Never Fear!

I haven't forgotten about you, my poor blog! It's just been a crazy summer, and I haven't had a chance to post until now. What with a number of educational illo assignments, many happenings over at my Petite Press site, and a now second-grader (gulp!) to care for, it was just a little too much for me to handle. But I'm back into my regular routine (almost) and hope to post more regularly this fall. I do have a little bit of exciting news to share this week. The nice folks over at Children's Illustrators.com have kindly tagged me as their "Illustrator of the Week" with a link to my portfolio on their homepage. I'm tickled pink!

{The piece above was from a song book I worked on for Scholastic last year. This was for the tune, "Looby Loo."}

Fresh Air

Spring is almost here – yay! Time to start our veggie garden for the year, open the windows all day, and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. The big winter projects are past, and it's time for new ones. I've got my fingers in a few pies at the moment, including some new items up over here and on Poppytalk Handmade, and some sketches for a new book project. Here's to spring, and to fresh starts!

{This illustration was for an educational assignment from a while back.}

Peep

I'm still here. Just unbelievably swamped. I only have time to draw, sleep, hug my family, and eat something now and then. I'll be back to normal in a couple of weeks. Back to work...

Night Owl

I can't help it — I've always been a night owl. About 8 or 9 o'clock at night, my brain suddenly kicks into gear, and I'm at my most creative and productive after dark. I make up for the sleep in the mornings (when I can), and that's how I survive. It flummoxed my parents (both VERY early risers) while I was growing up, and my daughter also seems to be of the bright-and-early persuasion. My husband is also a nocturnal person, though, so somewhere in those genes, I guess two earlies make a late, and vice versa. He and I stay up until the wee hours like shoemaker elves, working away, and have to remind ourselves go to sleep in order to be halfway cognisant when our child wakes up.

Anyway, tonight my husband pointed out this article to me in this month's Wired Magazine, which validates my habits, and those of many of my creative friends. It was nice to learn that my sleep tendencies might just be beneficial.

{And another thing about genetics — apparently, two quiet people also make a much louder one. :) }

Snowed Under

Yix! It's been quite awhile since I've posted here, but I've been snowed under with work, and I'm still digging myself out. I'm fortunate to be working on lots of illustration work for textbooks and the like at the moment. I'm looking forward to a little break over the holidays to allow my brain to recharge.

{this piece was from last winter, for a Spanish vocabulary textbook — it seemed fitting for not only the season, but my whole life right now!}

Pssst...

New stuff over here...

After another heavy workload for the last couple of months, I'm back to whipping up some holiday cheer before the season hits full force. My break is short, but I hope to add a number of new things to the Petite Press shop before I'm back to illustration work. We'll see how much I can get done... :)

It's a bird... it's a plane... it's Vita-Kid!

I've been asked by fellow Lawrence illustrator and friend Barry Fitzgerald to submit a piece of "food-themed" art for a show at Blue Plate Dinners (yum). So I whipped up a little piece which I'm calling Vita-Kid. (Super food for super kids.) The fun element about this show (besides all the fantastic artists who are participating) is that we've all been asked to create art that will fit inside a gallon-size zipper-top plastic bag. I can't wait to see how they will all be displayed in the store.

This piece also has a little bit to do with the efforts some fellow moms and I put forth during the last school year, campaigning for better school meals for kids in our district. I truly believe that our children will be healthier, fare better in school, and in turn, life, if they are fed better food.

P.S. Posts will continue to be slim for a while, as work is crazy here right now. I'll try to check in now and then, though.

P.P.S. The birthday party mentioned in my last post? Tons of fun. And the rainbow unicorn now has a just-as-colorful reclining fairy for a shelf-mate. :)

Time to Make the Cupcakes

A little person I know will be having another birthday soon. She has chosen to paint-her-own who-knows-what at Sunfire Ceramics for the celebration. I wonder if we'll be bringing home another ceramic unicorn figurine to be friends with the one she made last time?