2012 Comunidad Foundation Fundraiser

Comunidad is a non-profit organization formed by ArtAndes, a dealer of high-quality, hand-woven textiles from Peru.  The organization works with the indigenous people of Paccha, a mountain village in the Peruvian highlands, whose lives and communities were decimated by the Shining Path terrorist group. Comunidad is dedicated to providing the community with the tools and resources they need to get back on their feet.

This year celebrates Comunidad's 10-years of service to the people of Paccha. Everyone is invited to a special night of great food, live music, a silent auction, a raffle for hand-woven tapestries, and much more!

Fundacion Comunidad Annual Fundraiser
Date: Saturday, April 21, 2012
Time: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Place: Art Andes Showroom, Northrup King Building, 1500 Jackson Street NE #285, Minneapolis, MN 55413
Fee: $60 per person ($40 tax-deductible). RSVP by April 17th.

I'm continuing my tradition of donating custom artwork to the silent auction, where I will create a one-of-a-kind portrait of the winning bidder's loved one. This prize has been very effective at raising funds for Comunidad over the years, so I'm hoping for repeat success!

For more information about this event and to purchase tickets, please visit Fundacion Comunidad.

Pick my new Business Card!

Happy Monday! I got these fabulous business card designs today from my talented graphic designer friend Cathy at Lotz Design. Some time ago, when completely stumped at making my own logo, Cathy came to my rescue with the beautiful design you see in my website banner. Now she's designed two equally classy business cards for me, and I can't decide which one I love best! Check these out and let me know which design gets your vote:

I'm also soliciting opinions on which illustration to use on the back:

Cast your vote (both for front and back) below, or message me through Facebook or Twitter. 

Happy President's Day!

Today I want to celebrate the culmination of 6 years of hard work by Split Rock Studios and my very talented museum exhibit designer husband. One of his projects, redesigning the Ford's Theatre Museum and the Center for Education and Leadership, has been getting a lot of press lately. The project was featured most recently on "American Artifacts: Life, Death and Legacy of Abraham Lincoln," which aired on CSPAN3. Here's the preview which contains a glimpse of my husband installing the famed Tower of Books:

I'm so proud of him! The Center for Education and Leadership is celebrating President's Day with an Open House, at which my husband will be speaking, so if you're in the Washington, D.C. area today you should definitely stop by!

Artistic Goals for the New Year

From my friend Izzy's blog (artist unknown):

My artistic goals for 2012 may be a bit more involved than this, but they're still attainable. Among other things, they include:

1. Launching a slew of new sections and features to my website that I'm currently working on behind-the-scenes.
2. Updating my mailing list of publishers, art directors, and other industry pros.
3. Designing a new promotional postcard and sample packet with my new RI contact information to send to the above mailing list.
4. Joining a subscription-based online portfolio website like That's My Folio, Childrens Illustrators, and others.
5. Flexing my illustrator event coordination muscles again, hopefully through the NESCBWI, but independently as well.
6. Completing the #PBDummy Challenge once and for all!

I'm best motivated by threats and shame, so hold me to it, friends! Have a safe and wonderful New Year!

Art, Books, Food, and Fun This Weekend

I could spend the weekend bemoaning the fact that I’m too far away to attend the Minnesota SCBWI 2011 Fall Conference (it’s going to be awesome and missing it is truly lamentable), but that would annoy the heck out of my husband. Fortunately, there is plenty to console me out here. Behold what I’m spending my money on instead of paying bills:

RISD By Design
Date: October 14 – 16, 2011
Time: Varies; check the schedule for each day’s events.
Place: Rhode Island School of Design, 2 College Street, Providence, RI 02903
Admission: Varies; registration is at the door.

RISD By Design is for the entire RISD family. The fully-loaded weekend features a variety of programs, workshops, open studios, dinners, and other festivities for alumni, students, friends, and family. The Alumni Art Sale and the festival at Tillinghast Farm are not to be missed! Follow this link for the full schedule.

Rhode Island Festival of Children’s Books & Authors
Date: Saturday, October 15, 2011
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Place: Lincoln School, 301 Butler Avenue, Providence, RI 02906
Admission: $5 plus extra for books.

The Lincoln School will be holding their annual children’s festival with an exciting array of presentations and book signings for the public. Several nationally acclaimed authors and illustrators will be there, including Chris Van Allsburg, Gail Carson Levin, Kadir Nelson, and others. Food will be available on campus, and professional development credits are available. Follow this link for a full schedule.

Rhode Island Seafood Festival
Date: Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Place: India Point Park, Providence, RI 02906
Admission: Free.

The first annual RI Seafood Festival promises the finest seafood Rhode Island and southern New England have to offer, a variety of beer and wine from local distributors, and dancing to free live music from local bands performing on the pier stage. Visit http://riseafoodfest.com/ for directions, food prices, and other information.

This is only a sampling of events coming up this month right here in town. Thanks to all the businesses and organizations for their sponsorship! I’m going to do my best to pack in as much as possible over the weekend.