A Norma Rae Moment

The good and kind Laura Purdie Salas just tagged me with this shiny Versatile Blogger Award. Not so sure how versatile I actually am, but I'll just go with it... There are some rules that I need to follow now, so bear with me as I am traditionally pretty awful at reading directions. I need to:

1. Thank the person who bestowed the award on you
2. List seven random facts about yourself
3. Spread the love by passing along the award to five other bloggers – and let them know

Thank you so much, Laura! I hope that 2012 brings you all you would wish yourself! *hugs* Laura is a very talented poet and an equally wonderful lady, I love that she is local and that I get to bump into her at kid book events.

Ok, Seven Random Facts about me...

1. My favorite pop is Dr. Pepper.

2. I have lived in Minnesota my whole life but have never been to Canada.

3. My Pink Pearl eraser has gone missing... *sob*

4. Riding horses is my all-time favorite sport, but I haven't been on horseback since I was 7 months pregnant with my eldest (and that was over 9 years ago). Gah!

5. Currently addicted to Downton Abbey.

6. I once accidentally stabbed through my sneaker with a pitchfork and did NOT injure my foot. I know, right!?!

7. My favorite song right now is The Roller by Beady Eye.

I'd like to pass this award on to some local groovy art chicks that I adore:

Alicia Schwab, Anne Adix Fabie, Barb Björnson, Sara Weingartner, and Sharon Wagner.

Also, many thanks to everyone who has stopped by because of the 2012 Comment Challenge. I have enjoyed your kind comments very much and it has been especially nice to find all sorts of fab new blogs to visit! Cheers!

Hodgepodge

Hello, Hello! Look at Baby Gordy! It is almost his birthday! On October 9th he will be ONE! His favorite time of year has arrived: our backyard has turned into an all-you-can-eat leaf buffet! This past Saturday was the Minnesota SCBWI Fall Conference. It was really fantastic. After handling all of the conference registration it was fun to see folks walk in that morning and see their smiling faces (although I felt like a nerd behind the desk). Jay Asher, the author of Thirteen Reasons Why, was our keynote speaker that morning and he shared his journey to publication with us. He is an excellent and engaging speaker, and also a very nice guy! Jay also talked to us about injecting suspense into any novel, which was super interesting. My plan is to file it away in my brain in case I ever decide to write anything... The rest of the conference was great: it was fun to listen to all of the speakers and try to let it all soak in. My portfolio review was with Janet DeCarlo of Storybook Arts. She is just the nicest lady ever! I had a review with her 3 years ago and couldn't believe that she even remembered me! It was great to have the opportunity to thank her for all of the great advice she gave me years ago. She was very kind and gave me a lot of great ideas for new things to add to my portfolio. It was just wonderful! That was probably my favorite part of the conference. I also got to listen to editors Heather Alexander and Jordan Brown give their impressions of the first pages of manuscripts submitted by conference attendees. It was wildly entertaining to hear what they had to say after these pages were read aloud to the lot of us. It was a great conference and the weather was gorgeous. Minnesota is absolutely beautiful in the fall! Oh, and Susan Marie Swanson read a quote by Naomi Shihab Nye in her keynote speech that really stuck with me:

"Be modest, brave, and hopeful forever." How lovely!
Onto Mural no. 2! We began with painting the blue sky and green grass (same colors as the other room). Actually, my husband did all of the painting... Isn't he great!?!
Better than Astroturf!
Grab your sunglasses! The closet is very, very YELLOW!!!
Here I am drawing on the wall again... Let the painting begin!!!

Yesterday was the first day of a little gallery show I am in with a bunch of great art friends: Barb Björnson, Anne Adix Fabie, Alicia Schwab, Sharon Wagner, and Sara Weingartner. Our art will be at the Good Samaritan Society (Westview Acres Apartment & Assisted Living Home, 433 W. 5th St., Waconia, MN 55387) until the end of the year. Such fun!

Here Kitty Kitty

These are the cats that live at my friend Sharon's house. They are VERY cute, and quite good at trouble-making. You can see more of Sharon's lovely work here and here. How the heck are ya? I'd really love to know! Are you having a good day, on your 3rd cup of coffee, going to the grocery store??? I am about to have a nice cup of tea. Cheers!

Update Update

Hey, There! I am happy to share that my website has been updated, please visit www.ninacrittenden.com if you get a chance. The Minnesota SCBWI Conference on Saturday was great- such wonderful speakers and terrific friends! I feel very inspired! I am looking forward to taking an illustration class this fall (it starts tonight!) and learning as much as I can. Congratulations to my friend Sharon Wagner on winning the 2009-2010 MNSCBWI Illustrator Mentorship with the very talented Carrie Hartman!

Sharon Wagner

Hats off to Sharon! She totally rocked my coloring page! Wow! I love it! Ok, here's the skinny on Sharon Wagner: She is an amazing artist, a fellow Minnesota SCBWI member, CBIG member, and one of my wonderful art friends! She is also a skilled baker, cat wrangler, and happens to have the same birthday as me (only 23 shopping days left)! Make sure to check out her website and blog! I feel so honored that she did my coloring page! Thanks, Sharon!!! In other news: I painted the title page illustration for the book, and just finished inking a double-page spread today! So fun! I love it! Though, I must take leave of my work for a couple days as I will be attending the Minnesota Association of Veterinary Technicians annual convention. Though I am not currently working as a tech, I have been one since 1997, and need to keep up my certification (I live in fear of having to re-take that exam. The horror!). I need to be prepared in case a woodchuck has a soup can on it's head, a cat has a toy truck's wheels wound tightly in it's fur, or a hamster needs CPR. Okay, I assisted with the first two examples, but have never done the third....yet. I wonder if they are offering that at the convention this year?

Cute

This is the drawing my almost-six-year-old came up with for her birthday party invitations. The green penguin's name is "King" and he is standing by the mom penguin, and just above the baby penguin (the tiny purple thingy). I would like to welcome my friend Sharon Wagner to the world of blogging- check her out, her artwork is amazing!