So long as you come home at the end of the day.

For my tenth (!!!???) year celebrating the start of spring training with an original baseball illustration, I've kept things simple. This is for one very practical reason: I made an inter-city move in the last year, my art supplies (along with many of my worldly possessions) have been in storage for the last few months, and I only just retrieved my pastels and paper over the weekend.

But in a year that saw me return to my hometown, I like the symbolism. I'm sure I'm not the first person to notice that home plate is shaped like a house. There's a lot of poetry in "getting him home," and "home run," and "safe at home." Heck, I got to repurpose a Hamilton (née Sorkin) lyric for my title up top, and it completely works. I just love this game so much, you guys. Happy spring training!

[Memory lane:  2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016]

Fine art print of this illustration is available over here.

Previously on... The Creative Life.

It's been a while since I've posted anything here, huh?  Fall is a crazy busy time at work and that can mean my art falls by the wayside for a little bit. But my creative self hasn't been entirely dormant.  A quick round-up of creative world goings on...

My aunt has a professional organizing business called Managed Chaos, and she commissioned an illustration for a brochure she's using to advertise her business. You can see the brochure at the link above-- it was truly a family undertaking, as my sister (with a new business of her own) designed it!

I had a lot of fun with this one since it's a bit of a departure from my usual work.  Makes me want to play around with lines more and see what happens.

Also in October some friends and I busted out the old acrylic paints (seriously, these were leftovers from college... and I just got an invitation for my 10-year reunion, sooooo....) and snazzed up some papier-mache skulls for Day of the Dead.

 

 

I miss painting.

Two weekends ago I attended my second Mid-Atlantic conference for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). Some notes (and sketches from the margins of my notes).  Leave it to a room full or book people to turn a phrase / speak in fun little metaphors.

• One of the agents in attendance (I didn't mark down who, shoot!) referred to the problem of starting a story in the wrong place as "throat clearing."
• Stephen Mooser quoted Sid Fleischman in describing a character's dramatic introduction into 
  
  
  the story as a "grand staircase."
• Keynoter Linda Urban refers to the essential essence of a story as its "spine," what you should hold onto.
• At one point, author/illustrator Pat Cummings said it was harder to be an artist than a lawyer, then later indicated that adventuring was even harder than art.  Which led me to pen a mini infographic: 

In general, I had a great time at my second Mid-Atlantic SCBWI conference!  I pretended I was an extrovert and talked to many people.  And between the conference planners clearly going out of their way to provide more learning and networking opportunities for illustrators (yay, thanks conference planners!) and the fact that I've been writing more since this time last year, I felt like there were more nuggets of wonderful helpfulness than ever before.

Now it's November, and I'm all in on another round of Picture Book Idea Month (PiBoIdMo, the brainchild of Tara Lazar). 

Out of last year's 30 ideas, I now have three (very, very early stage) manuscripts, another close to complete story that's still in my brain until it discovers the perfect ending, an idea that I think might be an early reader or middle grade instead, and a character just begging to feature in a series.  Here's hoping this year is just as successful!

And of course, I still draw from time to time...

Two Kites

Notes from my first SCBWI conference

This past weekend I attended the annual fall conference of the Mid-Atlantic chapter of the Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). This was my first time attending this conference, and my

first time attending an conference in this field. While there was a stronger emphasis on the W part of SCBWI than the I part (my part) I didn't mind this too terribly, in the end. Learning about storytelling is obviously useful if I ever decide to write (which I might someday!) and at the very least it can help me build ideas for more narrative, action-oriented artwork, which I've know for a little while now is something I need to work on.

Here are some notes from the weekend, punctuated by some of my notebook doodles:

"Aha!" moments

• Frances Gilbert, editor at the Doubleday imprint of Random House, in talking about story
  
  
  mining, mentioned a phrase that stuck with me: "childhood moments."  She also reminded us that when you write for children, "your customer is 5 years old and has to pee."  (I think her point was that you need a strong hook or something, but I really just wrote that down because it made me laugh.)
• Draw from life, no matter your style, says art agent Christina Tugeau. 
  
• Authors Mary Quattlebaum and Cynthia Lord both admitted to struggling initially with plot development / story arc. As someone who doesn't walk around with a spring in my step and a story in my heart, this is gratifying to hear. Woo!
• Agent John Cusick of Greenhouse Literary on the best kind of picture book ending: "surprising, yet inevitable."
• This one's not from anything anyone said this weekend, but just from being in the room, where (and this is where I try not to call my fellow conference-goers old and fail miserably) I was among the youngest there. And that's
  
  
  gratifying in the midst of a perfect storm of (1) turning a round number this year, (2) spending a lot of time wrapped up in the world of baseball, where phrases like "an old 29" and "way past his prime at 36" are not uncommon, and (3) living in a city where seemingly everyone is 24, runs marathons, has a masters degree, and makes six figures as a consultant.  It can be easy to feel time slipping away, to feel regrets about what I haven't yet accomplished.  But I'm pretty sure I'm doing just fine. 
  

"Duh" moments that were still worth hearing again, from multiple experts in the room 

• Never stop reading! 
• Conflict is essential in plot development. There's got to be a problem
• In a well-crafted picture book, both the words and pictures should be essential to the storytelling. Neither should feel superfluous. Each should feel incomplete without the other.

"Oh, cool" moments

• Agent Brooks Sherman of Fine Print Literary Management found his first picture book client via Twitter.
• There's a trend in illustration right now toward simpler art, with minimal background, less details, subtle beauty.  This, I like!
• Cynthia Lord passed around her Newbery Honor plaque and let us all touch it and make a wish. It was delightful.

Reading list

Children's books

• Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses by James Dean
• The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann
• Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
• Touch Blue by Cynthia Lord
• George and Martha by James Marshall (yes, I too can't believe I've never read this one)
• My Name is Not Isabella by Jennifer Fosberry

Craft books 

• The Plot Whisperer by Martha Alderson
• Save the Cat by Blake Snyder
• Hero's Journey (lots of books by this name... unsure which one was recommended.  Maybe Joseph Campbell?)

Blogs

• Picture This!
• Preditors and Editors
• Literary Rambles
• Absolute Write

Notes from an evening with Barbara Kingsolver

My favorite author (of grown-up books, at least) is Barbara Kingsolver.  If you ever scroll all the way to the bottom of this blog, you'll see a quote of hers about artmaking.  I think she's utterly brilliant, and love the not just the stories she has to tell, but the way she tells them.  I've read everything she's ever written, including novels, nonfiction, and poetry--well, all except for her first book, about women mine workers.  Haven't gotten around to that one yet.  My favorites are The Bean Trees and Animal Dreams.

Photo credit: The Baltimore Sun

I also haven't yet read her newest novel, Flight Behavior, but it's right there at the top of my reading list.  She recently kicked off her book tour here in DC, at the Washington National Cathedral, and I went to see her.  She read a bit from the beginning of Flight Behavior, then did a little Q&A.  A few minutes into the conversation, I pulled out a pen and started scribbling on my program.  This was stuff I wanted to remember.  It's been several weeks, so some context might have been lost, but at long last I'm transcribing my notes.  I figured this was as good a place as any to keep them, in case others might be interested, too.

On fiction as a change agent
Her best response to the issues of the day is to write a novel.  Nonfiction reaches those who are already convinced of the importance of something, but fiction reaches a different audience.  "It doesn't just tell you what to think; it asks you what you think." Stories enter through your heart not your brain.

On how we learn
"We think we're rational, but we absorb our truths from people we trust."  We all do it. So cultivating trust is the key to productive conversations.

On being a scientist who writes novels
She feels her scientific education serves her well as a novelist, and sets her apart as a fairly unique writer.  Structuring an experiment can be easily compared and translated to structuring a novel.  In some ways, creating plot is like performing experiments on her characters.

On fiction writing in general.
She starts with an idea, some truth she wants to talk about, then comes up with a plot.  After that come the characters, followed by their backstories. "Fiction is made of details."

Cherry blossoms

 

On Friday I left work a few minutes early and headed down to the Tidal Basin to check out the peak bloom cherry blossoms on a beautiful, blue skies kind of day.  DC is at its loveliest in the spring, even when spring comes early.

  

[Dear Illustration Friday visitors:  you're probably wondering what the "swamp" connection is. Legend has it that our nation's capital was built on a swamp.  Not quite true, but there were wetlands involved, and it gets awfully humid in the summer.]

Testing out pastel colors!

Portraits of People Who Aren't Real

Yesterday, I headed down to the National Gallery of Art, mostly to see the current exhibit on Paul Gauguin (who I've decided was a bit of an illustrator, actually!)  But on the way, I stepped into the Chester Dale Collection exhibit, and I couldn't stop looking at this painting by Picasso.  I loved how stark and simple it was while still being exquisitely executed.  I needed something to kick my artist butt back into gear, and I think this did it.  With this great painting as inspiration, I've decided to do a few simple portraits of (what else?) some  of my favorite children's book characters.  Sketches today, pastels... next! 

Ethan from Summerland

Fern from Charlotte's Web

Margaret Rose from The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place

Sal from Walk Two Moons

Warming up (no, really!)

The Illustration Friday prompt a few weeks ago was "burning"... right at the same time a particular tree at the end of my street exploded in a sort of flaming color not unlike the palette used in these illustrations.  Unfortunately, not only did I miss the deadline for the IF prompt, but I came home from work last week to discover that every last leaf had fallen from that tree.  So this post is dedicated to the swift passage of time.

So what do you think?  White outlines or no?

Movin' Right Along

It's pack-up-and-move time around these parts.  Not for the blog, which is staying put here at blogger, but for me, the real live artist.  Adios, Cincinnati, Ohio... hola, Washington, DC!  

My pastels are already in boxes, and my art desk won't be coming along with me for a few weeks, but I promise I'll be back as soon as I have new art to share.  Hasta luego, internet.

I wish you a merry Christmas!

I was excited to have the opportunity this year to design the Christmas card for the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. Each year, over 250 volunteers commit to spend a year working full-time in nonprofit organizations, living in community with other volunteers, and exploring JVC's four values of spirituality, social justice, community, and simple living.

This wonderful organization is very close to my heart. I was a Jesuit Volunteer for a year after I graduated from college. I taught art in an after-school program and summer camp in Washington, DC, and lived with five other volunteers. It was a wonderful and challenging year, and I'm proud to count myself among the thousands of FJV's (Former Jesuit Volunteers) around the world. Enjoy your Christmas cards, JVC supporters! Everyone else out there in blogland... happy holidays!

FABULOUS!

And while I'm at the blog, I totally forgot about a "Your Blog is Fabulous" award I got from Nikki way back in December. I've been tagged to share five obsessions of mine.

1) I'm not a random TV watcher, but I do get quite involved in the shows I take the time to watch. My obsession with all things The West Wing is already well-documented here. My current TV obsession is Lost. It's mind-bogglingly fabulous these days. I like my television like my acquaintances: literate, witty, and with a big heart.

2) The Cincinnati Reds, of course. Pitchers and catchers report on February 14th, and, meanwhile, football season ends TODAY. I am a happy camper.

3) Anytime I get the chance to go to a garage sale or a thrift store, I take it. I love treasure hunts, bargains, and one-of-a-kind finds. Right now I'm wearing a church sale blouse, sitting at a Goodwill desk, with a garage sale mug holding my pencils, and with my back to my World's-Longest-Yard-Sale art desk.

4) The library! Cincinnati has one of the best systems in the country, and I take full advantage of it. There are many things I miss about living in Washington, DC, but their library system has got nothing on ours here. I'm definitely a regular at my neighborhood branch (where, recently, I spotted the back of Sarah Jessica Parker's head. Long story.)

5) I really, truly love grocery shopping. I live around the corner from an IGA, so I go several times a week, for a few things here and a few things there. I also make special trips once in a while to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, and in the spring and summer, I can't get enough of the various farmers markets near me. I love reading labels, exploring new foods, seeing what's on sale or in season, and thinking up recipes.

Thanks for thinking of me, Nikki!

Wandering around

I spent five days recently in one of my favorite places, Washington DC. I used to live there, so mostly I was visiting long-lost but still dear friends. But I had some wandering time, too, and luckily I had the foresight to bring a tiny little Ecojot sketchbook and my trusty (though injured) camera along for the ride...

Illustration Friday: THE BLUES

This illustration had quite the long and winding road. I started it two years ago, as a response to Hurricane Katrina. I couldn't get it where I wanted it to be, so I abandoned it. But I brought it with me when I moved from DC to Cincinnati (it was damaged a bit in the move) and when I set up my drawing table in my new apartment, this got taped up, sort of off to the side. That was a year ago. I've fiddled with it a few times since then but didn't have any breakthroughs. Then came this week's Illustration Friday topic, and I knew the time had come to revisit this constant presence on my drawing board.

I'm still not entirely satisfied with it (too busy on the left? Maybe I'll eliminate some of the frills and just keep the white birds and the kokopeli-like sax player on a mottled blue background.) But thanks, IF, for getting me to finally "finish" this piece!