Veterans Day

I'd like to use today's post to express my appreciation for our nation's 25 million veterans. Thank you for your service to our country and its people!

Illustration from the award-winning children's book for military families, The Wishing Tree.

Teen Writers Interview

As mentioned in my recap of the Minnesota SCBWI Annual Conference, several speakers and I sat down to talk with Christian and Keagan of the As Written By teen writers group. The interview is now online in their November newsletter. You can check out my attempt to “get down with the cool kids” here, just look for the chick in the bright pink frilly shirt on Page 6.

Thanks again to As Written By for the opportunity!

Homemade Travel Watercolor Case

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and after searching fruitlessly for an inexpensive pocket-sized watercolor kit, I'm inclined to agree. I found that others solved the problem by making their own watercolor kits, and figured I could try doing the same for myself.

I started with an Altoids tin, stripped off the paint, and sprayed the inside with white enamel. The lid now serves nicely as a mixing well and the rest of the interior won’t rust. Then I took the half pans of paint from another watercolor set and glued small strips of magnets to the bottom, so they can be repositioned at will but won't rattle loosely in the tin. The tin is just large enough to hold 8 half pans (or up to 12 if I don’t put anything else in there), a small sponge, a pencil, a bit of kneaded eraser, and a Koi compact water brush. Finally, I decorated the top with a flat metal pendant (set in place with some JB Weld epoxy) I found at Michaels for $1.

The pans are currently stocked with decent-quality cake paint, but I can always refill them with pro-grade tube paint when the time comes. The water brush is my newest discovery - the water is contained in the handle so there is no need to carry along a separate canister of used water to dump later. It was a little strange to paint with at first, but I’m getting the hang of it now.

So there you have it: a delightfully easy and inexpensive craft project for a perfectly pocket-sized watercolor kit. "Homemade" is so often the "best-made!"

Illustration Friday: Skinny

I figured this image would be a good submission for this week’s Illustration Friday, though I do prefer using the term “slim” or “slender” rather than “skinny.” In A Day with my Aunts / Un dia con mis tías, Isabel learns to dance from her Tía Clara.

The text describes only Tía Clara’s long ponytail, but I imagined her as an accomplished dancer and illustrated various trophies on the opposite page. As I mentioned in my interview with KUHF radio, I modeled her likeness after Vicky, my favorite college roommate who had also taught children to dance. Whenever I hear a Ricky Martin song, I remember her lithe form dancing in our dorm room just to make me laugh.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Happy Anniversary to the Kerlan Collection!

One of Minnesota’s greatest treasures, the Kerlan Collection at the University of Minnesota, is celebrating its 60th anniversary with a very special forthcoming exhibit. This holiday season, visitors can view a unique selection of their children’s book-related materials, including manuscripts, original illustrations, sketches, and book dummies. The opening reception will feature famed children’s book historian and author of The Minders of Make Believe, Leonard Marcus.

Exhibit Dates: November 12, 2009 to December 31, 2009
Opening Reception: November 15, 2009
Location: Elmer L. Andersen Library Gallery at the University of Minnesota, 222 21st Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455

RSVP for the reception by calling 612-624-9339 before November 6th. Visit this page for directions and visitor information.

I'm super excited for this event and hope to see you there! Thanks to Chris Dyrud for the tip.

Movie Review: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2

I never read the books nor have I seen the first film, but I saw this sequel because one of the characters in the story attends my alma mater, the Rhode Island School of Design. Blasé story, so-so acting, and forgettable characters aside, the film disappointed me on the deepest level possible: it got everything wrong about RISD!

Were we supposed to believe in the spotless, bright studios? The seductive art models who opt for use of the studios in lieu of pay? The dorm rooms that look like they’re straight out of an IKEA catalog? My husband and I practically unhinged our jaws from laughing so hard. Every shot of RISD life made us relish the all-too-hilarious difference between fiction and reality. Making art in the boot camp that is RISD’s Foundation Studies year is a lot like giving birth, and in reality, giving birth is painful and messy.

A more accurate film would show the character in a dusty, ancient studio haunted by the mourning spirits of broken students. She’d draw naked fat guys (hey, they're more interesting to draw) from dawn until sundown and haul back to her dorm room with tears streaking down her charcoal-smeared face. She’d ache from carrying heavy art supplies in her arms and a shattered confidence in her heart. There would be no time or energy to whine about her love life or jettison off to Greece; she’d be far too exhausted from her studio projects, hardcore critiques, and 3-term year to think about anything but sleep. She'd find charcoal dust in her nose and ears, paint under her fingernails, and steadily develop tendonitis in her wrists, but she would be grateful for it all. Speaking as someone who loved RISD and owes the school a lot, believe me when I say this: RISD will break you then remake you. It is not some idyllic chick-flick fantasy.

Finally: I can believe a lot of things, but there is no way the same pair of pants that snugly fit the tall blonde’s narrow behind could ever adequately house America Ferreira’s Latina rear end. Trust me on this; as a fellow Latina I know these things…

Illustration Friday: Fast

Just in time for the spooky Halloween season, here is my submission for this week’s Illustration Friday. The image comes from one of my newest book releases, The Antarctic Express, and depicts the climactic scene where the two main characters flee from the ancient being that has quickly descended upon them.

The Antarctic Express is actually a retelling of H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness, done as a parody of Chris Van Allsburg’s The Polar Express. You can read more about it here.