Thank you postcards & children's promo

Today I completed 2 things that I had been working on. One was the thank you cards from our wedding. I really should have sent those out sooner (the celebration was almost 3 months ago) but my husband and I are both creative types and we didn't want to just buy regular thank you cards, opting instead to design our own thank you postcards. Since our actual wedding was an elopement and no one was invited, we thought it would be nice to send everyone a photo of us from the wedding. The front of the postcard looked like this:


©2007

The back side just had "thank you" printed all over it in a bunch of different fonts. I really like how it turned out. I love typography...

And the other thing that I finished was the promos I made to send to children's book publishers. I loved illustrating that children's book so I'm trying to get some more work in that area.


©2007

Sketch for my next promo

Random stuff on my desk at work...

©2007

I like the scissors.

Reference Material for Illustrators

At the talk I gave on Thursday I was asked about good reference books for contracts and copyright relating to illustration and children's books. These are the books that were recommended to me:

• Graphic Artists Handbook: Pricing and Ethical Guidelines by Kathie Abrams, ed. North Light Press.

• Children’s Book Writer and Illustrator’s Market (an annual catalogue of children’s book publishers, plus useful business chapters)

• Business and Legal Forms for Illustrators by Tad Crawford. Allworth Press.

The following websites were also recommended:
• http://www.underdown.org
• http://www.scbwi.org

SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) publishes a useful monthly newsletter with tips for writers and illustrators. They also sponsor critique groups, conferences, and portfolio reviews around North America. If you become a member, they have a bunch of useful pdf business handouts that you can download from their website.

Art Talk at ACAD

I just had the best evening. I did my illustration talk at ACAD tonight and it went really well. It was such a relaxed and comfortable environment. I brought my portfolio, a sketchbook, some of my paintings and some of my process. It was a pretty cool experience. It made me feel like a professional.

Thanks so much to Mike and Renata for inviting me and thanks to all their students for being such a great audience.

weathervane & a special invitation

© 2007

I have a lot on my mind these days. I can't seem to stop thinking and I feel so... heavy. I think it's time to make some changes...

I spent most of this past weekend in my studio. The weathervane is part of something that I've been working on. I thought it looked interesting at this stage and decided to share it.

I forgot to mention last week that I've been invited to give a talk to some students in an evening illustration class at the Alberta College of Art and Design. That's where I graduated from 5 years ago. The class is taught by one of my old instructors, Mike Kerr, and his wife, Renata Liwska. They're both amazing illustrators. Check out their work at www.wronghand.com . I'm very flattered that they've invited me.

Headless Stone Angel - red ink

© 2007

Red Train

© 2007

The most wonderful and satisfying weekend

This weekend I

• saw a comedian and laughed harder than I have in a long time
• had the most wonderful Saturday with my very best girl friend
• saw an old friend and her new baby
• made a delicious Mexican inspired supper
• had drinks with some people I'd been neglecting
• started my Christmas shopping
• enjoyed a snowy Sunday with my hubby
• worked on drawings for an illustration project I'm doing
• ate a pomegranate and drank tea in front of the fire


(in honor of the fluffy white snow that fell this morning)