by abby on May 13, 2013 | Comment
Wow, time is flying—but it’s finally Children’s Book Week! Hooray! I remember writing about this in cold wintery March and thinking May was a long ways away, but wow did it arrive fast.
In case you have forgotten, Children’s Book Week a nationwide celebration of reading and books that has been happening since 1919. To celebrate, libraries, book shops, and towns have special events planned ALLLL this week. You can find the listing of events by state here.
On the CBW website, they have a few great activities for kids and parents too. One of my favorites are the Story Starters. A handful of children’s authors have started a story and then invite a child to finish it. The Story Starters come as printable PDFs and some like Mo Williams are designed as a comic book where the child can draw and write the conclusion of the story. Cool, right?!
Be sure to share the joy of reading with a child or teen this week!
OH AND….
{Make a Wish digital watercolor print, Size 6″ x 6″}
My Make A Wish print is now available in my Etsy Shoppe!
by abby on May 6, 2013 | Comment
Has it been a very busy start to May for you too? Last week was so busy with books and art that I didn’t even get a chance to blog about what I was doing! Thankfully, I’m working at a much more sane pace this week and I can share with you what I’ve been creating.
I’m in my full painting mode to create lots of new artwork for the TWO ROCHESTER SUMMER ART FESTIVALS. I’ll be in one in early August and one in early September. I’ll be sharing more information on these upcoming events next month once I know booth locations and schedules.
August and September may seem a long ways away, but I’m a one woman show, so it takes lots of energy and organization to prepare and create for two weekend art festivals. Currently, I’m in the most fun part of my preparation—the creation of new paintings and new playful paper goods!
After the fantastic response I got from the Star Gazing illustration of a mother and daughter rabbit looking up into the night sky. I thought I’d create a sweet scene where a father and son can have their own night sky moment. Ta-da!
I’m very happy the final painting. I especially adore the little astronaut teddy bear the little boy rabbit is holding. Say it with me, “Awwwww…”
This painting will be available in my Etsy Shoppe soon as a high-quality digital watercolor print. The image size is 6″x 6″ centered on an 8″ x 8″ sheet of watercolor paper. If you can’t wait, you can pre-order the Make A Wish print by sending me an email. Otherwise, I will let you all know when new prints are in my Shoppe.
Did you ever star gaze with a parent or grandparent?
by abby on April 25, 2013 | Comment
Hooray for Friday and hooray for Spring sunshine here in upstate New York! It’s been a busy week getting back into the swing of book design and painting. My plan today is to have a great day at my drawing table working on the Birthday Parade illustration I’ve started. Cute, right? I’m working a little larger than I have recently to see if I can create great brush marks and washes in the painting. I’m letting the creativity flow!
Oh and I thought I’d give you a little peak into my sketchbook too. I usually keep my sketchbook close to my heart. Sketchbooks are visual journals for me. I write and draw in mine. Some of my sketch pages are for my eyes only and others can be shared with the world. Here are a couple that I do want to share:
{Animal characters—some of which ended up in the new painting on working on}
{“My Wishes” concept sketches. More to come on this project!}
This weekend, I’m celebrating Spring weather by watching some baseball with D (gooooo Mets!) and maybe even grilling out on our porch! Whoo-ooo!
What are you up to this weekend?
by abby on April 12, 2013 | Comment
In between book design and introducing myself to new publishers across the country I was able to find time to sit down and draw this week. It was an afternoon of explosive creativity! I was able to compose 3 new ideas for 3 new watercolor illustrations. I think that’s the most I’ve ever done in one sitting. I love that now my drawing table is actually covered in new drawings. Yay!
My head is already bubbling with new ideas for even more paintings. I seem to hibernate a little in winter, but I’m so excited to be feeling the flow all this creative energy again. I’m pushing myself to have several new painting and prints for Rochester’s summer art festivals.
Hope you have a great weekend!
by abby on April 4, 2013 | Comment
GIFT ALERT! With Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and graduations coming up in the next few months I thought I’d share with you a REALLY NEAT book. It’s a book about books (huge grin). It’s called MY IDEAL BOOKSHELF and in it more than 100 leading cultural figures (artists, designers, chefs, writers, musicians—you get the idea) share the books that have resonated with them. Some of the titles on their bookshelves have been from childhood and other are recent finds.
Each interview is paired with an illustration by Jane Mount of the colorful book spines and even personal objects found amongst the books. I found it amazing that many of us can names specific titles that we still can recall how the story shaped our thinking and made a mark in our hearts.
Once you open this book you cannot help but pose the same question to yourself. What would be on YOUR ideal bookshelf? Well, I thought it would be fun if I shared my own bookshelf illustration that answers the question. My shelf is a mixture of children’s books and “adult” books. I also tend to have several fun “nick-nacks” hanging out with my books.
Of course your shelf can change too. This is a snap shot of my bookshelf for today, but perhaps tomorrow it would be a little different. For instance, I might add in The Mists of Avalon when I’m channeling my inner goddess or I may rotate in The Omnivore Dilemma since it has truly affected how I think about food and cooking.
My IDEAL BOOKSHELF would even be a fun book for a book club meeting. In fact, at the back of the book Jane has supplied a template for you to add in your own titles. How much fun would it be to see the drawings of a group’s bookshelves!
MY IDEAL BOOKSHELF can be described as a love letter to books and would be a winner of a gift for any book lover.
So, what would be on your bookshelf? Post comments—I’d love to hear what people think!
by abby on April 1, 2013 | Comment
It’s Spring and I’ve hit favorite time to paint and create. I wanted to share with you one of my newest paintings! I call it Star Gazing and it features a Mother Rabbit and her Little Daughter snuggled together on a hill side looking up into the star-filled night sky.
I unveiled this painting to the public at RIT’s Spring Craft Festival 2 weeks ago and the reactions from customers visiting the AbbyDora Design table was instantaneous. I heard a lot of “Awwwwwwww” and “That’s so sweet”. It’s music to my ears! I think one of my goals with my art is to really channel the emotional connection between the viewer and the art. I know my favorite pieces are the ones where you can connect to them with your own life and memories.
The Star Gazing print is now available in my Etsy Shop. The original painting which is framed in a natural wood frame is also available for purchase. If you you would like more information about the framed painting please send me an email.
DON’T FORGET—I NEED YOUR VOTE TOO!
It’s the last week of voting!
I’ve entered into a holiday card contest at minted.com and I NEED YOUR VOTE TO WIN to have my Flying Dove card showcased on minted.com.
TO VOTE:
1. Click on the Dove Card above. It will take you to the the Flying Dove voting page.
2. Rank my card.
3. Follow the prompts to create a minted.com account. This occurs because to have YOUR VOTE COUNT you will must create a minted account. It’s quick and easy.
That’s it! Thank you!
by abby on March 18, 2013 | Comment
It’s a busy week! First off, THIS Friday I will be at the RIT Spring Art Festival from 8:30am-4:30pm. The Festival will be held in the lobby of the SAU on RIT’s campus. I’ll have a table filled with Spring art goodies! There will be NEW Spring prints (like the little fellow above) to share as well as cute Spring themed notecards and greeting cards perfect for Easter and Mother’s Day. I hope if you are in the area you will stop by to say hello .
Secondly, voting for the 6th Annual Children’s Choice Books Awards starts TODAY! The Children’s Choice Book Awards is the only national book awards program where the winning titles are selected by children and teens of all ages. There are 4 age categories: K-2nd, 3-4th, 5-6th, and Teens. Teachers, Librarians, and Bookseller also have a separate page where they can cast their own vote too.
Launched in 2008 by the Children’s Book Council and Every Child A Reader (The CBC Foundation), The Children’s Choice Book Awards program was created to provide young readers with an opportunity to voice their opinions about the books being written for them and to help develop a reading list that will motivate children to read more and cultivate a love of reading. Read more about the CCBA.
Happy Voting!
by abby on March 14, 2013 | Comment
My friend and I have started a new tradition. We are now meeting up about once a month or so and sharing our favorite illustrated books! A lot of the time they are illustrated picture books. It’s delightful to oooo and ahhh WITH someone in person over a great book. Not many of us have book clubs where we read children’s books, but I encourage you to throw in a YA or picture book book now and again. It’s fun!
I just had to share with all of you a couple of great finds. So in no particular order here are 2 AMAZING recently published picture books:
SHOE & BOOT by Marla Frazee
Life is grand for the two dogs: Boot & Shoe until one day a pesky squirrel shows up and causes trouble. This book is laugh out loud funny and has a sweet, tender ending too. 2 thumbs up.
A Perfect Day by Carin Berger
Carin’s collages have a poetic folk art feel. Plainly stated: they are magical. The simple text allows your eyes to slowly take in all the details in her collage compositions and the paper collage material too. Anyone who likes to paper collage should pick up this book.
These copies were borrowed from my local library, but I love both books so very much that I plan on adding them to my personal collection. OH and speaking of my personal collection. I forgot to tell you what my all time favorite picture is book on Tuesday. Drum roll please….my FAVORITE picture books is: Brave Irene by William Steig. It’s a classic. It’s even better when you’re Mom reads it out loud and really animates the wind’s voice. (Thanks Mom!)
So, while you are looking up these 2 new pictures you should look up Brave Irene too!
by abby on March 11, 2013 | Comment
Yesterday morning on NPR I heard a report that public transportation riding levels are up. That means more and more people across the country are taking trains, subways, buses, and ferries and have more time to READ!
A group of 3 college students from the Miami Ad School have come up with an innovative concept and app to reach those mass commuters on subways. The project is called Underground Library: A Simple Solution to help New York’s Empty Libraries.
The basic concept is this: Using near field communications (NFC) technology, commuters select the desired book from a list of popular titles listed on subway ads and read its first ten pages. Upon finishing and exiting the subway, the reader will be informed of the closest library location on a map from which they can pick up and read the rest of the book. Want to see this is action? Watch the trailer!
There are still several questions about the technical aspect of pulling this off, but I love the connection between modern reading on ereaders and phones and linking it to lending books from the library (whether you want to borrow the actual book or ebook file). Libraries are still wonderful and relevant resources!
I just used our local library last week. When was the last time YOU visited your local branch?
by abby on March 7, 2013 | Comment
Have you heard yet? Children’s Book Week is May 13-19th this year. CBW is a wonderful annual tradition where schools, libraries, and even families take time to recognize books for young people and the joy of reading. Sounds good to me!
CBW is actually the longest continual running national literacy initiative in the country. It was started back in 1913 by a savvy librarian named, Franklin K. Matthiews. He was the librarian of the Boy Scouts of America and began touring the country to promote higher standards in children’s books. He proposed creating a Children’s Book Week to focus the energies and attention on quality books for children from the key players in children’s publishing: the publishers, booksellers, and librarians. There’s more to this story here.
Today you can expect schools and libraries to offer fun events all across the country. The venues of participating bookstores and libraries are listed on the CBW website.
Best yet—you can even order your own FREE copy of the 2013 CBW Poster created by Caldecott Winner Illustrator: Brian Selznick. He is the creator of he Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck (I just finished reading Wonderstuck and it truly is fabulous as he tells 2 stories in 1 book. The first story is told with words and the second is told only with illustrations. Grab your own copy to see how he blends the two together!)
Finally the winners of the 2013 Children’s Choice Book Awards are announced live during Children’s Book Week at the Children’s Choice Book Awards Gala (think Academy awards of children’s literature). Voting opens in 2 weeks on March 19th and goes to May 9th. Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to remind you once the voting is available.
What’s the first book that comes to mind, when you are asked: “what’s your favorite children’s book?” I’ll tell you mine on Tuesday!
