Cats and Jammers Studio

Not just because I love French Bull Dogs...

From a Chronicle Books tweet (and, yes, I am getting addicted to Twitter even more than Facebook)  I learned about this great new book coming out by Catherine Ledner:

GLAMOUR DOGS.  DO yourself a favor--go watch the book trailer on YOUTUBE.

There is something about the combination of dogs and decor that just makes me smile. Or maybe it is the combination of dogs and so-called-glamour decor that is humorous, because, when you stop to think about it, the entire concept of glamour is a bit ridiculous in a typically human centric sort of way. 

What better way  to scoff at the pretentiousness of "elegant living" other than to take a pooch and plop him on a satin sofa, with an exotic wallpaper in the background?  Add a wind machine and fur and floppy ears flowing in the artificial breeze, and you would be hard pressed NOT to conjure up any film you have ever seen about models and photographers and how self involved they always seem. Can you stop yourself from smirking when you think about how seriously human models take those glamour shots compared to these four-legged ones?  Compare the top video with this one. 

The notion of "glamour" is absurd, really. Just look at these dogs. Think they're getting paid thousands of dollars to look every bit as beautiful as super models? More likely a biscuit or rawhide chew. And to think they do it all without makeup! 

Mind you, they picked the best kind of dog for the cover shot--a French Bull dog, just like my Itty Bitty Busy Body. 

I had a hard time deciding which blog to put this post on. Since my other blog is largely about design, I flirted with putting it there. 

In the end I decided it had to go here, because, more than anything else the book sends a subtle message about life and silliness and the things we humans do and value. 

Can't wait to get my own copy.

Not just because I love French Bull Dogs...

From a Chronicle Books tweet (and, yes, I am getting addicted to Twitter even more than Facebook)  I learned about this great new book coming out by Catherine Ledner:

GLAMOUR DOGS.  DO yourself a favor--go watch the book trailer on YOUTUBE.

There is something about the combination of dogs and decor that just makes me smile. Or maybe it is the combination of dogs and so-called-glamour decor that is humorous, because, when you stop to think about it, the entire concept of glamour is a bit ridiculous in a typically human centric sort of way. 

What better way  to scoff at the pretentiousness of "elegant living" other than to take a pooch and plop him on a satin sofa, with an exotic wallpaper in the background?  Add a wind machine and fur and floppy ears flowing in the artificial breeze, and you would be hard pressed NOT to conjure up any film you have ever seen about models and photographers and how self involved they always seem. Can you stop yourself from smirking when you think about how  seriously human models take those glamour shots compared to these four-legged ones?  

The notion of "glamour" is absurd, really. Just look at these dogs. Think they're getting paid thousands of dollars to look every bit as beautiful as super models? More likely a biscuit or rawhide chew. And to think they do it all without makeup! Compare the top video with this one. 

Mind you, they picked the best kind of dog for the cover shot--a French Bull dog, just like my Itty Bitty Busy Body. 

I had a hard time deciding which blog to put this post. Since my other blog is largely about design, I flirted with putting it there. 

In the end I decided it had to go here, because, more than anything else the book sends a subtle message about life and silliness and the things we humans do and value. 

Can't wait to get my own copy.

When children's books were cheap and plentiful

On one of my recent antique hunts in one of my favorite shops in New Hampshire (the Glass Knob in the Centre Harbour/ Moultonborough area), I found these little books for kids. They are called "LOLLIPOP BOOKS," and they were published in 1949 by "John Martin's House," James and Jonathan Co. out of Wisconsin. I was able to dig up this Time Magazine article from 1932 that gives some information about who John Martin was (at the time of the article, anyway, real name, Morgan Von Roorbach Shepard). According to the information I have so far, John Martin loved children, and published for them, including a magazine, but had no children of his own.

I love the period illustration along with the period ink palette. The "slightly-off-registration" print job adds to the charm.

I have a fondness for books like these. My own home library was what these books were all about for me:  inexpensive reads picked up on the fly for pennies-- Golden Books, Miss Francis Ding Dong School Books, and others of that vintage--read over and over again. Most of my books as a child cost all of about twenty-five cents a piece.  One can only wonder what each of these little books went for, though I would guess they were sold as a collection.

The size of these books makes them especially charming. They are roughly three by four inches each. I haven't taken the time to actually read them because I am so enamored with the design and feel of the lot of them, that I just want to hold the books and think about ways to design and decorate with them, maybe combined with some vintage fabrics and toys.

They practically fit into the palm of my hand. Perhaps I need  a miniature kid's room? It's hard not to wonder who owned these little books as a child. Did he/she love them?  Or did they get tossed into a dark place, only to resurface in 2009? I think the latter. There is some staining and surface wear, but the bindings are quite tight. I would venture a guess that these books were not read much.

I design retro fabrics using these bright process colors from the 40s and 50s whenever I can.  It would be nice to set up a display using the books, some vintage chotchkas, and fabrics--preferably my own. That will be next. One of the things I love is that items from earlier times go well together because of a much less sophisticated printing process along with fewer colors available. It is easy to set up theme displays using items from the same period. If I do, I will post those on Design Rocket.

Apparently this publisher also published  A Big Book For Little Folk, in 1919. I wonder if he billed this small collection  as Little Books for Big Folk?  Hey--I guess that would be I! In the meantime, I would love some more information about these books and this publisher. Email me if you can add something to this story.

A new addition to the family...

Things have been very quiet on this blog. Life, art and everything else have kept me from posting. Add the muse to that list of distractions or problems. She seems to have taken leave again from the blog world, bopping back from time to time, long enough for me to eek out a post here and there, and then off she flies again. Damn her. That chick is in serious trouble when I get my hands on her. Really though, the thing that has kept me from blogging most  is this fact:  I feel that the wheels are turning again in my life as an artist and other things have often been clawing their way to front of the line, begging for attention.

I'm still working on my book illustration work. And I am still writing. Got some deadlines to meet this summer and a picture book dummy to rework. There's a YA still cooking on a back burner (well, maybe it is really in another kitchen altogether), I have a  chapter book manuscript that I want to turn into a graphic novel for the younger set, and a brand new idea for a  book character and story line has popped up that has really got me excited. Just need a few more hours in the day, that's all.

But my experience getting ready for Surtex, as well as enjoying making the shift to my new studio, have provided a distraction of the best kid,  and I am following the wind, which has always been my habit.

At Surtex, I had the pleasure of meeting some lovely people from a fabric company  who seem to really "get" what it is I love to do. They will be bringing out a collection of my fabric designs, which they hope to debut at Quilt Market in Houston in October, and which will should hit the shelves come the first of the year. 

After  working in fiber arts years ago, the fact that I am returning to textiles  is incredibly exciting for me. I would find it even more strange if somehow I end up making dolls and puppets again. But--I'll wait and see on that front.  As the details and designs get closer to reality, I will eventually post more about them. In the meantime, I am branching off onto a new blog that will be fewer words and more pictures:

Design Rocket.

 

I'll still be posting here at  Cats and Jammer when I want to write more and attempt to wax poetic. Sometime a gal's just got to go on and on about something that speaks to her. This is the "I have something to talk about " blog. But once Design Rocket is going full steam,  Ill be looking to share lots of pictures over there. Check that blog for posts about collecting, design, art, collecting, decorating, textiles, collecting, and--did I mention?--collecting. (Don't I sound like someone who went and indulged her thrift shop/antique habit yesterday?)

Which is really what this blog originally started out to be all about years ago, anyway. Now it will have it's own forum.

One thing though: If I am going to write on 2 blogs, I have to do something about that missing muse....

SO much art, SO little time...

I have been on a whirlwind of doing nonstop artwork for about 6 months now. Not much time to breathe, let alone blog.

It started with my decision to exhibit at Surtex in New York this May. Surtex is a trade show specializing in art and images for surface and textile design, as well as licensing. Some good friends had attended last May 2008, and reported back about the experience. At that time I had absolutely NO interest in licensing my work. None. Nada. Zip.

And then something happened. I think it had to do with the fact that if there is one thing a reviewer will comment on when writing about my book work, it is the "colorful patterns." So, when I stopped to think that I could actually make the patterns independent of the books, and as an end in and of themselves, I thought "Whoop-de-doo! Now I'll be cookin' with gas!"

And that is exactly what has happened. I've been on a pattern roll and I am obsessed with it. Surtex, here I come!

In addition to Surtex prep, I had to complete the illustrations for the latest Bones book: Bones and the Birthday Clown Mystery    by David A. Adler. One thing I can say about that, is that I love working on these books. David Adler has a great way of telling a simple story, yet filling it with wonderful hints at character, while adding a touch of dry wit.  That art just finished up a couple of weeks ago.

Next came the SCBWI Conference right here in New England up in Nashua. I taught a workshop on illustrating chapter books, featuring those Bones books of course, and there was prep for that as well as attending the conference itself last weekend. Always a pleasure, of course, and let me add that Cynthia Lord and Floyd Cooper were wonderfully inspiring keynote speakers.

On top of everything else, has been the ongoing project of moving into my new studio at Gorse Mill and getting ready for the grand opening this Friday night, May 1st, as well as Needham Open Studios which will be running all weekend long. Check out the home site  and you can download a wonderful brochure here. More than 70 artists open their studios up to the public and participate in this event, which is now in its 11th year!

And if you are around on Friday night, please stop by and say hello at Gorse Mill

Gorse Mill Studios

31 Thorpe Road

Needham, MA

Or try to visit all the wonderful Needham artists over the entire weekend. It's worth the trip!

Now, back to work to meet another deadline.....

Serendipity + Pluck = Life

There was an interesting article in today's New York Times Business section entitled "Well-Orchestrated Accidents," as told to Patricia R. Olson.  It caught my eye because of the word "accident." That word, being in the business section, seemed a touch out of sync for me, but it was enticing enough to catch me because I am a firm believer in the power-magic-inevitability of "serendipity," a word not usually used in the same sentence as "business plans."

I assume the column comes under a regular heading called "The Boss." I wouldn't know if that is a regular column or not. Nutty artist that I am, I hardly ever read the Sunday Business section. I had to be  lured to read it by the front page piece entitled "Pulling Art Sales Out of Thinning Air," which was all about art sales in this crazy economy ( and remember, that read "thinning air," not thinning hair, which also is a by product of a tough economy).

Anyway, I enjoyed the read which told about Evan WIlliams, C.E.O. of Twitter, which, until a month or so ago, I was fairly unfamiliar with. I especially liked reading about Mr. Evans and his transformation from Nebraska farm boy to web mogul. And I was struck by the journey that he has taken so far, at the ripe old age of 36. I like life journeys. The voyeur in me especially loves reading about other people's. I am pretty nosey.

I handed the article to my 22 year old son and suggested he read about the extent of "going with the flow" in this man's life, and about how  being in the right place at the right time seemed to work to his advantage.  My son dismissed me out of hand after he read it:  "It has nothing to do with serendipity. In fact, it's just the opposite."

Oy.

So I went back and read the piece again. 

Please forgive my metaphor overload, but after a second read, I still maintain that it is all about allowing the wind to take you places, but knowing enough when to steer the boat yourself. It made me think back to all the times that I have followed the wind, even never knowing where I was going, and yet I found myself ending up in the best place for me to be.

It has happened to me from the time I was a kid until the present. Yes, I take active steps toward goals that I set for myself. But many time those goals come about as the result of something totally unplanned and unanticipated in my life. They are lucky accidents. Directions I never dreamed of. And I follow them. Some examples of pure chance that ended up changing my life for the better:

1) When I was a kid, my family moved to Stony Point, New York (because it was the only town in which they could afford to buy a house) and in 7th grade, I met the love of my life, and future husband.

2) Strictly on a lark, at the age of 19, I took a job at a school where I met Lois Bohevesky, who began to teach at the same school. She turned me on to puppetry, so I went with her into NY for a summer to study at the Bil Baird Theatre.

3. Because of that, my husband-to-be and I became puppeteers.

4. We transferred to SUNY Buffalo to be together ( and I passed up the chance to attend Parsons in NYC and major in illustration). At some point we gained a reputation as puppeteers in Buffalo and we were hired to perform at a Craft Fair. The committee that hired us was not able to pay our full fee, so they gave me a booth to sell my hand made  puppets.

(that's the very booth above)

5. Because of that, we were hired to perform at another craft show, and after that I ended up being invited to exhibit my creations as well at a very reputable craft fair at Kenan Center, in Lockport, NY.

 6. At that craft show, I heard about the American Crafts Council show in Rhinebeck, NY and thought I would give that a try.

 7. I did that show and began to sell my dolls/soft sculptures all over the country, full time.

 8. When we moved to Boston, I took a job teaching soft sculpture at the Boston Center for Adult Ed. Because I taught there, I got to take a free course, so I tooka course in graphic design. I learned all about getting things into print and I made a decision to pursue illustration…again.

 9.  I put together a portfolio and became an illustrator in 1982. Shortly afterwards we took a trip to Florida. On another lark, I took my portfolio to the Miami Herald and the Ft. Lauderdale News.  

I ended up leaving Tropic Magazine with an assignment that very vacation and  I did a number of assignments for both of those publications for several years after that. 

11. In 1987, when our oldest son was a baby, we took a trip around the country for a month. What the hell. I took my portfolio. I ended up doing art  for the Chicago Times Magazine, Chicago Magazine, and the Detroit Free Press after that.

(Chicago Times Magazine above)

Let's fast forward to 1997. Past the "baby period" and kid chasing period. Past other countless examples of accidental life (we’ll keep this basically professional). Two more sons arrived (and, believe me, they were REALLY happenstance) and I decided at some point to go back to illustration. 

12. One day, completely out of the blue, I got a call from someone I hadn't spoken to in about 15 years. We started gabbing and she gave me the name of someone running an SCBWI group in Cambridge. On yet another lark I went to the meeting and that led to attending my first SCBWI conference. And from that point on I was bitten by the bug I had put aside many years before: to pursue illustration, especially  for children's books.

 For me, the rest is history. Other "on a larks" and other "simply-by-chance" episodes. They keep happening to me. Like the on-line writing group I "accidentally' ended up in around 2000, that is still growing strong. Like the group of artists I "accidentally" connected with, who, even after my reluctance, have now turned me on the idea of licensing my art. I value their energy and ideas and find them inspiring. As a result I will be doing the Surtex show in May. Yet another ride on the wind, and I have no idea where I will end up. 

Am I preparing for Surtex with a vengence? You betcha! I don’t leave that much to chance, ya know.  But still, I often wonder: how did I get here? Sometimes the only answer really is "the wind."

So, that is why I do believe in meaningful accidents and the power of serendipity. Life is much better when you do not try to over-plan. My advice to aspiring artists is to always leave themselves open to good accidents. Go catch some wind. See where you end up. And then know when to jump off onto your own two feet.

The Best Valentine's Day Present: A New Studio!

Over the course of the many years I have spent making art, I have always made studios where I've lived. In Buffalo, as a craftsman working in fiber, I took a small bedroom in our apartment. Surrounded by shelves of fabrics culled from the Salvation Army and Goodwill, I sewed away making dolls and soft sculpture, while my dog and cat slept nearby. In other places, I worked in bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, and kitchens. Most of the time I took over the main living spaces. That was BK--Before Kids--before having to worry about crawling babies and exploring, wildmen toddlers (one of whom literally tried to swing from a chandelier and who also put French Toast into the VCR to see if it would play).

When we bought our second house I took to the basement. In the basement I first had a roughed out corner, and eventually  a new 20 x 20 studio with a light well. I stayed down under for roughly 15 years until we did a second addition which gave me a lovely studio space on the main floor (!) right off the kitchen and in which I have worked since 2002. I love this studio and have illustrated more than 12 books in it.

As much as I have loved the spaces where I have worked,  I have often longed for the kind of space where I could throw up several 4 by 5 foot canvases and really let loose. Now I will have one as I prepare to move into a brand new space in the Gorse Mill Studios building. The building is a 120 year old mill building, smack dab in a residential neighborhood here in Needham, MA.  My space is a little more than 500 well lit square feet. I should be totally in it next month, keeping my home studios for writing, digital work, and office work.

Of course, good things do not happen n a vacuum. In my case good things usually come about with the help and support of my husband. Here are some shots of the "still in development" space, with the best guy in the world taking charge. He actually got up before I did yesterday and went over to the studio and began painting. THAT was the BEST Valentine's present a gal could ask for!

Phil taping the corners, above and below. he had just painted the corner and walls  covered with Homasote.

A view of the sink and looking off to the "thinking corner."

Close-up of the thinking corner. Those are some of my older, editorial pieces on the walls.

Bitty makes her first visit to the studio! It's tiring watching all this activity, so she settles into her new bed.

Phil, doing yet more painting  of the homasote on the other end of the room.

What a guy! And with a bad back,to boot! Is it any wonder that the man needs a rest afterwards?

Thanks, Honey. I'll catch ya later. ;-)

My very best to you, Abe. You deserve more respect than you get.

My how times have changed. Back in the dark ages, otherwise known as the years I went to elementary school, holidays honoring historical figures and times were days we studied and learned about and had some respect for. October belonged to Columbus. November was all about the Pilgrims and the Native Americans (we very respectfully called them "Indians"). And then there was February.

February was much more than just wonderful boxes of Valentines and chocolate filled hearts. February was a presidential month, because we always studied Lincoln and Washington, and we had their actual birthdays off--not various days in a  random weekend, now mostly used for trips to the ski slopes or   to anchor one end of a school vacation week. Hell, we didn't even HAVE February school vacations back then.

With that in mind, I find that I am filled with wonder about  the fact that I have heard no buzz and have read no articles in the papers leading up to the fact that today is the 200th anniversary of the birth of one of our greatest presidents. Maybe there have been some articles here and there, and maybe the morning will bring some others (I am writing this just after midnight) but I haven't caught any.

The post card above is one of the many antique post cards that I have collected. It is a piece  from the patriotic assortment of ephemera that inhabit a small powder room I like to call "The State Room." One of my son's refers to it as the "America Bathroom." Whatever it's called, it is filled with the images of presidents, flags, embroidered maps of the US and so on and so forth. And, it is not just for show. I am truly very patriotic and I love my country.

This card  is one of my favorites. It was printed n 1908 in anticipation of the 100th anniversary of Lincoln's birth. You can see the copyright on the lower right hand corner. And here is it another one hundred years later, looking almost as good as new. The back is not written on, except for the printing which tells us that this card is one of the "Lincoln Birthday Series", and that domestic postage is one cent, and foreign is two cents. I guess one hundred years really do fly by, not to mention the fact that things really do get a lot more expensive. Ask any centarian  around today about value and also how fast life seems to have passed. And while you are at it, ask them what Lincoln's birthday meant in their day.

Happy Birthday, Abe.  Thinking of you.

Finally Welcoming in the New Year

I figured that before the month of January was gone, and before I could actually post about 2009, I would sneak in a last farewell to Holiday Season 2008. I am always loathe to take down my December Christmas/Hanukkah Decorations, and this year was no exception. All this stuff will be packed away this weekend and then taken out again next year, when I will once again drive my family crazy as I look for a real birch tree, then proceed to concoct and build something not really found in nature. Especially lovely is the art of Kevan Attebury, which I proudly show you next to what is really my theme these days of financial uncertainly. Eat, drink and ....

And here is the tree--always on the brink of crashing down.

Happy New Year! Make lots of art in 2009!

The movie. S'Wonderful. And life is, too.

 

Sometime around 1965, I was hanging out at my Grandmother's house in Paterson, New Jersey. I think it was during the school Christmas break. It was the late afternoon, and I was channel surfing, to the limited extent one could back in 1965. Actually, since I was in the NY metroplotian area, that did  mean a serious number of viewing options for those pre-cable times. I had my choice of channels 2 (CBS), 4 (NBC), 5 (WNEW), 7(ABC), 9 (WOR), 11(WPIX), and 13 (which was the "educational station" but I cannot remember the call letters). 

Anyway, I ended up on Channel 5. And there was a movie starting. Might as well watch this, I thought. The movie?  Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life."

From the start, something felt different about this movie. The acting seemed less like acting. There was an authenticity to the kids in the very beginning scenes that rang truer than any other movie kids I had seen--'ceptin' maybe those Little Rascals. And that scene with the druggist Mr. Gower. Nowadays I can't even get past that sequence without crying. But even back in my little 13 yr old head, that was powerful stuff.

And so began the tradition of loving one particular movie for a very long time. My husband did not see the film until we were both married for quite a spell. Needless to say, he loved it. And he cried, especially at the end. In fact, no matter how many times we watch the film (and we have seen it a gazillion times) he ALWAYS cries at the end. Such a sentimentalist. Gotta love him.

Because I love this movie so (especially the character of George Bailey who, time after time, thwarts his own dreams for the greater good of Bedford Falls and those he loves), I was saddened to see it fall into disregard for a spell--put down as corny and cliche ridden, and even --aack!--colorized! One extended family member who shall live in infamy, actually went so far as to say that the God-awful "A Christmas Story" was the new holiday classic. BLECH! That overgrown TV movie, poorly acted (does one stupid commercial really qualify a Messy Marvin to be anything other than a Messy Marvin?) and filled to the brim with one glaring anachronism after another, should be relegated to the bargain bins at Walmart, if that. But "Life?" Nothing comes close to it. It rightly deserves permanent placement on the pedestal that many of us have placed it on.

And so, in this morning's NYTimes, there is a great piece by someone who gives "It's a Wonderful Life" the same  high regard as my husband and I. Check out Wendell Jamieson's take on the movie, including his very funny analysis of what he thinks it REALLY all means. So--maybe "Pottersville" would have been a lot better an end to BedFord Falls than we thought? Hmmm. I'll have to ponder that notion. In the meantime, I will try to watch the film as before, although, I am not sure I can ever look at Bert and Ernie the same way again after reading his take on those two.

Jamieson adds a few nice details that many of us LIFE junkies already know about the film, like the fact at good old Our Gang Alfalfa was the guy who made the dance floor turn into the swimming pool at Harry's HS graduation. In a recent deluxe DVD version I purchased, there is a section filled with additional details, like how they made all that snow, and the fact that James Stewart did that very romantic scene with Donna Reed and the phone call from Sam Wainwright in ONE take. There are interviews with Frank Capra, and a great many facts and figures to learn. One of the favorite  things I learned, (though I do not think it was from the DVD) was that a photographer shot one of those long photos of the cast and crew of the film--the kind with hundreds of people in them--where the camera actually scans from left to right. Stewart and Capra stood at one end, and while the camera scanned the crowd, they ran like Hell to get to the other end, which meant that they were in the photo in two places. That  sense of fun is right up my alley. And knowing that sort of tidbit,  makes me love them and this movie all the more.

Do yourself a favor. Watch the movie. As long as your heart is not stone cold, you will enjoy it.

Happy Holidays everyone! And, more importantly,  "Merry Christmas, you old Building and Loan!"