The Juggler

I was recently invite to contribute a piece of art for PS 39's upcoming 2nd Annual Spring Carnival. PS 39 is a small, public elementary school in Park Slope Brooklyn facing substantial budget cuts, which will result in the loss of their arts & music and physical educational programs. All money raised at the event—and from the silent auction of all art donated—will go towards sustaining these programs.  

Not only was this another great opportunity to contribute to a really good cause—but also super fun, as it was a totally open call to interpretation of a "circus" or "carnival" theme. (Any of you following me know this is one of my favorite subjects! :)  The only guidelines were to create the art on a provided piece of 16" x 16"- 1/4" plywood. I've always wanted to experiment with wood surfaces, and tried to experiment also a bit with mediums; I mixed acrylic washes and pen & ink and gold leaf accents, and worked in a fairly quick manner.  

I'm going to translate the drawing as a digital personal piece as well, to become a companion to the Acrobat and Fire Eater that I've recently added to my portfolio.

Spring snow showers?!

One of the most disheartening things I can think of is waking up to sleet and snow in March, after a weekend of warm weather fooling me into thinking spring had finally arrived! Unfortunately, that's exactly how the first official days of spring have begun this year in NYC!

What else can you do but make the best of it by using it as an excuse to make a wintery piece of art! I've had this little gal inked and hanging around my studio for quite awhile, so felt inspired to finally give her a little color.

I have lots of exciting things to post soon....just wrapped up a super cool editorial illustration project, have recently had some crazy fun travels, and have my new website in the works and close to launching. So stay posted...this busyness has made for pretty sporadic blogging lately, but I'll be sharing lots soon!

New piece

Today was one of the first Saturdays in a very long time that I haven't been bogged down with a looming deadline for a project or some kind of social obligation; It was also a beautiful, breezy day with a twinge of fall in the air--so was a perfect day to spend some time on personal work!

I revisited a sketch I did awhile back, that has since been pinned above my desk staring me in the face, practically begging for me to pay it some attention again. So I went to work on it--and made a little finished piece of it. This is one in a series of drawings I'd like to use to refine some digital techniques, and expand my body of work geared toward middle-grade/tween product and/or book & editorial markets. I've gotten positive response to recent illustration work in this vein--and this is also the market I've become most familiar with over the 6+ years I've spent designing young adult book covers. I had a ton of fun working on this--and really want to continue to refine this work process and style.

Tilbury Publishing Exhibit

I was recently invited to submit a piece for an exhibit organized by Tilbury Publishing. Their newest children's book, One of Us, is being released in late May in conjunction with Powered by Girl, a campaign from Hardy Girls Healthy Women (www.hghw.org) designed to educate teen girls about the impact of media on their lives and empower them use their creativity, wit, and individuality to make a difference.

On May 24 in New York City, (the night before Book Expo) Tilbury will host a launch party for their book, and this exhibit will be part of the event. All the pieces will be on sale to benefit Powered by Girl.

The only guidelines for the piece were that it was to be a small 4x6 size, and somehow a representation of yourself. This opportunity was super exciting to me--I think it's a great cause, and "girl power" is totally up my alley! Plus, I really had fun dipping into a self-portrait.

Here's my piece:

It's no secret to anyone that knows me that I LOVE to dance! (I'm not claiming to be any good at it though!) And, I've recently returned from a visit to my favorite place in the world-New Orleans, where I spent 5 days of what felt like dancing around the clock! The music has had me moving non-stop these last few weeks since I've been back, and I've been feeling super inspired and creative since, too. So, this just felt fitting. I also felt that the phrase "Dance Your Own Dance" really kind of sums up the way I live my life, and sends a message that I'd love to share with young girls.

The show will hang at Book Culture (536 West 112th Street, NYC) through May 28th, and the launch party is on Monday May 24th at 6pm. Works will be exhibited together in large box frames, and will be sold individually in protective sleeves for $25 with 100% of sales benefiting the Powered by Girl campaign!
All contributions made to Hardy Girls Healthy Women for the Powered by Girl campaign are tax-deductible.

new work

I'm going to be in the "Artist spotlight" on Altpick.com next week, and decided to use this as an opp to make some new work. This was a black and white drawing I had done for the Artful Agenda calendar--I added color traditionally and scanned in some textures that I lino-printed to create this. I'd like to continue to make work in this vein. I recently had a conversation with a co-designer who is very strong in working with illustrators on middle-grade book covers; she suggested I try to market myself a little more clearly to clients serving a middle-grade girl audience, as my style and subject matter lend to this and there is actually a good need for it in the industry (at least in books...) I am pretty excited about the idea!

If youd like to read my interview on Altpick, it will be on www.altpick.com from June 7-10.

Baby Book samples

A few months ago, my Art Director suggested me as an artist for a book assignment--a novelty/gift type to be published by an adult division of Penguin, that would be geared toward expecting parents with a child who is not particularly looking forward to that new sibling. It was meant to be funny, sarcastic and quirky, and I submitted these samples to be considered for the project:

I didn't get chosen to do the book, but I was up against some really great and experienced illustrators. So I was happy to even be considered, and the editor and my art director both had positive reactions to this work, so I may try to develop some more portfolio pieces in this style, and geared toward this kind of market.