NESCBWI Winter Workshop Recap

Thank you to everyone who came down to Providence on Sunday for the New England SCBWI's Live Animal Study! RISD's Edna Lawrence Nature Lab was packed with artists and students for a delightful afternoon of sketching, networking, and fun. Humane Educator Laurelin Sitterly brought a selection of rescued animals from the RISPCA for the group to study, and she gave a wonderful presentation on each creature. It was so neat to watch other artists work, both from the live animals and the taxidermy models on hand at the lab, and I was dazzled by the talent at this event. Plus, there's no better place than the Nature Lab to spend a winter's afternoon!

One cannot be overly grateful to the RISPCA and RISD for sponsoring this workshop. By allowing us the use of the amazing facilities, models, and Laurelin's expertise at no cost, the New England SCBWI was able to invite everyone for free. Overwhelmingly positive reviews demand that we host more events like this, so look for another workshop in the near future!

Be sure to check out the recaps posted by some of the talented attendees:

• Natalya Zahn
• Michelle Martins
• Cat Smith
• Carolyn Arcabascio
• John Lechner

New England SCBWI Winter Workshop

The word is officially out on the workshop I'm coordinating for the New England SCBWI! There is still time to register, but hurry - seats are filling fast!

Live Animal Study: A Children's Book Illustrator's Workshop
Date: Sunday, February 26, 2012
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Place: The Edna Lawrence Nature Lab, 13 Waterman Street, Providence, RI 02903
Admission: FREE

Bring your sketchbooks, pencils, and light painting supplies and enjoy a rare opportunity to study a handful of live exotic (and some not-so-exotic) animals up close and personal!

RISPCA Humane Educator Laurelin Sitterly will present on each creature's basic anatomy, movement, and habits that will be sure to inspire you and provide a wealth of knowledge for your animal-themed book projects. Taxidermy and skeletal models will also be available to examine, courtesy of RISD's Edna Lawrence Nature Lab.

This is an event to gather inspiration from the animal world, practice your craft amidst an active environment, meet your fellow SCBWI illustrators, and benefit from a critique of your day's efforts by your peers.

RSVP by February 17, 2012 by completing the registration form and sending it back to me as an e-mail attachment. I hope to see you there!

Save the Date!

Clear your calendars on February 26th and come on down to the Creative Capital! You're invited to a fun and FREE illustrator's workshop (better start sharpening those pencils now) sponsored by the NESCBWI, RISPCA, and RISD!

More details on this will be posted soon, so stay tuned...

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.

Minnesota SCBWI 2011 Summer Workshop Recap

Despite the downpour of rain, the Minnesota SCBWI Summer Workshop went off without a hitch! We appreciate everyone who took time out of the Father’s Day weekend to attend and make it a success.

The event was one of our dual-tracked workshops (two speakers, two audiences and two activities), united under the single theme of preparation and formatting.  Speakers Andy Hueller and Shawn McCann were very easygoing and amiable in their presentations, and dutifully answered questions afterwards. Later, the group split into their respective disciplines and reviewed the portfolio and manuscript materials brought in by attendees.

Illustrators participated in a “Peer-to-Peer”-type of review, where we (somewhat) anonymously filled out surveys for each portfolio at the workshop (when you’re already friends with everyone there, it can be hard to be totally anonymous!). This activity was something I’d practiced while a student at RISD, and it works really well for large groups. Each participant critiques each portfolio according to the prompts on the survey, and each participant can then take home a varied written record of impressions and opinions on their work.

As always, it was a pleasure to organize this event for our members. I hope that it’s helped those who are planning to attend the National SCBWI Summer Conference or hope to apply to the upcoming Minnesota SCBWI Mentorship Competition.  More details on that will be posted on the website in the next few weeks, so check back soon!