Spring Break

We checked out a garter snake at our local library on Monday.

Had a fun time playing with cousins on Tuesday and went to the Minnesota Zoo on Wednesday. What a fabulous bullfrog. Don't you just love him! The herps on the Minnesota Trail are my faves. I also luv that there are three different otter species at the MN Zoo. All of the critters were out and about, which was super lucky. Except for the armadillo, which is asleep every single time I've ever been to the zoo.... O_o

On Thursday, we went to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts to visit our friends Shawn McCann and Henri Matisse.  Shawn painted a fun Matisse photo booth and murals. He is amazing!

(This is Shawn)

We found an fabulous million dollar car,  

 located my favorite painting,

and ran into the one and only Kate diCamillo in the Matisse exhibit! 

She was super nice and chatted with my kids about dogs.

Friday brought a foot of fresh snow and more play time with cousins. I participated in Sketch Dailies for the first time and had fun sketching Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes. 

It was a very nice vacation and we are really looking forward to 

warmer temps next week! Aloha!

Showtime

This is a painting that I will be showing with fellow CBIG members at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts in Minneapolis. The opening reception is tonight and there will be cookies!

"Exploration and Creativity: An exhibition from the Minnesota Children's Book Illustrators Guild"

When: April 8 - June 20, 2010

Where: Minnesota Center for Book Arts
1011 Washington Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55415
612-215-2520

Opening Reception: Tonight, April 8th, 6-8pm

Members exhibiting:

Barb Bjornson, Sara Weingartner, Franklin Haws, Alicia Schwab, MaryBeth Hinrichs, Chris Dyrud, Sharon Wagner, James Powell, Shawn McCann, Beth Wilson, Christina Rodriguez, Lorrie Gibson, Nina Crittenden, Vicki Deutsch, Linnell Esler, Tessie Bundick, Eileen Matro, Dawn Schreiber, and Anne Adix Fabie.

*Special thanks to Shawn McCann for organizing this event for us!*

Honorable Mention

I feel honored to mention that I received an honorable mention at the Reflections show last night along with my friend and fellow illustrator, Barb Bjornson. Best In Show went to the talented and deserving Shawn McCann, who is an amazing artist and a fantastic guy! It was a really wonderful evening, and I enjoyed visiting with lovely art friends and hearing the poets read their winning poems. Have a great weekend, everyone!
p.s. just added a photo Christina took from the show. There is my painting (though these folks are clearly looking at the painting below mine....)

Shawn McCann

My friend and fellow MNSCBWI and CBIG member, Shawn McCann, took the coloring page idea and ran with it, creating fabulous Valentines! Aren't they wonderful!?! Wow! He posted them on his blog, too, along with sheets of valentines for you to print at home! Very cool! Shawn has been a illustrating like crazy lately, one of his books just won an award, and he is the 2009 MNSCBWI illustration mentor! Very inspiring, and you'd be hard pressed to find a nicer guy!

Chapter One

After being contacted by Alma Little, sending in sketches, and signing the contract; I am now starting to work on the storyboard and layout for the book. I feel a bit relieved because everyone I have talked to at Alma Little has been extremely nice and helpful. Plus, I can always count on my wonderful art friends for advice and support. The artist's reception for the gallery show was nice, and I did a lot of painting this weekend (in my kitchen and dining room). I am bummed that my mentorship with Christina is almost over, and I am excited for the next mentorship winner because they will get a chance to work with Shawn McCann. So cool.