Boughs of Holly

Ahhh, this is the time of year when we sing songs, cheerily muddling through their "auld" lyrics, strapping nature to the car roof and carting it back into the city, lighting candles in the dark. We got the tree yesterday, but I'd been dreaming about our old-fashioned mantle (transplanted from elsewhere in New England). So, I rushed to decorate it instead as soon as we got home! Time travel.

When you turn the keys and open the cupboards, it smells rich, musty, and years away, like old-fashioned Christmases of another age, with distant french horns, smokey fires, long skirts, ancient carols in ancient tongues, words we don't use anymore whispered over the fire crackle ... (history makes me nerd out).

Can you spot a fawn by Emily?


A feather by Kate?


A holly bough from Jackie? (Carol of the Belles orders getting ready in the background)

A jar from Jess?


Prof. Bhaer and Jo March in their umbrella moment?

My mom is the best at decorating with nature in vignettes, letting branches fall where they may, a star land somewhere, adding something tiny like a doll's chair to spy on. There are always stories to find. I feel like she was the first one to use old tools, shovels and spades, hanging rusty beauty up sometimes to the detriment of walls, playfully throwing something cut from the garden up on a shelf and not fussing too much. I always think of my mom when I deck the halls.

Still working on the dining "corner"...getting there (we have a light now!)


Wishing you light and love–*SPECIAL* announcement tomorrow!

20% OFF Till Midnight!

Today I'm celebrating Cyber Monday with a 20% discount on everything in The Shop till the stroke of midnight! Use code CHEER20 at checkout. I've also opened a requests page for custom prints here too if you had something else in mind!

Some gift ideas
? hmmm...let's see

For the crafty and stylish little sweetie you might know and love:
An autographed copy of I Had a Favorite Dress+archival print make a pretty pairing!

An autographed copy of Just Being Audrey with a print or boxed card set also make a special gift for a Hepburn fan:

("Audrey on the Silverscreen" is the bestseller)

...and there are two *new* mini prints!
Titled "Cédille Fille I, II" 5x7 mini prints (started from doodles after french class):


(P.S. There are a few of "Carol of the Belles" card sets still left!)


So have fun cruising around Cyber Monday storefronts (I had fun putting up a little digital garland :) Thanks for shopping handmade!

New Christmas Card: Carol of the Belles!

I'd like to introduce you to a little "belle" who came caroling to my door (painting desk) last week. She wanted to become a Christmas card:

You can order your own 10-card set of "Carol of the Belles" for your holiday letter writing here. They are printed on beautiful white heavyweight matte card stock with a satin finish. Each card comes with a matching shimmery cream envelope. Interiors are blank. Now available for order in The Shop. I had a very small quantity printed, so snap this lady up while you can.
Keep your eyes peeled for new items in The Shop and the upcoming HOLIDAY sale discount code coming soon (but let's please have Thanksgiving first!) If you have a custom print request you can use this request form. Ohh, it's getting cozy 'round here, happiest holidays to you!

Beauty as Duty

When I need rejuvenation, the museum is my magic place. It's thrilling to buy a ticket and wonder how your vision will be changed once the visit's done. I love the straw-teak smell in the rooms holding the oldest artifacts, the layered years behind glass, the quiet power of color on a wall.

(Peter Coffin, Linde Wing)

Last week, I wandered the MFA with my talented friend, Amanda (kindred spirit & accomplished painter) and wanted to share. (See her post here) If you are in Boston, this fall's exhibits are especially worth a visit! Our aim was to see the current exhibit, "Beauty as Duty" which focuses on the inventive relationship between war-time fashion (and the rationing of it during WWII) and politics (think witty propaganda scarves!)...

"Switch off that light!"

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess who lived in a world of her own, who lived with her wicked stepmother who kept all her clothing coupons for herself..."

"Trot out your whatnots and save shipping!"


War planes in lace!

Then we happened upon a live show in another gallery, of a Greek women's dance troupe performing ancient steps that Theseus supposedly danced after slaying the minotaur. (My "Denos" blood was appeased.)

(El Anatsui, Black River, 2009, Linde Wing)

Wandering on from there, we found ourselves in the stunning new Linde Contemporary Wing where we made gleeful fools of ourselves with unfettered gasps of "Oooo...LOOOKKKKKK"

(Linde Wing)

(A tiny little shirt as social commentary.)

(Amanda, I can't wait to see your take on toile!)

(Linde Wing)

(Giampalo Babetto, Linde Wing: "It is better to use a form that is somehow pure.")

(I'd like to eat this.)

Finally we searched for our favorite, The Art of the Americas Wing.



There, I visited the man who was the second president of the United States, who once lived down the street from where I live today, in the town that bears his son's name (Quincy). It is said that he thought history would forget him! But we haven't, John Adams! Thanks for your letters to Abigail. I think of you whenever I drive by Peace Field.
(John Adams by Gilbert Stuart)

A sketch of a coffee pot Paul Revere's son poured:

We ended the night in two dim and delicious current exhibits:
Aphrodite and the Gods of Love, and another on rare Jewelry...

(Betsey Cushing Whitney’s American Indian tiara, worn visiting Queen Elizabeth II)


Museum trips are terrible in a way! You are tugged by two forces the entire time: absorption and creation, in almost a frenzied cycle: your eyes are feasting, your brain cogs are turning, your heart is sparking, you need to get to your desk and CREATE, but wait, look over there! On the T home, we were BURSTING with new things to paint, trying to recall them in lists for each other, gratefully dazzled by the beauty we'd seen. Museum day success.

What resets your palette?

type type type

Been listening for words lately, and not just watching for pictures.
It's a different experience entirely. Words are like wild animals I feel a little unsure of when I go to tame some in the white space. Sometimes I think fellow creatures, especially cats, better understand the nature of how language chooses to inhabit its space.

Cats are very much like stories: coming to you in their own time, of their own choosing, willing to be tamed if respected, finally padding into a patch of sun to glisten at you (if you are lucky).

New York/New Art

Last weekend in New York City went by in a whirl of wet snow flakes and taxi rides (pictures to come) I'm back and tidying up after a book I just finished before departing, called Letters to Leo by Amy Hest, about a little girl and her loyal pup in NYC (appropriately!) Every time I finish a project, I always pause on clean up:

It's a sweet and sad little moment. You've come to sort of live in that world while you go about your day, gotten comfortable in the neighborhood, befriended some characters and, as soon as you sort your pencils back into their cups, POOF, it's done. Like playing pretend and moping about having to clean up for dinner time...


So cheers, Leo and Annie (more on this duo soon!) Their world existed on Riverside Drive facing the Hudson, so I went there last week to see it for myself:

The Original Art

Hello lads and ladies! I'm headed on a little trip to New York City...

First stop: 128 East 63rd Street this Thursday night for the opening reception of the 2011 Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators. I have two prints up: a spread from Just Being Audrey and the cover of I Had a Favorite Dress (thank you, jury!). It's always a fun & booky night if you'd like to come, details are here. The show runs through December 29th. I'm so excited for a nose-close peek at this year's exhibit. Can't wait to see fellow book makers & book lovers, hope to see you there!

Also on the itinerary despite possible drear (it looks like rainy weather will be accompanying me to the city): a long-awaited visit to Bemelman's Bar for a cocktail with Madeline, a pilgrimage to the former Maya Schaper's Cheese & Antiques building on the upper west side (for silly fangirl reasons!), Riverside Park (which I've been drawing for an upcoming book with Candlewick, but have never been to) and a little visit to Books of Wonder...rain rain stay away!

Faster Than the Speed of Light

It's probably silly that I was giddy as heck cranking up the radio to listen to THIS PROGRAM on my drive through town this morning. Have you heard about the recent discovery of the tiny little neutrino? The little thing that has supposedly finally broken the speed of light?

I love wondering how it (if this little neutrino does indeed topple our entire understanding of space, relativity and time) could change our world in a more imaginative direction. Time travel? Textbooks? The theoretical physicist on the program surmised that we'd have to recalibrate many things in our lives, including our GPS systems. Of course! I got goosebumps because, perhaps it isn't SO far in the future that we will need to not just know "where" we are but "when" we are?

Maybe it's because I've make my living by believing and imagining, or because as artists we are trained to imagine and extrapolate out in all possible directions, or I was raised on a hearty dose of Gene Roddenberry and mentions of string theory (thanks, Dad)... but "big picture" science, like language, and like genealogy, has always served as "caffeine" for inspiration. Whenever science rocks our world, my heart hopes and mind expands and I'm pushed again to create. OK! Back to Earth–work to do!

Quick Newsflash

I'll be vending at MICE Expo at my Alma mater this weekend!
Open edition and mini prints, picture books, and the surviving stock of Audrey greeting card sets, so get them while they last! I'll be at a table in the sea of artists, including fellow alums (Amanda Atkins, Valerie Arruda, Ellen Crenshaw, Barbara Geoghegan, Renée Kurilla, Keith MacLelland, Scott Murry, Chris O'Neill, Michael Rapa, Keith Zulawnik). I'd love to see/meet you if you happen to be exploring Boston this weekend (or traipsing around Somerville–my old town!)

Where:
Lesley University Hall
(Porter Square, Red Line)
1815 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA

When:
This Saturday, September 24th, 10-6

See you!

Almost Fall

Hey ladies & gents!

Been busy with art & life, so it's been a little quiet round the blog. Also, while we weren't looking... Fall has slowly whispered in!

I get the feeling that Fall does the bulk of its work in the morning...flavors the sun with "back to school" and adds a handful of crispy leaves to sidewalks, before slipping back under the shade of the trees and forfeiting the rest of the day to Summer.

It's a fun in-between time of year when you can hear cicadas out the window, while biting into a Paula Red. Color is about to explode and sing all over the highways on our drives to and fro. Isn't it funny how we are amazed each time the seasons change over, as if it's never happened before? It's like a little spell cast on New Englanders.

Can't wait.

BBGB!

These very smart little video reviews were sent to me last week from the sweet folks (Jill and Jenesse) at their BBGB bookstore in Richmond...(another reason to visit Richmond!) It was the first thing I saw in the morning Friday and I think I smiled the rest of the week through : )



Hey! I think Joe's on to something here...Tally LOVE the bangles...



Thanks girls! Glad you enjoyed :)

HUGS & THANKS for your excellent reading, smart observations, Tally, Joe, Gracie, and Lotti! ♥

Crisis In the Horn of Africa


With the help of Audrey's kind friends and family over at the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund, we are offering the "Audrey & the Children" print to generate profits for UNICEF 's work in the deadly Somalia Crisis. The news coverage has been quiet but the death toll numbers are LOUD (outlined here ) and most of those numbers are children.





Audrey's very last mission for UNICEF was to Somalia. When this news story stopped my heart last week, her face came clearly to mind. These children occupied Audrey's heart, mind, and time until her death. She would be there in a heartbeat.

Limited Edition "Audrey & the Children" 13x19 archival signed and dated print with all profits to UNICEF via Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund. The children in the painting are dressed in the traditional garb of the various places Audrey served around the world. (Click to enlarge) :

Gratitude to Ellen, Rob, Sean and Luca and the folks at AHCF. Praying that Audrey's work can continue in Somalia ♥


LINKS:

PURCHASE "Audrey & the Children" print with profits to Somalia HERE.

DONATE to the Somalia Emergency at Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund HERE.

AUDREYHEPBURN.COM

UNICEF.ORG


Royals

My recent travels through time and lineage (working on the family genealogy) has brought me so much fresh material for new characters! Last month I wandered the lives of the royals, after I traced one little line (aided by research collected by my aunt and uncle) to my 9th great grandfather, Charles II (making my 10th great grandmother, this lady and my 11th great grandmother this lady).

I've read that thousands of folks are linked to Charles II which fascinates me...we're ALL family really, and the events we've all learned about in history class are more personal than we can even imagine...



Shoes, News, Reviews!

SHOES:


Dearest Jama Rattigan has featured and reviewed Dress over on her blog. Boni and I are interviewed on our favorite wearables (mine are shoe-centric, hers are adorable!)...Click here to read.

NEWS:


Just in: I Had a Favorite Dress will be stocked at Anthropologie!


Dress has also made it into this year's Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators, along with Just Being Audrey, and more art from this year's crop of picture books. Love and thanks to the jury! If you are in the NYC area this fall, take a peek, more info here.

REVIEWS:

Publisher's Weekly called Dress "Tailor-made, so to speak, for the Etsy generation of DIY enthusiasts." I really hope readers get crafty after reading this book. Reuse, resourcefulness, and reinvention! More reviews here: Thanks, PW. And thank you, Kirkus. Merci, Wall Street Journal. Et merci beaucoup, Jana!

A little break

As many projects come to conclusion all at once, the studio has become a busy tumbleweed world! Even in the MOST busy times, it's important to get away, even for a little bit. Just long enough for a quick tea party last week:

(thanks to talented illustrator friend, Ellen!)

and urban seal spying:

Amanda captures his reflection, he's such a little ghost!

Seal belly!

(Thanks to illustrator lady, Amanda for the pics!)

I couldn't help but think of the "selkie" story, when one of the seals swam close and looked at us with those eerie deep brown eyes...This beautiful movie, one of my ALL time favorites, tells the selkie tale so well:



Back to work!