Love Beast with nice shoes

More sketches or sketchy sketches, that all depends.

Duck not stuck in the muck

I've been drawing. I think it is funny how parents say "use your words." I know I'm with a few copyright lawyers who would have a hard time with this. Different reasons though. The title of my drawing is "Get control of your words." Too bad for this character, she's still in the early stages of learning how to do it. She has to grab them as they come out or grab them as they come in. Who knows.

I've been sick but I think I'm getting to the bottom of it. Happy for that.

Networking

Yesterday, I met with Pam Boyd. Pam has started a business called the Reading Goddess. Her idea came from finding a way to start a business doing something she loves, reading. Her passion for reading carries over to her company's whimsical logo, wonderful array of gift products and Pam's spirit behind them.

She recently hosted a launch party to get feedback on her brand and product. This is a business woman to watch! The turnout for this event was mind boggling. Woman filled the space, buzzing about what was the hottest item and what they HAD to buy tonight.

As a part of Pam's concept she's included a foundation. A percentage of the proceeds from all of her sales will go to helping reading programs in Minnesota-for now! I suspect it is only a matter of time before she is serving literacy programs nation-wide and perhaps globally.

Visit the Reading Goddess website at www.readinggoddess.com

Drawing a blank

Seems when you have a good title you must blog. I was out of town this past weekend. It was supposed to be for an exorcism. Yes, you know, to raise the demons, to allow them to float out of the afflicted like a shoulder spasm might happen to a person of considerable age.

Yes, I know this is my professional writing/illustrator blog and I should be serious and only show the side of me which proves I am competent to work in this field, accurately and prolifically. Who says publishing houses aren't regularly doing exorcisms? I think we all might be better served if we knew what happened behind closed doors in publishing.

Well, see my demon is ever present. It wants to be seen and run the show. It wants to control my career. However, if you can't calm the demon, you will get demon work. This might not be so bad. I might be cast for the roll of drawing the evil twin or the nemesis in the story. Is it more fun to draw from the mind of the bad-guy? Someone once told me, "Maybe making art and being who you truly are artistically scares you." Maybe I am beginning to think they are on to something.

Thanks for reading......

Three coins in the fountain

I feel guilt about being a cat heavy blog. Here's a side view, yes, she's a biggin!

I've been lacking creativity. Let's be honest, not sketching, not painting is not going to get you anywhere. At the suggestion of a friend, the past two days I've painted on cheap large roll paper. Yesterday and today are on here, enjoy, or laugh, make fun but always remember Santa is watching.

Cats galore

So we had a decoy pregnant cat. Scroll back and see her mug shot.

Then we added one cat and now we have seven. Really.

We were given an additional cat to foster and wow, she was pregnant. Looked like a little goat. One week ago she had five babies. So here is a picture of the litter.

A conference a day keeps the grumpies away!

Deb Malesevich can organize a great conference! I think perhaps she might consider arranging the Olympics? Her dedication to this event and love for encouraging librarians, teachers and writers to convene for the good of children's growth in reading is outstanding!

This past weekend I attended the Northwest Wisconsin Children's Book Conference. One of the things which struck me is how inclusive the conference was. It was the first conference I've been to where the people speaking were seated right with you. Connecting over a nice meal, what could be better? It was fabulous! An unexpected bonus of fun and energy was meeting Katie McKy. If you want a dynamic presentation for your school check out Katie at:

http://www.katiemcky.com/

Her ideas for teaching also follow this theme of inclusivity. Not a real word? It is now. I will be lobbying my school for Katie to visit. I think her presence might change the life of many children. Better than church, it livens the soul.

The conference in its entirety was fantastic. Great speakers! Great vendors and wonderful connections for all. I highly recommend this, so watch for it next fall in Cable, WI. Even if you are just tossing around the idea of writing for children, you will likely be pleasantly surprised.

Plus, if you get nothing else from the conference, the trees are at their peak. So you can go and peek at them, step outside, breathe deeply and viola, you are getting something to be grateful for. Oh, ending in a preposition is so, hmmmm.