Nearly done...

What a long week it's been!
Meetings, appointments, portfolio, life...

I was up late last night trying to get my illustration portfolio together. I got up super early this morning to get stuff printed off at OfficeMax. Now, I feel like taking a nap, but I have an interview to get ready for. Super excited, but somewhat nervous, too. I've never showed my illustrations before, and certainly have never interviewed for an illustrator position. The more I think about a career spent drawing, the more I want it. I'm just trying to keep an open mind. If nothing else, this interview is an opportunity to have an art director to look at my book and give me his opinion.

I get to goooooooo! :)

Have you ever stopped to take inventory of your junk?

Today, I searched my bookshelves and DVD stand for stuff to sell. Yup, it was time to part with some stuff in order to get something that is much more important. I sold my crap to Half Price Books, and now, I have the funds to go to Northern Ohio's Annual SCBWI Conference in September! Yay!!

Do I miss the junk? Surprisingly, no. Which I find rather odd. I usually feel so attached to my things that it makes me sad to throw out an old pair of tennis shoes. Something's different, I guess. I feel lighter now.

Now don't get me wrong -- I still have my favorite crap that I will keep near me. Like Walter the Hippo. Walter isn't going anywhere. And I have kept my favorite books.

Lesson learned: I used to take things for granted. I collected stuff just so I could have stuff. Now I look at it differently. The stuff I have is stuff I use. Walter? Yes, I use Walter. He's my huggy buddy when I'm feeling down. And sometimes he's handy when my cat won't leave me alone. Apparently, to a cat, Walter is quite intimidating. ;)

Sketching

Just a lazy night at home, sketching away...

Nothing good on television, so I took the sketch into Illustrator CS3...

excited... but can i go?

The annual conference for Northern Ohio's Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrations is coming up soon! Sadly, though, my current no-job situation has me low on funds. I'm hoping things will work out, but if not, I know there's always next year. Still, this conference is a wonderful opportunity to chat with fellow writers and illustrators, speak with representatives and editors from some major publishing houses, and show our artwork in the Illustrator's Showcase.

Illustration Friday - Double

MAD - Communication

This week's topic for Monday Art Day is Communication.
I love to write, and I started thinking about how no one really takes the time to write letters anymore. I have always loved getting letters, and even though receiving email is nice too, there's something missing.

IF - Breakfast

A designer's breakfast.

Bloggity, blog, blog... blahhh

I've noticed that I'm not a very good blogger. I'd like to say it's because I'm way too busy with this-and-that to maintain a blog, but that's just not true. I have the time. I even have the interest, believe it or not.

I guess I could give a movie review... I watched "Eclipse" yesterday, even though I have just started reading the book. All I can say is I really hope the book turns out better than the movie. It was disappointing and a bit slow, in my humble opinion. I enjoyed the first two movies, and I thought they followed the books quite well. I can only assume this third saga-installment treads along the book as well, but I'm really hoping not.

It's also been released that the last book, "Breaking Dawn", will be split into two movies. Ugh. First the Harry Potter camp decides that their last book needs to be split, and now Twilight is following. Hopefully, "Breaking Dawn" will steer clear of the 3D craze, but somehow I doubt it. Anything to make an extra buck, hey Hollywood?

The Northern Ohio Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators has just opened registration for the annual regional conference. I attended the conference last year, and found it to be both fun and informative. We had the opportunity to hear some great speakers and to meet with editors from some of the largest publishing houses. It's always nice to be surrounded by so many people with the same interest, to chat about what their working on, to view artwork from some very talented illustrators, and to go home with a folder filled with information!