Everybody Reads Week - P.S. 87 - May 11

Cover Sketch based on Student's Suggestions

Every year now for...hmmm? 6-8 years? I've been part of Everybody Reads Week at P.S. 87 on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

It's an amazing week long event with people from the community, including, fire fighters, police officers, council people, actors, authors, illustrators, moms and dads, etc. doing presentations and reading to the classes.

The week is also filled with activities for the students around books. I'm usually there on the day students (and faculty) dress as their favorite book characters. So fun and funny!

This year, I shared a draft of my new picture book about a little girl named Mabel who rides the orphan train.

After giving a power point presentation that included the book draft with illustrations, historical information about Mabel and some of the other real life characters, history of the orphan train, etc., I opened up a discussion with attending students - 1 second grade class and 2 third grade classes. The students had great ideas for possible book titles, cover illustrations, comments on what they thought of the book, what could be added, what might be missing. They were full of questions about what happened to the real Mabel. Luckily, I could tell them that she had  lived a good, long, full life.

Shown is the draft of a cover sketch based on the ideas of a student.

Creative Collaboration - Orphan Train Project - April 25

Closing Our Eyes to Envision the Best Cover

As an author/illustrator, much of my work is done alone. However, to create the best possible book, I share my projects with others and benefit from the gift of their reactions, suggestions and ideas.

One of my current projects is a picture book based on a real little girl named Mabel, who lived in a New York City orphanage at the turn of the century. In the early 1900s, Mabel rode an orphan train across the country to a new home in the Midwest.

I have reached the stage in this project where I need feedback from the target audience, young people.

A big "thank you" to Jo Umans, Behind the Book, for arranging a sharing of my book draft with Ms. Amy's 2nd grade class at P.S. 125 Ralph Bunche School, Manhattan, NY, in April.

Before reading the book draft aloud, I set the early 1900's stage, a time when unwanted, homeless and orphan children could be found living on the street. By the 1900's, laws were in effect that these children would be gathered and placed into homes and orphanages. Hoping to leave behind the days when children were left on the street to fend for themselves.

This information prompted students to discuss what an orphan was and to share ideas of what they
would do if they found themselves without parents. I admired their ideas and how they listened to each other and built on ideas and came up with additional plans. It was an empowering situation of coming up with solutions.

Children who rode the orphan trains were the forerunners to today's foster children. Both groups had and have good experiences and bad experiences. One of the classroom students, knowing about what things can happen to children, voiced his concerns about how were we sure that these orphan train children were taken care of. I explained that there were things in place to help with this, but there was no assurance and it couldn't be very thorough, but that we could do things today if we saw something that didn't seem quite right.

This lead to another classroom discussion of who we could trust to report something to if we saw something that didn't seem quite right...we could share our concerns with people that we felt safe with...this could be our parents, or a teacher, or a police officer, etc.

I was so grateful to these students and their teacher for their time, their suggestions and the depth of their compassion and their ideas of taking care of themselves and of others.

Thank you! P.S. 125.

Mean Pony

Mean Pony sketch

When my nephew, Lucas, was little, he wanted the story of Mean Pony. I loved the idea and worked on it, complete with full sketch dummy and finishes.

Turns out the book was a little too mean and angry for the general population. So, Mean Pony is still a work in progress because I love the title and idea. 

The book is about an angry pony that lashes out and scares people away and the cycle begins. Because she lashes out people leave her alone and because no one gives her kind attention, she lashes out.

Eventually, a little boy changes the cycle by overlooking the anger and being kind.

Kindness is always the way to go. Sometimes people, and ponies, just need some positive attention.

A Happy New Year

"Sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater power than defending or hanging on." 

-Eckhart Tolle

On a regular basis most of us need to be reminded to be free, be ourselves, and not hang on to things that we really don't want afterall.

The most miserable people I've met are the ones who hold on to things that make them unhappy because they are afraid to let go and have a life they would truly enjoy.

As Julia Cameron says, "Leap and the net will appear." 

Wishing you all a brave, happy, free, adventurous new year filled with making changes toward the life you want.

Writing / Illustrating Exercise

Writing and illustrating cards for family and friends is one of my favorite ways to exercise and improve my skills at drawing and putting words and paint on paper.
It's also an activity that makes me very happy as I think of the people I love and how happy they will be to receive actual mail.

Working on My Craft

Back in class.

I am now enrolled in a gouache painting class with Rachel Grobstein.

Our first project: still life concentrating on recreating light values.

It's quite wonderful to be in class again. Great teacher, nice students and the thrill of improving my skills.

The Dream Catcher

Recently completed artwork for new book, "The Dream Catcher," written by Geraldine Haggard.
Available soon from Centering Corporation.

R