beetlegrass

I Got a Hug from a Caldecott Winner!

... and an autograph, too! (I doctored his last name to ward against identity theft.)

Brian Selznick, the winner of the 2007 Caldecott Medal for The Invention of Hugo Cabret, spoke at RISD last night. He shared the trajectory of his lifelong & ongoing love of drawing and "making things" -- from his childhood (drawing on pants and himself; drawing monsters of which the teacher didn't approve), to his decision to go to RISD and his experiences while there (didn't want to be an illustrator of children's books, nor even an illustrator) and at Brown (developed a love of set design while working at that university's theater).

Really candid about his life after graduation and his path to freelancing when he realized that his three loves (drawing, telling stories, kids) might actually mean that he was, in fact, a children's book illustrator. :-)
Shared what triggers his imagination and storytelling, and his work process.
Can never hear enough about that from artists. That's the good stuff.

Greatly appreciated hearing his stories, inspirations, and seeing his artistic explorations through the years.
Thank you for that, Brian, and for being so willing to pass along what you've learned to the current (& former) students at your alma mater.

Brian and I had a couple of classes together while at RISD: Introduction to Freud (not an illustration class), and Theme & Variation (an illustration class) where Brian's images of starving children from a third world country, painted on a Happy Meal box, stands out as a memory.
Reminded him of that project last evening, and he told me that it had gotten thrown away from the school's art gallery, because a janitor thought it really was an unwanted fast food container! No!!!
Pretty realistic art piece, I'd say!

For more on Brian and his really cool award, here's a link to an article from projo.com.

Queen for the V-Day!

Click on images to see them larger.

   

(A tribute to Cheech & Chong in the left photo...)
Fun how old nursery rhymes include CORPORAL PUNISHMENT.
That's what's missing in modern kiddie lit.
Not near enough beatings.

   

Hey, Mr. DeMille, it's time for the Queen's close-up!
Here you can see the detail of ribbons that inspired this finger puppet -- from Martha Stewart's line that can be found at Michaels' craft stores.
Had been wanting to do a puppet along the lines of QE1 for awhile, ever since a friend suggested, "You should do all of Queen Elizabeth's costumes!" Then these perfectly-scaled ribbons came along, making it kind of impossible NOT to do a Queen of Hearts. 
Since arm bands tend to be for military or militant causes, thought it'd be a good joke for the Queen's arm bands to have the sentiment of "BE MINE". You know. Make LOVE. NOT war. That kind of thing.
Had a blast making HRH's hair, stitching and beading on a miniature scale.
Tarts here.

   

The South End of Queenie and a shot of her petticoats (she even has pantaloons!).The pink & red bakery string threaded through the eyelets is another Martha Stewart/Michaels find.
And? The red-and-white striped skirt? Is actually the ruffled neck from a blouse that my sister got for cheap-cheap at a thrift store, purchased cuz she thought that it'd make a good outfit for a puppet.
And indeed: she was right!
Sleeve caps are velvet.
Red heart lace was from Joann Fabrics -- got it 5-10 years ago to edge bookshelves and had some left over.
Pink bows were from the baby aisle in the craft store; peeled off foam tape backing, as their original purpose was as card embellishments.
Roses are also from the craft store, and they proved helpful in keeping the tart plate in place during the photo shoot.
Background scrapbooking paper is by Making Memories.

I made the crown from a short length of lace -- used a gold leaf pen on both sides, which adds luster AND rigidity.
Glued the jewels with The Ultimate!; attached one end of lace to the other using Fabri-Tac.

Hey, have a great Valentine's Day! <3

This puppet, its concept, design, and image are the property of Megan E. Jeffery.
These images are © Megan E. Jeffery.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Sketching from Kate Greenaway

Kate Greenaway has long been one of my favorite illustrators, most especially because of the way she captured clothing and costumes of a certain era.
There is always something that I can learn from studyng her work, and for me, there is no better to really LEARN than to grab my pencil (or pen as the case may be).
(In other words: there's LOOKING, and then there's DRAWING.)
I've had The Kate Greenaway Book since college, and when I'm researching or gathering ideas for a project, I come back to this great reference again and again.
Drawing these character/clothing studies also aids in figuring out costumes for my 3-D pieces.
Click on the images to see them larger in a pop-up window.

I liked the fact that Miss Greenaway used green as a shadow on the white clothing.
Wanted to emulate that.

Sometimes I wish we dressed like this nowadays.
I guess watching every Jane Austen film umpteen times will have to serve as a substitute.

Lotsa bows.
Lotsa lace.
Lotsa fabric.
Lotsa flowers.
And long gloves!

Images are © Megan E. Jeffery, 2008.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Creativity Quote, 2

This week's quote on creativity, thrown into a border design I've done sometime over the past 18 years.
This quote was recorded when I was a Senior at RISD, and I still get that "Yup" feeling upon reading it now.
Have always admired Sendak's illustrations, but am equally impressed with how he captures feelings/concepts with words and is illustrative in that translation, too.
Another bit of wisdom in this Sendak creativity quote.

Flashback Friday (1965) : 42 on 24

This Monday I will successfully complete another year of life.
And by "successfully", I don't mean to imply "not riddled with failure", just mean: I'm still here!
Monday is a few days off, though ... anything can happen ...

This is a sweet little "Hey, you had a baby!" card sent to my parents.

It's from my (Great) Aunt Helen and (Great) Uncle Lou??? Len??? What was his name? (Help me, Jane.)
I barely remember these people, but she might be the aunt who had to sleep sitting up.
In any case, it's nice to know that while THRIFTINESS is a generational trend, TARDINESS seems to have been weeded out. (For the most part.)

 

Above: Me at one day old, Somerset Hospital, Somerville, New JOISEY!
Can you tell I am to become a future business owner? Look at my little hand reaching out to shake yours!
My maternal grandmother taught me a very important lesson, that had hand-shaking as a part of it.

"What do you say when you meet someone?"
"How do you do? How do you do?"

Today's Finds

Treasures purchased today at the Seekonk Speedway Flea Market.

Above: Kid's play phone, tin, with a bell that works, $7.

Above: Tin Picnic Basket, $7.

Above: So excited about these placemats, 4 for $2. They have that classic children's illustration look, with girls, boys, fruit, and they're table linens! Someone fetch my smelling salts, I'm feeling faint.

Above: This is a Road Danger Lantern, $14, complete with a lamp inside. Loved its graphic pizzazz.

Above: Bedspread, $8. Getting this inspired me to put up the pink letters I got back in November. It also inspired me to dust, change my dust ruffle, and to make my bed for once in my life. All that motivation for only $8.

Above, left: A nice big chunk of barkcloth (4 yds. long) with an exceptional graphic, $15.
Above, right: A doll-sized granny square blanket, $4. The navy was a misstep, but whuddayagunnado?

$57 total. More than I usually like to spend, but the picking was sooo sweet today.

Click on any image to see it larger in a pop-up window.

Investigative FairyTale-ologist

My latest promotional postcard, printed at Modern Postcard. Ever since I made this pillow (half Matreshka, half LRRH), I've been wanting to do a piece that was very intentional about being LittleRedRidingHood-centric.

Did a little investigative research for this piece, trying to discover what exactly was in her basket. I found many conflicting reports, as this is a story that's been told and re-told many many times.
Here's what some of the versions had her cartin' off to her Grandmother's house:

• Custard & a Pot of Butter
• Cake & a Pot of Butter
• A Piece of Cake & a Bottle of Wine
• Custards, Cheesecakes & a Pot of Butter
• Custard & a Pot of Sweetmeats
• Cheesecakes & a Little Pot of Butter
• Fresh Butter, New-Laid Eggs & a Nice Cake
• Pat of Butter (see? pat, and not pot, interesting) & a Bottle of Blackberry Wine
• Butter, Cake, 6 New-Laid Eggs
• Fresh Cookies

Since there was such a discrepancy amongst the accounts, I felt freed up to give her a bottle of wine (for a nod to the old versions of the story) and two CUPcakes. Cupcakes allowed me to stick in a couple of cherries, which are fun and made for some more polka dots in the picture.

If you'd like one of these big postcards (they're 6 x 8.5"), please click on the "E-MAIL ME" link in the left hand column. Send me an e-mail with the subject line: POSTCARD (so I don't mistake you for one of my Spambot friends), and be sure to include your mailing address. I won't be bombarding you with scraps of paper for all eternity, nor will I be selling your name to anyone. This is just a little "hi!" from me to you. :-)

Meg's Mailbag (4)

There is a high Tee-Hee factor for my sister because I am The World's Foremost Leading Draw-er of Donkeys. Because of this, she sent me this 1963 book, written & illustrated by Betty Morgan Bowen. Fits neatly into The Month of Love, too, so thanks!

Click on the pages to see them larger in a pop-up window, so that you too can experience the love of a donkey.

   

There is some really nice linework and black/white interplay on these pages. I like how the old man's legs are rendered in the first illustration. Just a couple of swoopie-doos. That's the technical term, for all you young illustrator-wannabes. Learn it. Know it. Be it.
 

An exerpt from the book:

"But we can't take the donkey. It would be quite impossible to take him. No one told me you owned a donkey. I assumed he belonged to you -- your Fraulein whoever-she-is! We're to fly to Switzerland, you and I! All the arrangements are made!"

Above: Awww, a blissful little happy-ending drawing, proving once again that all you need in life to be content are: a crown of flowers, an old man, and a donkey.

Dish Towel Graphix

A tea towel that I got at a church tag sale... the graphics are really wonderful...
Note the heart petals on the flowers...

Rooster's waddle is a heart...

This house looks friendly, like it'd say "Hi!" upon your return...
Note: little white "shrubs" are hearts...

Hand-holding: a lost art, really...

Note: pigs' ears are hearts...

I <3 Vintage Linens.  I should get a bumper sticker that says that.  (IS there a bumper sticker that says that???)

A-Museum-ing We Did Go

Went to the RISD Museum yesterday to see From Goodnight Moon to Art Dog:The World of Clement, Edith, and Thacher Hurd, which runs 'til July 23rd, 2006.

You are greeted by a life-size version of the Goodnight Moon room.

From the little brochure thing:

"The Hurd family has created more than 100 children's books over the past 70 years, many of them considered classics of the genre.  This exhibition celebrates the beloved work of these authors and illustrators, including The Runaway Bunny (1942), Goodnight Moon (1947), Johnny Lion's Book (1965), Mama Don't Allow (1982), and Art Dog (1996)."

In the next rooms, there are several pretend-play opportunities for kidlets,as well as a sweet place for them to sit and read some books (see the room below).  The docent watching this area came and sat down in the yellow rocking chair.  So I went up to him and said, "An old docent whispering, 'Hush...'" and got no love.  Remind me to 'read' my audience better, ok?

Did a little sketching in another room of the museum waiting for the day's speaker... here's a strange brew of chairs and a head:

In conjunction with the Goodnight Moon exhibit, six recent RISD Illustration Department grads are discussing their work in the field of children's books and more. Yesterday's speaker was Grace Lin. 

She showed her work from school days, and talked about how she found her own 'style' and 'voice' for her books that capture the Asian-American culture and experience in a happy, colorful, and pattern-y way.  While she was talking, an editor of hers, Harold Underdown showed up quite coincedentally, not knowing that Grace would be there that day!  Fun!

If you're going to be in Providence before July 23rd, and you have little kids, I heartily recommend the Good Night Moon exhibit!  Lots of other family activities planned around this event, check them out!