Tag: illustration

Congratulations to Melissa Sweet!

 Melissa Sweet, fellow Maine illustrator and amazing collage artist, recently received the Caldecott Honor for Jen Bryant’s,A River Of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams. The Caldecott Award "is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children." You might wonder then, why Hugo Cabret won last year. If you look deeper you find out that the award is about the perfect marriage of words and text. This marriage means that the illustrations are not redundant, they expand and grow the story making it full and satisfying. Melissa takes this marriage one step further and incorporates the text of WCW’s poetry in her images.

It is not easy to incorporate letters and images. Each letter has a swoop or line of its own as well as its own negative and positive space. Melissa’s illustrations allow the reader to step into William Carlos William’s shoes and experience the joy of creating poetry. Spending time with each collage, the viewer discovers the poems anew, finding words, like treasures, within the illustrations. 

In her illustrator’s note, Melissa says that she had a lot of false starts before she stumbled on the idea of using old books as a centerpiece of the collages. The use of the book covers is genius. The viewer wonders was William Carlos Williams, a doctor by education and a poet at heart, trapped by his medical studies or released from his daily doctoring duties by the poetry the books contain?

The use of color in the images is stunning. In a reinvention of the The Figure Five in Gold by Charles Demuth, Melissa adds shocking pink and various other hues of red that take fans back to Carmine, A little more red. My favorite page illustrates the poem I posted yesterday, "This is just to say" Melissa uses the color chord that includes violet, its complement (yellow) and the two colors on either side of yellow, yellow-green and yellow orange. It is brilliant: the yellow-green and yellow-orange vibrating with the violet plums. 

The final page of the book is most stunning. So instead of describe it I’ve scanned it here. (Click to see it bigger.)



Melissa describes this book as a gift to her career but it is the viewer who feels the outpouring of love on every page. 

Do I have everything?

Yesterday, we were not ready for Monday. My son’s scribbled on homework sheets that they "forgot" were due. We missed the bus. We jumped into the truck but it wouldn’t go. I had to ask my neighbor to take my kiddos to school. My usual Mommy-mobile was at the BWI airport with my husband who took it  at 6 am. That was fine, I figured it didn’t matter what car I had as long as I could get around. After plugging in the truck for a half-hour it started right up. That’s when I realized that the college parking sticker I bought was on the Mommy-mobile too. Ack! The security people at the college were very nice and gave me a temporary pass for the week. 

Today my sons jumped out of bed for waffles and strawberries. They packed their bags. My "organizationally challenged" child utterer the following words, "Do I have everything?"
Illustration by Ian Yates
Illustration by Ian Yates

Yes my friends… self awareness. I hugged him and kissed him. Then he zipped up his backpack, and put on his shoes without me asking. Have we turned a corner? Ask me in a month. 

In conference news…
Special events are filling up quickly so get your registration in. Remember that if spaces fill for something, that offering will not appear on the registration form. novel intensive with Sarah Aronson (thru_the_booth ) is closed. (If you want to be on the waitlist write to shirleydpearson at yahoo dot com) We currently have…drum roll please…185 attendees registered.

In writing news…
I’m still in the waiting room on a PB manuscript and a novel. I’m working on the illustrated dummy book for my collaboration with Joyce Johnson.

In other news…
I’m taking two college classes this semester to further my art knowledge for illustration and to expand my teaching certification to include an Art Educators endorsement. I have the same instructor for both Color Theory and Drawing. She’s a great educator and artist and I look forward to learning a lot.

Finally, it is snowing. There might be a inch but I doubt it. However, it is a big deal for these Southern Maryland folks and I just got a robocall that kids are being sent home 3 hours early. Early? Have you ever heard of such a thing? How are the parents suppose to get off of work and make it home to be there for their kiddos? I have class then. Good grief.

Edited to add:
Turns out the college is closing at noon. You call this snow?

Google Images

There seems to be a change in the world of Google images and I suppose it is for the better but I’m going to gripe about it for a moment.
It used to be that I could find a bunch of, let’s say cow images, and then cut and paste them onto a single page and print them out to use as illustration reference. This no longer seems to be possible. Now, when you right click to copy the image, then paste it somewhere else it only pastes the image address. Of course this is great for all the photographers, and illustrators who don’t want their images hijacked and redistributed without their knowledge so I support it. But it does limit reference. Off to the library for cow books.

Five on Friday

1. Once again, after all the hand-wringing and fuss, I made deadline on my freelance work. I guess I should be happy but I must say the next deadline is right around the corner and I’ll gear up for that again soon. What I’d really like is about a month retreat without any other responsibilities but to focus on my WIP’s. (I think that is what everyone wants though.)

2. Collaboration on a manuscript is challenging as you pair the difficulty of writing with personal give and take. Most of all, my experience collaborating has been a whole barrel of fun, laughter, and honest sharing.  Thanks Joyce! 

3. My deepest respect to all the Picture Book author/illustrators out there who make it look easy. Those of us who are struggling at the computer and drawing board know better.

4. I am so happy to feel my relationship with my agent grow as we handle challenges together. I totally feel that he has my career and best interest at heart. Thank you, Steve!

5. I am going to do all the last minute errands before we go to Florida including: cleaning out the van (ick, was that a banana peel?), packing up gifts (my present sack will be black plastic sealed with duct tape), delivering teacher gifts and volunteering at holiday parties at school. Then we’re off!

Art Emergency

 "If this is an emergency and you need to reach someone in the art department please press zero…"

I think this is one of the funniest messages I’ve ever heard. Perhaps I’ve gotten ahead of myself. Those of you who know me, may know that I was a classroom teacher in Maine for ten years. I am trying to expand my teaching endorsement on my certification so that I can also teach art. To do so, I have to get some studio arts and art history credits on my transcripts. This is kind of funny in and of itself as I have taken numerous studio classes, just not for credit. But I digress. The local college has various drawing classes and I’d like to get into the right one so I’m trying to get a portfolio review. The drawing teacher had the above message on his phone. I’m trying to think of what an Art Emergency might be.
Here are some I came up with. Feel free to add on.

I’ve made a mistake and I knead an eraser.
The Bernini and Rubens are Baroque and I can’t fix them.

And the real emergency that all of us face:
I’m not good enough to create this art.
There should be a 24 hour hotline for that one. 
"I’m gonna talk you down, Ma’am.  Just stay with me on the line while we send someone to critique the art and give you a hug."

Democracy

Leticia Plate is an awesome illustrator. She does sign creation for whole foods during the day then is Super Mommy/Super Illustrator at home. Take a look at this t-shirt entry for the theme Democracy. This is good design and illustration in one. What amazing problem solving!
WE - Threadless, Best T-shirts Ever

Illustration Revisions Coming Along

I’ve come so far this week in the revision of my picture book dummy. Too bad I have to substitute teach today. I’d like to spend the time finishing one more illo and assembling the book. I’m eager to send it off but will complete it this weekend and show it to my writing partner once more before I send it off to secret agent man. I feel that I had a major break through this week that allowed me to reinsert an idea that I had lost in other revisions but really loved. 

Places and People

This weekend I had places to go and people to see. On Saturday morning, I was to be in Holliston, Mass. as the NE-SCBWI conference co-director for a meeting to present all the exciting things we are planning for April 2009. At the same time, however, I wanted to be at Poland Spring Campground Schmoozing with my writing buddies.  I ended up driving down Friday evening so that I wouldn’t have to drive six hours in one day. I stayed over-night, presented at the meeting and saw the wonderful folks who volunteer to make NE-SCBWI work. Then I hopped in the car and drove four hours to the campground. I missed the critique time but got to connect with

[info]anom3

,

[info]cfaughnan

,

[info]jbknowles

,

[info]tamra_wight

, and Jeanne Bracken. They showed me online scrabble. They are so evil!  (Check out their blogs for pictures.) The weekend was very full and the most amazing thing was that the timing all worked. I said I’d be at the campground at 4 pm and I was. Thankfully, I was safe and sound despite the rain, and traffic.

Hubby starts his job in Maryland this week and we will finish out the school year in Maine. Things to do this week.
1. Finish Roar send to agent. Check in on manuscript sales status. (ick)
2. Work on novel every day.
3. Sort through clothes toys and books. Weed out what you do not want to move.
Okay, that it way enough.