A Mother's Day Treat

Yesterday when I picked my son up from school he had a belated Mother's day surprise for me.

 He had painted a flower planter yellow (my favorite color) and planted yellow flowers in it for me. 

 He also gave me a special drawing/card that made me melt.

That picture is of us in my studio making art together. He said: "There aren't faces on us Mommy because those are the backs of our heads." 

So sweet!

I think I'll read him an extra story today to celebrate children's book week!

Delicious Spring

I love journaling.

Often I think the act of keeping a journal helps me look out for things worthy of journaling about.

Blogging is no different.

Increasingly though, I find that this often takes a non-written form. I look for color or light that's just so. And that's somehow what I feel like recording.

 And so sometimes my camera is my journal.

And so I share some snippets here on my blog of moments I've spent recently, relishing spring.

This is my nephew, Richard.

I'll catch up with posting some drawings or process pieces for recent illustrations and current illustrations I'm working on soon.

 

But, as hopefully most out there know, sometimes life is too rich to spend too much time plugged in or online.

But it is nice to stop in now and then and share/record the richness.

:) 

Whew! A whirlwind month of new work

A couple months ago I set an ambitious goal to try to nearly remake my entire portfolio for the Society of Children's Book Writer's and Illustrator's conference here in Washington State.  (Which was last weekend; it was FANTASTIC as usual!)

The last few weeks I have been working all kinds of crazy hours to meet my personal goal (which is why I haven't posted in awhile).

And I'm proud to say...

I did it!

I'll try to post some fun process pictures in the upcoming few weeks.

Meanwhile you can check out my updated portfolio here on my website.

This week I'm taking a deep breath and catching up with regular life. But I'm looking forward to sorting out what my next big goal will be too.


Cheers to working hard and making fun new art!

Kjersten's photo on the NYT website

A few weeks ago I submitted a few photos from my time in Kuala Lumpur to the New York times for a project they are working on about living in high-rises. Last week I got a nice note back from an editor saying my pictures were exactly what they were looking for. Cool!

Check out the submissions page. One of my pictures is an example! (You can't see it from a mobile device). Can you tell which one is mine?

(For anyone who doesn't know me personally, it's the one with the mom and her kid with the sun streaming in behind them).

A few new black and white portfolio pieces

It's been about a year since I first started experimenting with adding black and white images to my portfolio.

I'm still sort of finding my voice with it but I've been enjoying the process. Here's a couple of pieces I like from the last few weeks.
This second one was an experiment in play. I used a rough sketch from about a year ago that I had already turned into a color piece (in fact the color version is still in my portfolio over on my website).

I felt compelled to play with the sketch from this piece because while I liked the drawing a lot, I thought the tones were a bit off in the color version. So I decided to play and see how or if I could improve it in black and white. I tried drawing some of the patterns I used in my collage papers. (Something I'd like to do more of in the future).

The unexpected result: I think I like the finished black and white piece better than the color version.

It's fun when play leads to work you really like.

Making it my own

Here's the old sketch of a memory I took to that Nikki McClure paper-cutting memories workshop I blogged about a few weeks ago:

Here's what I made at the workshop:

And after experimenting with paper-cutting in new ways for a few weeks I decided to take what I had been practicing and finish off my workshop piece in my own way.

I'll share more new stuff soon. I haven't had a chance to scan everything yet.

I should mention that if you happen to be in Bellingham, WA (where I live), on March 23rd, Nikki McClure will be at Village Books speaking about her new picture book How To Be A Cat. I won't be able to be there but I thought I'd share in case others were interested. I can't wait to check out the book!

Brian Pinkney plays a drum

This past weekend I attended the 10th annual Western Washington University Children's Literature Conference where I sat back and soaked up inspiration and fabulous stories from four great writers and/or illustrators: Brian Pinkney, Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Michael Grant, and Katherine Applegate.

 

The highlight for me was listening to how Brian Pinkney uses creative play and other creative outlets to inspire his work. He showed us an example by playing a drum! He said he often drums on the back of his studio chair when he feels a little stuck or needs to loosen up.

The conference was Katherine Applegate's first conference to speak at after winning the Newbery for The One and Only Ivan! What a lucky group we were!

Attention all Washington State Kid-lit junkies:

KEEP THIS CONFERENCE ON YOUR RADAR FOR NEXT YEAR! 

It's fantastic. I'm not even just saying that because it takes place in my own town of Bellingham. It really is fantastic.

I hope I'll see you there next year.

Happy Heart Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

 I love heart photos. The above picture I took in Chang Mai, Thailand. The below picture I took here in Bellingham, Washington when I was home visiting while living abroad.

 And the below screen shot is from a link my hubby sent me this morning to his Strava page where he tracks his bike routes via GPS watch. This was the unconventional route he took to work and sent to me.

Isn't he sweet?

 How about, while I'm anyway posting a valentine's mash-up, I also post some pictures of my other (littler) valentine making cards for his class.

 Oscar wanted to make a rocket-ship valentine this year "with hearts coming out of the bottom instead of flames."

I drew the rocket for him. He cut out the hearts. I sewed the hearts. He made the heart stickers and put them on the front. 

I wonder which one of us had more fun?

I heart crafty projects with my son.

One more Heart note. If you are unfamiliar with the site

Boy Sees Hearts

, maybe today's the day you should check it out. Eric Telchin posts lots of pictures of Hearts he finds EVERYWHERE. I've heard he has a

cool photo book

out too. Hmm... I feel a valentine's day trip to the bookstore coming on.

Have a great day!

She's Nurturing A Dream

I made this collage using some of the paper-cutting techniques I've been experimenting with since attending the Nikki McClure workshop a few weeks ago.

She's Nurturing a Dream

I made it as a celebration as well. Big news: I'm expecting another baby! I'm due in July. If you look closely at the picture of me in the last post (the one at the end where I'm standing next to Nikki and holding up the picture I've made) you'll (maybe) see my blossoming bump.

I've had it in my mind for awhile to start making collages that are a bit more journal-like. Or a bit more like my own journals, which are full of torn bits and discarded (and then reclaimed) evidence of regular life.

I should note that this is just a lousy snapshot picture of the collage. I still need to scan the image for best quality. But I wanted to share now.

More in the works! Fun stuff!

Workshop with Nikki McClure

I've followed Nikki McClure's art since the early 2000's when I stumbled upon her paper-cut work on BuyOlympia.com (one of my favorite early indie craft web sites). Paper-cuts always catch my eye, but Nikki's work especially did so because of its intimacy and heart. Her pieces capture the warm lovely feelings of everyday beauty and relationships. She has a nearly spiritual way of elevating the ordinary through her images that appeals to me. Well that, and it is paper art.

Over the years I've sought out and bought a couple of Nikki's annual self-published calendars and I smiled wide when I saw that she had broken into children's illustration a few years back.

 

So I was thrilled this past fall when I got an email from the Bellevue Art Museum advertising her then forthcoming (and now nearly over! quick rush to Bellevue this weekend!) exhibit. I immediately went to the Bellevue Art Museum's website to see if they had any special events. They did. In early December I attended a great lecture and slide show and then a couple of weeks ago I attended an all-day paper-cutting workshop that Nikki McClure instructed!

Watching another artist at work always helps me gain invaluable insights into new ways I can approach my own work.

 

Nikki McClure's workshop was certainly no exception.

 The day was just the right mix of instruction and play.

 I cut this fish as a warm-up exercise.

 I've always favored using a scissors to a knife in my own collages, but after using a knife that tightened at the bottom (as opposed to where you grip the knife) I felt liberated.

 Who knew such a thing existed? Um... Can I just say sometimes you don't even know that you should be looking for something?

 We can get stuck in ruts and used to working on things our own way with our own methods. I have so long ago rejected using a knife that it had never occurred to me I maybe had never tried using the right knife. Looking outside our usual perspectives can be so, so, valuable.

 I've had some ideas for my collage (for a LOOOONG time) that involve a paper-cut aspect and this workshop has helped me break through the technical side of my ideas so I can make them reality. Cheers for shaking things up.

 I've been playing over the last week. I'll post pictures soon. Meanwhile, here's the piece I made during the workshop (using a drawing from a memory).

 And here's me with Nikki!

Thanks Nikki McClure, wherever you are, for your fabulous workshop, for the inspiration, and for the lovely art you bring into this world! Cheers everybody! Go check out Nikki's work.

Pat on the Back for me

Picture Book Idea Month (an idea a day for a month) really feeds my muse. Last year by the end of November I was rolling with a new mid-grade fiction novel and had ideas swarming me that led to some of my favorite work I did last year. My muse went nuts with the freedom to brainstorm.

This year, again, I feel pumped and energetic after the months' exercise. In fact this year I feel like the entire process has completely busted up a block I had building in my work over the past few months (sadly neglecting follow-through on some of my favorite projects from last year even). What is it about the concept of coming up with an idea every day that frees my muse so much?

I think it's the idea of brainstorming. Not letting the inner critic shut down my muse before she gets going. Or more to the point, shutting up the perfectionist within.

That pesky perfectionist always wants to please everybody when it comes to follow-through time. And that can be downright counter-productive. But the problem is figuring out how to balance the free-flow of ideas with the careful editor within. And so the dance goes on.

Anyway, cheers to anyone else who took on the PiBoIdMo challenge (or nanowrimo for that matter). I wish you all kinds of good energy in your efforts of following-through on all your fantastic new ideas.

Diving in

As I contemplate how exactly to tackle the month since my last post there's a bumper car ride of inner thoughts banging around in my head...

INNER THOUGHTS:
Is it too late to post about the SCBWI conference? How do I share the delight of overnight train rides with my son this past month or watching him swim and read for the first time even though it has nothing to do with my art? Wasn't it nice to be traveling this last month somewhere with little to no phone service let alone internet connection? Fishing, kayaking, swimming under the stars, reading reading reading. Reading in a tree house. What wonders that all did for my muse! Do I share anything about all the picture books one can write while just adventuring? I think I'm transitioned now, is that interesting to post about? Probably not. Oh wait! I saw some amazing art in Chicago last month I should share about. Gosh I was all over the map — literally – last month. Or what about my studio, have I put pictures up yet? Ugh! I hate when I neglect practices that I love. Neglect leads to overwhelm. I love journaling on the internet. Who cares about all these inner thoughts. Just dive in.

Bump, bang, crash! Wait! Aren't bumper car rides fun? Yes, but I'm over this inner thought ride that comes from neglecting a cherished practice.

Just dive in.
Dive.
Dive.
Dive.

Like a whale.
A whale?

Yes. A whale.
 

Exactly one year ago, on the 10th anniversary of one of the scariest days in my home nation's history during my lifetime, I spent 40 minutes with 2 whales in Albany, Western Australia. I know I know. I already posted about it. But it's on my mind today.

The day was magical.

Unforgettable.

Brilliant.

Like a visit from the muse. A long and lovely and magical visit with my muse. A magical visit that has stayed with me and become a part of me. And I'm thinking about it today because it's Sept. 11.

I like wiping all the bumper car thoughts away with the memory of those whales. I like the idea of just diving in.

I think I'll print out one of these pictures and put it on my studio wall as I dive into my new goals for this new school year (Yep, I'm on a school-year schedule now. My little one just started Kindergarten).

How about you? Maybe there's something small you can do to cultivate a little magic in your life or work right now?
Or maybe it's time to just dive in.

Either way, I hope your school year is off to a magical start.

Some Nursery Rhyme Illustrations

Here are some new nursery rhyme illustrations (black and white!) I finished this last week just in time for the Society of Children's Book Writer's and Illustrators conference in Los Angeles this coming weekend.

Can you figure out which three popular nursery rhymes I've drawn below? (Click on each image to see a larger version).

 

If you'll be in Los Angeles look out for me and say hi! I'd love to chat.

Also, for anyone who might be interested, I just updated my online portfolio. Take a peek. Feel free to send me feedback if something comes to mind.

I look forward to catching up with all the rest of my blogesphere friends when I return from L.A. I hope wherever you are you are having a great week!

Bookshelves bookshelves bookshelves

Show and tell time.

These are my family's new bookshelves:

Ahhhhhhh.

I LOVE them. 

Please note all the picture book shelves. And the face-out picture book rack on the wall to the left of the shelves. I am a proud picture book hoarder. I feel that this is a very fine thing. I have a five-year-old afterall (or maybe, yes, that 's just an excuse...).

Also! These awesome bookshelves do not stand alone.

How about some bookshelves just for all our handmade journals and photo albums?

Are two shelves too many? How about three? How about one for the wall? Face out!

Or maybe four?

Aren't these shelves AWESOME?

They are like half-tables stacked on top of one another.

 Dreamy!

Now, how about some handmade shelves by yours truly (and my crafty sister):

Patchwork bookshelves for the nook at the top of my stairs.

 Because every crafty lady should try DECOUPAGE at some point.

 Here's the shelves right after I hung them, before I filled them up. My son helped me. He loves helping mommy with projects.

 As long as said projects don't involve trips to the craft store.

Is it embarrassing to realize that this little list does not include the bookshelves in my studio? Or my bedroom? or the one downstairs for cookbooks? I mean, is that too many? Too many bookshelves?

NO SUCH THING!

In fact, how about I just add pictures of those shelves too. Why not?

Studio shelves, complete with flying pig light

Cookbooks under the T.V. Wouldn't we rather be reading anyway?

This one houses journals I'm still filling.

BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS!

"I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves."

-Anna Quindlen (from an article in the NYT)

Alright. Enough already. Go read a book.

Weavers in Laos

In our last months living in Malaysia, my family and I squeezed in every second of travel we could possibly squeeze in. It all went by so fast and everything was so busy that sometimes I'd visit some amazing new place or country and not even make a peep about it here on my blog, or on facebook, or even to best friends. 

Now that I'm home and things are *starting* to feel a little more normal in life (what's normal? I'm kind of glad it escapes me), all our travels can seem like some sort of crazy dream. Like, wait, was I really in Laos just a few months ago?

Yes.

And maybe it's not too late to share some neglected cool stuff from there and elsewhere in my last few months of living abroad.

I wanted to go to Vientiane, Laos, because I had read about Laotian weaving...

I have a thing for weaving.

Maybe because my aunt is a textile designer and as a kid I always looked up to her (she was a real artist! Wow! Could I be like her someday?).

Or maybe because of the texture. Or the implicit warmth in the medium. Or maybe it's because textiles are just so beautiful.

Anyway, my work-in-progress novel has a grandmother character who is a weaver and who also spins thread so it was lucky serendipity that I got to watch some weavers in action while I was working on writing a book that included their craft.

The weaving studio I visited in Laos is owned by an American woman, Carol Cassidy, who hires local weavers and designs pieces for selling abroad and in her gallery. She is working to keep some of the more traditional methods of weaving and ikat alive.

Woman weaving an ikat piece.

What's ikat? AWESOME is what it is! It's a kind of weaving where the threads are tied in tight bunches before they are dyed. The dye doesn't color the parts of the threads that are tied so that after you remove the threads, whatever color was underneath remains the color it was. A beautiful pattern reveals itself when the threads are later woven into cloth.

Ikat thread bundles, tied and ready for dying

Ms. Cassidy, the owner of the studio, was there when we visited.

Ikat thread getting ready to go on a loom

She showed us around and said it was fine to take pictures and watch.

It was one of my favorite craft experiences I had while living in SE Asia.

 

Ms. Cassidy was a delightful host and her enthusiasm and passion for her studio and work brought a smile to my face.

Oh my gosh, COLOR!

Also, as a side note, if you ever get the chance to eat Laotian food, do! It's delicious.

 

Lucky for me, while I wanted to go to Laos to check out some weaving, my husband wanted to go for the food. He took a cooking class. Yum!

 

And our son? Well, there was good stuff for Oscar in Vientiane too.

Juggling act

As May is winding down, I realize I have been a bit neglectful of my happy little blog. Well, that's not exactly the truth. The truth is, I've been getting my life back in order after our move across the ocean! It's exciting and fun and busy. Things are starting to come together a bit around here (soon I'll have pictures of my new library dining room! And colorful staircase!). Basically, I've been unpacking; both my literal baggage from living abroad and also my experiences of the last two years.

Well there's all that and I've been on extra Mom duty. We had a little calamity here...

Oscar's fine. It's nothing much. It will heal good and fast and strong. But this is all just to say, I've been busy being a mom too. It's not only the repatriation issues and broken bones that I've been wrestling with. There's also kindergarten (Oscar will start this fall). I've been trying to figure out our options for kindergarten and I've been visiting schools and calling other parents to ask questions, on and on.

Wait, what was that?

I hear a inner voice.

Is it a critic?
Perhaps...

Or maybe it's just myself acknowledging myself.
Hi self.
"Kjersten, this blog is for your art. For your passion, vocation, and calling. This blog is not a mommy blog. What the heck are you writing right now?"

Well, I've had to set myself aside a bit this past month.

*She waves her head at herself in disgust and stares herself in the mirror and wags a finger at her own face: "I thought you were committed to your dream too! You have to take care of yourself, too!"*

But... Doesn't it suck to be hard on yourself either way? To feel guilty to work...

 (There isn't a current pressing deadline with my work after all — I've often been wishing there was — and meanwhile there IS a lot of pressing personal deadlines with getting things in order outside of my art right now)

...and at the same time to feel guilty about not working more?

(How are you ever going to be a real artist if you don't make time to work, even when other things are pressing?)

And now I might feel guilty that I'm being hard on myself.
And now I might feel guilty that I feel guilty.
Ugh. Now I'm just annoying myself.

Does this struggle back and forth sound familiar to anyone else?
If this sort of struggle never happens to you, bless you. I admire your ability to shake off the guilt and always know how to prioritize.

It is a well known fact that mommas sometimes have to juggle. We do. It happens. It's a clear suspect in why sometimes our careers lag behind those of our male counterparts.

No, no, no, you may say. It doesn't have to be that way. But.

Isn't it often the truth?
We can even see it ourselves.
It makes us mad.
Normally at ourselves.

And yet,
would I have it another way?
I'm not sure.
I don't think so.
I love being a mom.
But I'm an artist too.

Just saying...
That's what's on my plate right now.

All that and...
I've set aside June to finish my studio and get back to work!
It's haunting me that I completed two black and white pieces of art right in the thick of the worst of the chaos (because I wanted to make a deadline) and I liked them.  That means I was capable of meeting a deadline even if I had all that other stuff on my plate. I'm wishing I had more of those sorts of deadlines! Someone throw a curve-ball deadline at me, will you? I'm anxious for another challenge of that sort. I can't believe I'm writing that!

I read a line in a newspaper the other day that seems related just now somehow. The woman in the article was telling a story and one line of it stuck out to me. She said: "I wouldn't be here if I didn't think I was up for the job."
I feel that way about my art. About my commitment.
My muse is chomping at the bit.

And so the juggling act goes on.

Magic in the air

My life is in complete flux right now. Change is afoot. Things will soon never be the same.

I feel magic in the air.

Firefly art: a collage I made in the last few weeks of living in Malaysia

Today is my last full day in Malaysia.

There are so many words I could write about it all, about the changes, about the experience, about what's to come, even about just the last few weeks or last few adventures. Heck, I never even mentioned on my blog that I went to Laos!

But for now, I'm just enjoying the last few moments here in this city I've grown to love. Saying good-bye to a few lovely people. Oh, and taking care of all the stuff that one takes care of when one moves (uffda).

What a strange, surprising, turn of life this whole experience has been.

I'll miss this place. But I look forward to going home.
But first...
 *she smiles*
....I have two weeks of adventures that await during the in-between time.

Yay for adventure.

I'm off for Hong Kong tomorrow.

New Art

I've been busy in the studio, making new art and getting a portfolio ready for a conference that takes place not too long after I return to the USA in a few weeks. I always wish I could get more new art done before a conference. I'm also busy, busy, busy, getting ready to move...

It's only a few days before I lose all my studio equipment to a container ship for weeks and weeks. 

Unfortunately all this transition doesn't line up with my drive to make art and work on my novel project.

At least I made this one piece I like last week.

Here it is in color:

 And here it is in black and white:

I really wanted to get some black and white stuff made for my portfolio as I've been working on making it presentable in its own right (not meant just for sketches). But I'm feeling super picky about it, which I think is a good thing. Maybe I won't get it done for this conference. Perhaps the next one.

Meanwhile, I've only two weeks left in Malaysia. I have some adventures planned on the way home. Then, by the end of March, I'll be back in the USA for good.

I just have to get through these bumps with dignity and grace and hopefully a little work done and my relationships all in tact. If anyone else out there is going through any transitions, here's a shout out. I'm rooting for you!

Some moments should come with eject buttons. Oh wait! They do!

It didn't take even a full five minutes to realize I had stepped onto planet crazy by entering that particular taxi cab. I sighed, looked out the window and wondered how long the journey would take. I felt thankful, for once, that I'm a little deaf and can't always understand strangers' accents. Then, all in a flash, I realized I could do something about that unwanted moment.

I suddenly interrupted my crazy taxi driver's unwarranted tirade. "I guess I'm done with this experience," I said. And in the same heartbeat I threw five bucks at the guy and jumped out of his cab into the jammed traffic around us.

I put my hand out in front of approaching cars and wove my way through them, smaller then they — but more agile, to the side of the road. I took a deep breath of the humid tropical air and relished my freedom to be a little bit of my own kind of crazy.

I'm here to say that yes, do-overs are occasionally possible. Other taxi drivers do come along, eventually (especially when you huff it out, despite the heat, and seek another taxi stand). And sometimes it feels very satisfying to stand up for one's peace in small, but meaningful ways.

Here's to anyone who finds him or her self in a crazy chaotic space this week and chooses to say no to it. You have choices. I hope in just such a moment you are able to find yourself a little breathing space and a quiet moment of nice.

I love relishing moments of peace in the midst of a busy city. Here's such a moment: the Petronas towers with morning light, a morning moon, and morning birds.

The Joy of Real Books

I found this awesome video via flavorwire last week and couldn't resist sharing. I hope it brings a smile to your face, too.


For the record, last year I read (or listened to):

• 35 audio books

• 8 kindle/e-books

• 21 paperbacks

and

• 37 hardbacks

(not counting picture books).

I hope I'm still allowed to love real books (and bookstores) most, even if I listen to that many audio books and I do buy some e-books in the mix...