Julie Bosman, published: October 7, 2010. Reading this article upset me greatly, as an illustrator and a parent. I believe in the importance of the picture book!!! I bet we all have a cherished memory of our favorite picture book ~ the one we sat with for hours, disappearing into the pictures ~ fighting dragons, rocking with mama bunny or cruising along one of Richard Scarry's wonderfully busy streets. Our house is still full of picture books even though my girls are nine and twelve. I don't think there is an age limit for enjoying a picture book; however this seems to be the main reason for the decline, according to this article. The article concentrated on how parents are pushing their children to read chapter books at an earlier and earlier age ~ ack!!! As a parent I see so many elements of my children's lives disappearing in the name of 'advancement'. How many parent conferences I have gone to where I am told that all these new procedures are preparing them for the MCAs ~ the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System. Now don't get me wrong I am all for giving our children a wonderful education with as many opportunities that they can have, but I feel like we are losing some of the wonders of childhood! And this article stirred many of these feelings, especially this section ~

Now Laurence is 6 ½, and while he regularly tackles 80-page chapter books, he is still a “reluctant reader,” Ms. Gignac said.
Sometimes, she said, he tries to go back to picture books.
“He would still read picture books now if we let him, because he doesn’t want to work to read,” she said, adding that she and her husband have kept him reading chapter books.

I read this and it made my heart ache ~ I think as parents we are not only responsible for teaching our children to read but, and maybe more importantly, we need to cultivate a love for reading, especially now that children have so many other entertainment options besides a good book. I know that I am a bit biased on this point (you can ask my girls) but I feel that the written word can take you so many wonderful places and you don't need an outlet!

The article did mention that the cost for a picture book could also be contributing to the decline in sales ~ and I can see that, however then again, authors and illustrators do need to buy groceries and pay rent too!!
So go find a good picture book (or go buy one) and enjoy!! If you feel so inclined please tell me one of your favorites ~ one of my favorites is The Bedspread by Sylvia Fair ~ visually amazing and the story warms the cockles of my heart everytime I read it!!

happy reading and looking!! peace

once upon a chair.... in Groton

Here is the chair that i painted for a fund raiser for the Groton Public Library. 10 artists participated, we each got an old library chairs and asked us to do something that related to children's literature. I was honored to be asked and excited to be thinking about children book ~ it is a passion of mine. I have a dream to illustrate a children's book some day ~ (I tried the free lance illustrator stint with a portfolio full of illustrations but i never seem to get my book on the right art director's desk at the right time ~ alas). So I enjoyed being back in that mind set again and I was also happy to be painting again.

The minute i heard the theme for the project I knew that i would be doing the frog prince.... this frog is a bit of a muse for me. He has appeared on my bottle cap jewelry, hand painted clothing and other hand painted furniture. To read more about this muse and the chair project you can go to the Groton Library site.

Also the project got written up in the Boston Globe today!!! click here to see the article ~ I am mentioned (always nice).

Here are the details of the event . I am planning to go to the artist's reception ~ should be fun!

“Once Upon a Chair’’ runs through April 10 at the Groton Public Library, 99 Main St., with bids accepted at the library through April 8, when an artists reception will be held at 6:30 p.m. The chairs can be seen on the library’s website, www.gpl.org. 978-448-1167.
'ribbit'