My Next Big Thing: Brave Julia

My Next Big Thing

The Next Big Thing is a global blog tour, started in Australia, to showcase authors and illustrators and their current work. I was tagged by the fabulous Alison Davis Lyne.

So now I'll answer some questions about my newest book, then pass the Q & A along to  others who'll pick up the tour July 4th:

What is the working title of your next book? I am currently working on a book proposal titled Brave Julia.

Where did the idea come from for the book? As an illustrator who also comes up with story ideas from time to tome, my stories often emerge from a visual idea - a funny or sweet image that I want to create - and then I develop a story around it. I had an image in my mind for a long time of a little girl who is unafraid of the monsters who try to scare her at night, and I finally wrote it down!

In what genre does your book fall? This is definitely a bedtime picture book for young children.

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition? Oh boy, that's a tough one, I wouldn't know where to begin! There is a little girl, a rabbit, and a whole host of other characters such as a queen and a horde of monsters. 

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? Julia has a wild imagination, which is loads of fun during the day, but a wild imagination at night can become scary... if you let it.

Who is publishing your book? I have just begun looking for a publisher.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript? The story evolved over the course of about a year. The first solid draft took about two weeks to write, but that was after thinking about it and re-working it for a year. Since I am also an illustrator, I have created drawings and paintings to go with the proposal. The initial drawings took about two weeks, and the paintings each took a couple of days. 

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? As a bedtime book involving monsters, I think it's easy to associate this story with the incomparable Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are (or at least, I would be thrilled if anyone made that association!).  

Who or what inspired you to write this book? As mentioned earlier, the inspiration came from a visual idea - one which just seemed to pop into my head - of a little girl who is not afraid of the monsters in her room. I think part of me just wanted to draw some wacky monsters. After that, I was encouraged to develop the story in a class I took with the wonderful Betsy and Ted Lewin, who have written and illustrated dozens of children's books. 

What else about the book might pique the reader's interest? There is a rabbit character who is also central to the story, and who is based on a real rabbit who lives with me and keeps me company in the studio while I paint!

Thank you for stopping by here to help me celebrate my "Next Big Thing." Now on to the next candidates who will post on July 4th:

Lee White
Monica Wellington

Post-it Tales - Who Poo? - Part 2

A while back, during spare moments at work, I started a story on Post-it Notes. I stuck the notes on the inside of my desk drawer, until it was filled, and the story ended. Here is part two of that story (part one here)...

who poo? you? (Click to see larger)

 To be continued...

Post-it Tales - Who Poo? - Part 1

A while back, during spare moments at work, I started a story on Post-it Notes. I stuck the notes on the inside of my desk drawer, until it was filled, and the story ended. Here is part one of that story...

(Click to see larger)

 To be continued...

Holiday Krampus!

Have you heard of Krampus? He's the mythical beast-like creature of Germanic origin who punishes naughty children during the Christmas season. He is Santa's counterpart, like the Grinch but about 50 times scarier. He looks like a demon - horns, hooves, hair and all - and is known to beat and/or abduct children. The above depiction of Krampus genuinely disturbs me on a number of levels.

Awesome.

Krampus has been around and celebrated for ages, but is not so well known here in the U.S. Recently it seems he has been gaining popularity, as evidenced by the artist/author Brom's recent book Krampus the Yule Lord, and by the fact that I am invited to a Krampus themed holiday party this year.

Like any respectable Krampus gathering, the guests have been instructed to arrive in costume (or at least masks). I did some research, weighed my options, and decided to try my hand at making the masks out of felt. Have you ever tried felting? I am now a felting addict. Below I have vaguely documented the process of making a felt Krampus mask:

1. Cut out the base shape of the mask (it helps to measure from forehead to chin, and ear to ear, and use these measurements to make a paper template).

2. Start adding some bulk to the mask using roving and a felting needle (there are good online tutorials for this stuff - there is no sewing involved! Hooray!). Roving is basically just loose wool that you can mold and twirl into whatever shape you need.

3. Add some details. Make teeth.

4. Done! The horns each have a pipe cleaner inside so they can be twisted and shaped. You can use sturdier wire, but I liked pipe cleaners because the wool really clung to them and made it easier to shape around them.

 Let the devilish good times commence!

Home Grown Gifts (again)

Creative gift idea: personalized recipe box with favorite recipes inside.
Recipients: My good friends Owen and Sarah for their wedding.

With this box I channeled their romantic-with-a-dark-side aesthetic, and topped it off with their black cat Mim.

Hartford Art School Low Residency MFA in Illustration

Have you ever thought about getting your MFA in Illustration, but were worried about the time commitment, the cost, having to move, etc? Well, I just want to take a moment to put in a plug for the Low Residency MFA in Illustration at the Hartford Art School. I am in the midst of my first year in the program, and since beginning the program in July I have my first two children's book proposals under review, I have gotten work from a dream client, I have had my work re-energized, my understanding of the history of the field of illustration has deepened, and my circle of illustration contacts and friends has expanded to include folks from across the country who work not only in the children's and fantasy markets, but who do concept work, editorial, licensing, and more.

For me, the best part about the program is that my classmates and the faculty are ALL working illustrators. Many of my classmates are mid-career, so have quite a lot of experience in the field, and at least half of them are already teaching on a college level. Every single person involved in the program, whether faculty or student, is a great resource for information and feedback.

The program is structured so that its students can continue to live their lives, so that it won't disrupt their freelance or teaching careers, or their other full or part-time jobs. Those that have families don't have to move, or be limited to only what is offered nearby. We are technically full-time students, but only meet for a total of four weeks out of the year for two years (three summers). These one or two-week intensives are exactly that - intense! I always come away from them full of inspiration and new ideas. In-between the intensives we work on some small assignments, and most importantly we develop our thesis projects. For a lot of students, the thesis is something that they have been wanting to work on for a while, but needed some motivation and guidance to make it happen. I have been working on my thesis for 7 months now, and have over a year to go, and I am incredibly excited about it. I'm sure I'll do some posting about it in the months to come.

So that's my little pitch for this fabulous program. If you are thinking about getting your MFA and the low residency format sounds right for you, you can read more about it on the website here - Hartford Art School MFA in Illustration. Be sure to check out the mind-blowingly amazing list of faculty, and links to the work of current students.

Work in Progress - Vikings!

Hi All! Just a little update on what I've been up to lately. I'm currently working on a lot of projects, but one that I can share is a piece for the collective blog, Running with Paintbrushes. We are all doing paintings with a Vikings theme. Pictured here is the under-painting for my piece. Check out all of our progress at the RWP blog by clicking HERE!