My Weird School

I just discovered that Dan Gutman has a "My Weird School" website! http://www.myweirdclassroomclub.com/

Better late than never ...

Santa Fe Steampunk

Mind boggling: http://theduereturn.com/

Yesterday, I walked through a REAL STEAMPUNK SHIP at the Center for Contemporary Arts in New Mexico!!! It was an experience of a lifetime.  My written reaction can't do it justice, but if you check out the website, hopefully you'll grasp at least the scale of the project -- 50+ artists creating a interactive fictional environment.

And I thought that I was stoked getting Kenneth Oppel's autograph a few years ago ... What an AMAZING work of art in all senses of the word ... I was so awestruck, I didn't take hardly any pictures!!!

I Spy: Near and Far

I'm a little frustrated that Google Docs has made its older version unavailable.  (The older version allowed me to grab the embed code from my uploaded PDFs' "Properties".)  As far as I can work out, there's no simple way to embed an uploaded document.  (It's a different story if one uses Google to create the document in the first place.)  So I grabbed an embed code from somewhere on the net.  I'd like to display the code here, but I don't know how to display the code without the computer thinking I want it to follow through with the command.  Contact me if you'd like the embed code.

Graphic Novelist, Ben Hatke

I was totally STOKED to meet Ben Hatke at his own booth in the ALA Exhibit Hall!!!

Don't know Ben Hatke?  He's the author/illustrator of the graphic novel
Zita the Space Girl.


Zita the Spacegirl: Trailer from Ben Hatke on Vimeo.



Here's some of his ORIGINAL ARTWORK that he was kind enough to let me purchase!  The black and white sketch is my favorite (okay ... one of my favorite) scenes in the book.  Turns out, it was one of his, too!  The watercolor is not a scene from the novel, but involves the characters from the book in a scene that, to me, describes in so many levels the marvel of all graphic novels -- "It's an ART book!" 

Storytelling vs. Story Sharing and Copyright vs. Creative Commons

As a still newish member of the National Storytelling Network (NSN), I'm viewing my librarian story sharing in a different light. I'm considering the art of storytelling (with the attention on oral aspects and audience feedback) removed from the science of early literacy and removed from story sharing techniques that rely on the book as a prop.  I'm also understanding the prevelance of sharing personal stories or folktales.  Why?  Copyright issues.

What if a storytelling artist wants to share a story that is originally from a picturebook (the oral, performing artist wants to bring a story to a different audience through a different sense) and the original writer is not a performance artist?  (Some writers, such as Patricia Polacco, Charles R. Smith Jr. and Chris Raschka, can perform their story as well as produce a physical form!)  The retelling artist must seek permission, of course.

Following the suggestion of my listserv friends from NSN, I did email Paul Owen Lewis in hopes that he would let me retell his Frog Girl, a perfect family story whose theme fits "One World, Many Stories."  Today, I have gotten his permission to retell it for not-for-profit settings!

On a related note, I'm exploring the idea of Creative Commons http://creativecommons.org/ licenses.  Anyone have thoughts and experiences with this?

Charles R. Smith Jr. (Virginia Hamilton Conference)

To paraphrase, Charles R. Smith Jr., in true multicultural literature, every individual grows.  For him, it appears that photography and writing, particularly poetry ("finding the right words, not necessarily fancy or long or rhyming"), is the mode for individual and societal sharing and ultimately, growth.

During his presentation at the 2011 Virginia Hamilton Conference on April 8, he performed his poems and shared his life; As a child, "I turned to books ... to help me fly" (from track 10 on About Me) and became inspired by various artistic and noteworthy African Americans (see track 11 from Inspirations), including Ms. Nikki Giovanni, who was also a speaker at the conference.

He is a phenomenal performer and witty wordsmith (you'll get his flavor as you listen to track fifteen "I Am a Poet - a Capella"), but I wish I could have recorded and put his presentation on Youtube.  When I got Portrait of a Poet signed (only MP3 downloads are available on Amazon), I did ask if he had already put performances on Youtube.  He answered that he hadn't but that they may have been posted by others.  While I haven't found such poem performance videos, here is a link to Simon and Schuster's Youtube video where he discusses his 2010 Coretta Scott King Award (illustration) book My People.  You can also view a still of the performance in my photo collection below.

One of his last thoughts was, "We are all made up of a variety of things that make us human beings."
 
Thank you for your work, Mr. Smith.

Mem Fox on Reading to Babies (Quote)

"The best time to start reading aloud to a baby is the day it is born.  The lilting rhythm of a simple bedtime book on that first thrilling, exhausting day is soothing for the tremulous parents and the new child and adds to the bonding between them.  It gives them something to "talk about" together."

From Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children 
Will Change Their Lives Forever by Mem Fox.

"Kadir Nelson" or "Stamp Collecting in the Library"

How about both?

Pictures and stories
walk
hand in hand















http://tinyurl.com/NegroLeaugesBaseballStamps

Kevin Hawkes, Mazza Medallion Winner

The Mazza Museum awards the Mazza Medallion for excellence in artistic diversity.

Jerry Mallett introduced the breadth of Kevin Hawkes' work as well as followed his consistent use of shadow and acrylics. One of Hawkes’ previous awards includes the 1994 Golden Kite Award for By the Light of the Halloween Moon, published in 1993. Mallett noticed the significance of the award because it is voted on by other artists.

In his acceptance speech, Hawkes acknowledged the Mazza as “the center for creativity and inspiration.” He compared one’s handwriting to one's art style; one’s personality comes through though the media may be different. He also mentioned some of his other (diverse) artistic interests including rock carving and, at one time, hand-knotting a rug.

Carin Berger, Author/Illustrator

“[I think about] when it should be words and when it should be pictures.”

During the Mazza Museum: International Art from Picturebooks Fall Weekend Conference, graphic designer Carin Berger talked about the book as an art object, noting the elements of design in each facet of the book -- book jacket, endpapers, typography ...

As a collage (and stencil) artist, she referred to the “resonance” and mystery from using ephemera and mentioned her love of antique Sears catalogs which have block print art. She demonstrated this influence by showing digital collage/collage illustrations from her work on Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant and Other Poems written by Jack Prelutsky. She also noted that this work came at a time when she was thinking about the “exquisite corpse” method and how to “collage the collage.” 

Her newest artistic endeavor involves a diorama technique, which worries her only because of the storage issues in her small New York apartment. Her creative interest also reaches toward a space outside of the book world and into the performance art arena.

When asked about creative blocks, she answered that this was part of the process, “Every process has an arc.”

DiTerlizzi, Technology, and Libraries (Video)

I haven't received much feedback from the listservs regarding reactions to DiTerlizzi's Search for Wondla.  The few I did receive, however, have made me reflect on my initial enthusiasm.

The work is, in my opinion, "distinguished" or "individually distinct" though I must admit that the "excellence in quality" of the augmented reality artwork is questionable.  I still give him mad props for "providing the child with a visual experience" that incorporates the viewer and his/her environment.

One librarian brought up the point that the augmented reality pieces don't seem integral to the story ...

TECHNOLOGY (not) ASIDE:  I've definitely become more aware and interested in technology this year, starting with the creation of my YouTube account on January first and continuing with exploration in screencasting, touch screen art, pbwiki --> pbworks, and google docs.  This fall, I finally took the advice of one of my Kent State library professors and subscribed to Wired.  Yesterday, I started playing around with an (old) ipod ... The cassette player in my car is defunct which means I can't even hook up my CD adapter! 

LIBRARIES and TECHNOLOGY:  Check out this video, and follow the implications...



More and more I am seeing and accepting how this "information age" boom is tied to technology -- the ability to store, access, and share information in ways not used before.

I do believe that the future of Libraries is entwined with technological advances and understandings as well as the need to be a special, physical community location.

Depending on the day and branch in my library system, I already experience many technology questions in conjunction with information needs.

I wonder what other librarians are experiencing?  (Next listserv post!)

DiTerlizzi for Caldecott

If Brian Selznick's distinction as the first illustrator to skew the norm of a 32 page picturebook with his Caldecott Award Winning The Invention of Hugo Cabret: A Novel in Word and Pictures in 2008, then surely the distinguishing first attempt at a digital pop-up book exemplified in Tony DiTerlizzi's The Search for Wondla (the first installment in the Wondla trilogy) would be considered in 2011.

Illustration and Technology

Click here to view this photo book larger

I am thinking about treating myself to the Fall Weekend Conference at the Mazza Museum: International Art from Picture Books for my birthday on November 12! 

My Summer Conference experience was phenomenal, but I was not prepared for the opportunity to share my writing and illustration aspirations.  In addition to my Flickr photostream, above is the digital version of the physical portfolio I am now prepared to share with the Mazza conference goers and speakers.

Tony DiTerlizzi, one of the illustrators who inspires me, will be there, and I would love the chance to learn from him, show him my work, and get his innovative The Search for WondLa (to be releaseed September 21) signed.  I'm curious to see how he integrates written and visual storytelling with technology: "DiTerlizzi is pushing the envelope in his latest work, nearly creating a new format that combines a traditional novel with a graphic novel and with the interactivity of the computer." (Review by Connie Tyrrell Burns in School Library Journal.)

Look out Brian Selznick!  Questions for Caldecott?

A Batty Great Time with Brian Lies (Video)

At the Mazza Museum Summer Institute, I was able to share a dinner table with this approachable author/illustrator.  Here's a video clip from his presentation wherein he shared personal, batty stories.

Patricia Polacco, the Ultimate Storyteller (Video)

Patricia Polacco is an illustrator, writer, and storyteller who captivated the Mazza 2010 Summer Institute audience with personal, historical vignettes.  She touched the audience to tears with her themes of loving relationships, abounding beauty, learning and educational challenges, and heroism.

Below is Ms. Polacco sharing her family's four (or more?) generational "keeping quilt."

Image from Amazon.  Notice the Sydney Taylor Book Award in the upper right hand corner.

Website with Video Interviews

Check out Reading Rockets' video interviews of authors and illustrators.

Calef Brown the Artist (Videos)

 

Calef sketches in my autograph notebook!

Calef told Mazza Summer Institute participants the story of how a monkey mugged his mango and inspired this illustration. He has traveled to India and is inspired by the culture's color schemes:

Calef Brown the Poet (Videos)

During the Mazza Summer Institute, Brown referred to the musicality of words as his muse.  He makes a case for reading poetry out loud.  Sylvia Vardell anyone?

 

I first performed "Combo Tango" in graduate school as an audience participation, movement rhyme.  I've been incorporating it into my programs ever since.

Still Thinking about Fireflies/Cucullos

Here's a story for you ... Yesterday, Cole and I read The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle, one of my favorites growing up, and we were talking about how I caught fireflies when I was five years old.

Cole is three.

I gave him time to do the math ... "One," he said.  "One is one year away" ... or... something like that which confused me.

Still thinking there was some logic and thinking to it, I continued ... and told him how my sister hated when I caught the fireflies and put them in her face.

Eventually, Cole wanted to know how I caught them, since he's never seen one before, and he rationalized: "I'm asleep at night-time ... [When you were five,] Did they leave the window open, and they didn't know?"

Learning: Emerging Leadership (Quotes)

The quotes below are from After the Ecstasy, the Laundry: How the Heart Grows Wise on the Spiritual Path by Jack Kornfield, pages xix - xx.  During ALA Midwinter 2010, Elizabeth Gilbert recommended this read-alike to her Eat, Pray, Love.
 
"Our intention was inspired by the humility and compassion of the Dalai Lama himself, always eager to learn, even from his mistakes."

"... wise speech ..."

"The wisest express a greater humility.  Abotts like Father Thomas Keating of Snowmass Monastery and Norman Fischer of the San Francisco Zen Center, for example, regularly say, "I'm learning" and "I don't know.""