NESCBWI 2013 Conference Recap

I presented a workshop at the NESCBWI Regional Conference this past Saturday, moderating a panel of art directors during an anonymous illustrator's critique. The following gifs serve both as my recap and commentary of my Conference experience.

When I met my amazing panel of art directors:

Finishing my workshop with only a few snags and having no one come at me with pitchforks and torches afterwards:

When I got to the Conference bookstore:

When I saw so many illustrator friends at the Portfolio Showcase:

This year my longtime friend Matthew Althof joined me for his first conference ever. By the end of the day we were both like this:

See you at the hotel bar!

Help Fund NecronomiCon-Providence!

Calling all fans of the cosmic and the weird! Your help is needed to support New England's premier festival celebrating the work of Howard Phillips Lovecraft: Necronomicon-Providence!

This convention will be unlike any The Creative Capital has hosted before. There is a great line-up of renowned scholars, writers, filmmakers, & artists set to speak, as well as lots of interesting panels, film screenings, walking tours, and other activities. The super-friendly guys at NecronomiCon have secured one of Providence's most beautiful venues for this event, Lovecraft's own favorite, The Biltmore Hotel. There is going to be so much in store I'm sure Lovecraft himself would approve! Help is now needed to pay for the associated costs that are due well in advance of the event, so a Kickstarter campaign has been set up with tons of great rewards:

Please contribute! With any luck, I'll be in their bazaar selling and signing copies of The Antarctic Express, a children's book retelling of At the Mountains of Madness, so I really want this to happen! I've missed the boat on several great Kickstarter projects before and I'm not going to let this one slip away.

Visit the NecronomiCon Kickstarter page to donate and head to http://necronomicon-providence.com/ for future updates. Thanks!

ICON7 Recap From a Hanger-On

The Illustration Conference (aka ICON) descended into Providence last week and it was a blast from beginning to end. While I couldn't actually attend the event myself, I did the next best thing: be a hanger-on to those who did!

First, I decided to play hostess to two amazing attendees, illustrators Jamie Hogan and Natalya Zahn. These lovely ladies made the perfect houseguests who regaled me with tales of the conference every night, hung out with my RISD friends at dinner, and contributed artistic expertise during my local SCBWI critique group meeting. Jamie even brought fresh lobster from Maine for us to enjoy opening night!

Baked lobster stuffed with Panko breadcrumbs. Delish!

Next, I went to every segment of the conference that was open to the public, and thankfully that was a lot. The opening reception of the RISD ICONS art show was practically a mini-college reunion. I got to visit with award-winning classmates and friends I hadn't seen in years, including comic artists Paolo Rivera and Joe Quinones, editorial illustrator Daniel Hertzberg, and many, many others. The collection of art that decorates the walls of Woods-Gerry is something to behold, so if you're local to RI you should see it! The exhibition closes on June 24th.

Fellow RISD grad, SCBWI member, and MN illustrator Erik Johnson scored tickets to the keynote with comic art legends Lynda Barry and Matt Groening, and he graciously took me with him! The hilarious interplay between Lynda and Matt as they shared their early work was a treat to watch, as was the obvious love, respect, and sheer wit that infuses their decades-long friendship.

Finally, though I didn't get to fill my head with the knowledge that was presented at the workshops, I didn't come home empty-handed. There was swag galore at the RhodeShow Bazaar...

My ICON7 poster signed by Chris Buzelli!

Paolo and Joe even gave me one of the signed prints from their collaborative project...

And Jamie and Natalya left copies of their gorgeous books for me!

Needless to say, being an unabashed hanger-on has its perks. Thank you to all my friends, both old and new, the organizers of ICON, RISD, and my beloved city of Providence for making last week one to remember.