Drawn to Spring 2013 Recap

This past weekend marked another successful Kid Lit Salon event: Drawn to Spring! Several friends and I explored the offerings of the Harvard Museum of Natural History - and then later, the offerings of John Harvard's Brewery. We sketched life-size animal models and taxidermy specimens, chatted and caught up with one another, and then shared the morning's work over a meal. This was my first time visiting that particular museum and I could've easily spent several more hours there! We are definitely doing this event again in the future.

Huge thanks Jason Hart of Raspberry Productions for providing the idea and event logo, all of the talented New England illustrator-writers for attending, and my friend Diane for watching all my resident animals so my husband and I could make this day trip to Boston.

Stay tuned for more Kid Lit Salon events in the coming months! Send me an e-mail or connect with me on Facebook if you'd like to be on the mailing list.

Drawn to Spring 2013

Event logo by Jason Hart.

Celebrate spring with children's book writers and illustrators at a field trip to The Harvard Museum of Natural History! We’re going to spend the morning gathering inspiration from the best scientific displays and natural exhibits that the museum has to offer. All are welcome to explore with new sketches, write a children’s poem, develop a character or story idea, research a scene, or experiment with creative techniques. Look closer and dig deeper into your imagination!

Kidlit Salon: Drawn to Spring
Date: Saturday, April 6, 2013
Time: 10:00 a.m. to noon
Place: The Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA
Fee: Free to join with $12 admission to the museum.

Meet at the Oxford Street Entrance at 10 a.m. The group will explore the museum until noon, and afterwards will convene at John Harvard's Brewery (33 Dunster St.) for a drink and to show each other our work. This is a great chance to mingle with some of your fellow kidlit enthusiasts!

To register, go to drawntospring2013.eventbrite.com or use the form below:

Minnesota SCBWI 2011 Winter Field Trip Recap

Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody! For those of you who shied away from this past weekend’s Minnesota SCBWI Winter Field Trip because you were wary of our new experiment, rest assured: it wasn’t a complete disaster! Only one person got lost in the conservatory (me), and we met some new members. For a first try, the turnout wasn’t bad at all!

Needless to say, it was fantastic to see so much greenery this time of year, not to mention feel warm all the way through for the first time in months! Como Park Conservatory is now my favorite place to visit during these cold MN winters. It’s prime real estate for drawing, scoping out a few animals, and people-watching.

Read a very nice recap of the event from attendee and new member Scott Spinks. Thanks to all the enthusiastic artists who joined us for a lovely time! I’m sure we’ll be doing this again next year!