Know your brand






The Eric Carle Museum knows it's brand from the cute signage with Eric Carle Illustrations to the bathroom with Eric Carle tiles and tiny potties for littles with decorative, floral inspired seats (my male compatriot told me that in the men's room there were painted flies in the urinal). The company car is Carle inspired as is the lobby art, the children's art studio and projects juxtaposed against simple and elegant gallery spaces with a lobby that opens up on a grassy yard planted with apple trees. The whole place felt right--and with the treats in the galleries in the show--the morning clipped along quickly filled with color texture and line.

I was struck however, with the single composition that Carle uses for all of his books. The spreads are always crossovers of a single animal or creature on a white field. It is rare when he puts his living creatures in a context--with a horizon. And the books are a bit formulaic but dead on for teaching, reading and playing out into the world of children. This museum serves the illustration world with their shows and store chock a block filled with books, providing a networking center for the children's book illustrators and a bully pulpit to champion reading, children's literature and art.

University of Hartford MFA Illustration: On the Road!











Bunny Carter (white tee shirt) waved us off--as we boarded a big red bus to go first to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and the New Britain Museum to see their illustration collection. The Eric Carle Museum is a beautiful modern museum near Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass. They had a great show, "Flights Into Fancy" that was also at the Brandywine River Museum. There was a great collection of works featuring a lovely Jessie Wilcox Smith of Alice in Wonderland, Edmund Dulac,a delicate Kay Nielsen (sort of a rosetta stone of techniques),works by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, an artist known for depicting fairies as children with wings. Her black and white work is exquisite and delicate. There were images from the Oz books. I learned about a new artist, William Heath Robinson's strong black and white work that may have influenced Virginia Lee Burton. I was looking at horizons and details, frames and foregrounds, something to store in the memory bank. They had a great store filled with children's books and graphic novels, art supplies and the entire collection of Eric Carle books, prints, teeshirts, and merchandise galore.

early notes

Just more notes:

> Murray suggested last night that one should scan/shoot the sketch process of the dream project for reference for a slide show on the development of an image. (Note to self: do it!).

>Remember the process for deriving palettes in CS3 Photoshop and Illustrator. What a dream. How easy to do. Really will bump the red/black/white palette I cotton to to another place. What alone is worth coming to this bootcamp and brain generator.

> Bunny Carter said to think of my illustrations in layers--like a diorama box or those cute little 3D stages made out of paper or wood for kids to play with (or to that matter, for stage designers to design in...distinct foreground, middle ground, background). I needed to put my head on my pillow to see where this could go, and I am really excited about this. Def. something to put into action.

Bunny teaches kids to illustrate, specifically for the film industry at San Jose State University. She showed us some over the top impressive reels her students have done--from the early work through that of graduate students. The sheer energy and brawn of all of these students and the process they go through to become ready to spring into these film jobs is mind bending. Which explains her reference to where the camera is, talking about illustration in the context of film making, and with that how the story breaks out into frames or images. She thinks within the frame with her decades of illustration experience, within the context of being raised with illustration and art, and her own developed understanding of how it all links together. I think as my mind relaxes, I may understand more of what she said, and what it means, and how I can use it to my benefits.

> Talking with Dennis Nolan with an extrordinary boost for me (and I know many others of my classmates)--he delved into the world of ideas and reference, a balm.

He talked about how it (in his mind...) is hard for women particularly to open up--to allow themselves a chance to not be responsible, to expand beyond what they know--to trust themselves the space to evolve. As I think about it, he may be on to something which I originally had chalked up to a bit of sexism...but it's not. We women do have a different gearing with the general management of lives, eating, living, and the design of all of that to be woven in with the money making aspect of our lives (work), and broad life planning. We are presented with life and we have to make sure everyone else is living it--putting yourself in a fade--giving and thinking for and about others. I do not complain about this role. But, one assumes it as for me, the whole kids/work thing was something I had a dim understanding of when they put the tiny baby in my arms at the hospital and waved goodbye. There is no clear road map for any of this stuff--we learn as we go, but we never focus on what is in the mirror and work on that person.

For me, this has been structured, listed and planned in parallel with everything else --ie: get milk, pay taxes, get thus and so done for thus and so....so where does "find yourself" fit in the listmaking? Somewhere between get the snowtires off in June, buying tickets for Christmas in August, making sure the treeman comes to cut off the dead limbs before someone gets clobbered with one, and the design of a crystal cupcake? I don't think so. This self development is what got many of us gals to the program...and maybe, it could in a rudimentary way be put on the list of doing and executing stuff--scratching at the surface--but not going deep. Maybe this will happen for me? So, I think I was wrong in my initial impression of the idea Dennis floated out.

He also gave me a slew of references that could help with my thinking...many of them being japanese artists (prints) who I have adored and looked at forever, never really seeing the context--and being absorbed by their color and story. Need to put down all the google fodder for reference later.

Business plan due for Jim Carson by August 15. I can revise the existing one.

More later>>

Two demos, two crits, two movies and maybe some sleep






Paul Zdepski captured the doings for today>> Dennis Nolan, illustrator and teacher gave a seemingly simple demonstration that showcased his honed sensibilities and eye in the development of a basic palette that he works with this students and his more restrained "earth" palette he uses with his own work. Dennis does something I have never seen which is to build his colors up from yellow, to red then blue building the color up the same way we lay down CMYK on printing presses. His demo made me itch to open my watercolor box...alas, I had left my key in my pocket at the dorm --forgetting it in the stupor of trying to function this morning.

The incandescent Ron Mazellen demonstrated his new oil technique which was perfected after his children's book project was completed. With the extra time, he embarked on a significant body of work with football as his topic--completing (I am going to get this wrong)9-12 paintings in less than 6 weeks. They are fresh, free and quite a break from the safety of the book. It is inspiring to see his change, a new style and techique reinforcing his confidence and quiet philosophy. I hope in a year, I can be as developed and as enlightened as Ron.

Alice "Bunny" Carter assembled our sketches and color finishes into a presentation she projected and reviewed. Everyone to a person moved forward a square..some even more --but progress all around. It was tremendous to see how everyone had developed their project with some surprises insofar as where the content and concept went, and how the color and techiques would be applied. If this is the kick off--the future is promising. Bunny gave good insights, gentle and yet taking the ideas close in on some, and way out on others. I need a bit more sleep and then I plan to dive in and redesign these pieces, get a rapidograph and get jumping. Murray suggested brown lines (or paynes grey) with color. Hmmmm. I shot some images from the show and will ask around if its okay for me to post for you.

The more senior group had digital work this week and the results were stunning. Every one of them a homerun. They worked in illustrator, photoshop and painter and combined them into a portrait or a merchandising idea. All very real, very marketable.

I wish I could be more enlightening but my eyes are closing. More later before our bus trip to see more illustration. Ciao!

top: left> David Brinley, Paul Zdepski, Dennis Nolan
second from top: left> Bunny Carter, Molly Bozarth, Ed Tuttle
third from top: Murray Tinkelman standing on the tables to shoot pictures of the Dennis demo.
second from bottom: Linda Tajirian, Ed Tuttle
bottom: David Monette, Lori Ann Levy-Holm.

Onward!


Dragged myself out of bed (didn't hear my alarm). Quick work getting our pieces ready to show and for a crit this afternoon. Am feeling like I have a direction, but that these pieces still need quite a bit of work. My compatriots have wonderful work (reminder: take the camera for the final crit...maybe I can get some images for you). The group has fused as a unit and the walls are down. These projects have been remarkable getting us to talk to each other, to the teachers and talk about our fears and phobias.

I have had remarkable direction from Murray--not only how I should regard myself but also how I should proceed with my work. His vision is clear and steady..and I trust him. I had a good thesis conversation with Doug Andersen and Murray. It's pretty clear that I am going to be forced out of my corner with figures and fields, with horizon lines and reference--and color--to try my wings and see where it takes me. I do not know if my progress will be noticable at first, but I need to get the wheels moving so as to see growth by November. I need to leave my fear and negativity at the door (as directed by the team) and focus on work and what I can do. Can do, not what I can't do...and not look to the exquisite painters in the room, but focus on my fellow decorative illustrators (including the Sienese School, the ancient egyptians, and wonders like Kay Nielsen and Murray Tinkelman). Another deep breath. And, for that matter, why compare. Just focus on what is in front of you. It's simpler.

time out.

Phew. Coloration tomorrow a.m. That means I will have two hours to focus on one to color and add tone/texture to. Maybe whomp up what is here. Oh, what's that I hear? My bed is calling me! More of an update tomorrow a.m. (early).

six layouts, one color


Due Friday. I had all of mine thrown out. Entirely...so I am on the hook. So my mood and view is pretty neurotic and nuts...as I feel that I am just this side of the "special ed" room. My lines dont seem to work to match my brain. I am tumbling and rolling...in a very uncomfortable spot. As dear Ron Mazellen told me frankly, " you should feel that way...if you didn't nothing would be happening" and coming from that superstar painter illustrator...maybe I should just be patient with my pain and wait. Let it all percolate. Channel the happy vibes and beauty from Aubrey Beardsley and Jean Tuttle, Ludwig Hohlwein, Wanda Ga'g, Virginia Lee Burton and the newest members of the happiness parade, Alice and Martin Provensen's Animal Fair ( the first book Murray Tinkelman bought after his military service which, to me, is the cutest thing in the universe). Deep breath. Murray has been wonderful talking me off the ledge. He has said its okay for me to make spot illustrations, but we need to do the other thing...address the top three: horizon, reference and light source-- and make a real picture with a context, a placement, a horizon line.


We had a nice day of work--albeit mine was complicated and pretty unproductive. Tomorrow, its headset on--Ms. NonCommunication, Ms Leavemealone. Gotta buckle down, machine mode--and blast through this. I have my first thesis meeting with Doug Andersen which I am going to surface as an exploration of decorative illustration>> going deep. I plan on writing about Jean Tuttle and her work and look forward to Murray's talks next week on Decorative Illustration  as a second hook to get me going. I need to seek and develop. 

We had the Texas crit with our posh Residence Inn making us hamburgers and hot dogs. The work from the Texas Trip was unbelievable with my favorite, absolute favorite coming from Dan "the Man" ( was totally charmed by his witty tumbling cowboy and psycho cow) , with close seconds from the amazing painters in the group. Lori Ann Levi Holms knocked herself out with another tour de force 3-D interpretation of Texas. Unbelievable. She made cows and cowboys out of clay (glazed and fired) about 4" tall which she mounted in a foosball format (and they moved) with a painted background that absolutely rocked. Everyone laughed when the idea was floated that this was "art" and you know, I totally agree. This foosball Texas piece would sit in Miami at Art Basel Miami, NO PROBLEM. It was beautifully rendered...perfect.. She then brought down her children's book--another amazing 3D, working model. ROCKS. She is an amazing energy. Speaking of amazing energy, Jackie Becker did it again with a Cowgirl Armadillo--even better that the perfect Pasadena Garden Party Bear. The personification of charm. Mardi's  pastel and gouache longhorn was unexpected and amazing. Chuck Primeau's Bacon/Action photo kinetic inspired cowboy being thrown from a bull was startling and another testament to his skills. The whole experience was a rich slice that I was delighted to partake of. The crowd liked both the Buffalo head and also the armadillo (which was a nice/nice but not a true picture for that assignment). Very positive...given the garbage I am generating by day.

Dennis Nolan gave us a lovely presentation of where he started, where he went, were the work goes and so on. His work is exquisite-- and meaningful. I loved his books, particularly the Once and Future King project which is quite beautiful and rich. Dennis lives in the detail...but his layouts are exquisite. He works in a limited palette--and builds it up in color from yellow, with red on top and finishing with blue--layering the color, building up the detail. It blows my mind. Makes me think about a limited palette beyond black white and a color. Hmmmm.

Its late once again. I am yawning so wide it hurts my jaw. Pray for productivity.
Peace.

50 Thumbnails


Have to make this quick--inbetween shower and putting my shoes on. I am tumbled, shaken--or another way of looking at it--learning by fear--We showed our 50 thumbnails to each other--seeing how others dealt with the nighttime exercise. It was very interesting and I have a page of notes that I should transcribe right here so it doesnt go anywhere. Bunny and Dennis, which turning the projects around, adding, subtracting,-in the most part moving most people out of their zone of comfort and into a sinking mire that muscle (work) will affect. Murray has been coaching me--telling me he isn't giving me any space for my antics and that I will be listening to him to move from a creator of spots for a full fledged illustrator. He is kicking me out of my nest and seeing when, just when will I start beating my wings. We'll see what happens today. We can work today and Thursday--6 finished designs with one in color.

Jean Tuttle was our speaker yesterday--a balm in this time of turmoil. She is amazing. Jean was a student of Murray's in the mid/late seventies. She is truly a decorative illustrator who delights in her work and her clients. Jean'ss work is beautifully rendered --with an original impression of simple on first glance, but as it's peeled back, has multiple layers of color and pattern. She is a queen of promotion including all sorts of cards (Halloween, Christmas, Easter, Valentines Day) that she uses to try new techniques and showcase them. Her Halloween cards using scratchboard as an example--became a new look that stemmed from her sample. She offered us cards, hot pink pens and a wonderful cat head button (note, buttons for Ithaca Art Trail would be great). I plan on writing about her as it will give me an opportunity to dig into her work and look at it as I want to better understand her look.

(note to self: try out making a palette from bringing an image into illustrator, breaking it into flat colors using Live Trace (you can sample with an eye dropper too--in both illustrator and Photoshop. Jean brought Grant Wood's palette into a project this way. Very inspiring. Another "don't forget"--my classmates if they dont have a scanner use their cameras (or phones) to shoot their work to show. Very simple idea...but a good bail out).

My class is opening up as a group--as all of us are in suspension--and it is remarkable to see the growth that is happening albeit in two days. What about the end of this week. Compared to a week of figure painting-- this is the right way to jump start a degree program. Another signature of Murray's genius and the team of Dennis and Bunny's way to bump each student off center to start the change of work and headset. Remarkable.

>>More later.

Day Two: Week One



Long first day. Nice discussion about thesis--the expectations, the schedule, the citations and writing style, what is central and what is secondary. It was significantly better than the other institution as it is so focused on content, process and and clarity. No messiness at Hartford. There was a nice selection of papers to read and absorb from last year for us to look at. A good range of work, a good consistency of papers and strong, strong work. I am freaked out..but under control...I just need to focus on the work. We had a long day with Dennis Nolan and Bunny Carter who opened their conversation with their illustration lineage back to Howard Pyle, with Dennis showing off and going further back (as Bunny joked, that Dennis could trace his lineage back to the cave painters--and you know, he might be able to do that!). We all showed our six images with a great selection of projects with solid work all around. Everyone worked very hard to have stuff to show. I showed my pix and though the content and idea is good, and the general pictures are okay--the frames all need to go and I need to open up my head and see where it goes to...which, is fine by me. More work to me means better work. It took the better part of the morning and afternoon to go through all 20 student's work. Bunny and Dennis gave tremendous input with an ability to push each one of us...some more than others to improve. Tonight we need to pick one of the images and produce 50 thumbnails investigating composition and point of view. Scanned in for first thing tomorrow. I need to move on this.

Jim Carson was as usual interesting and fresh with the Business of Illustration. Nancy Stahl was inspiring in her work, her clear methodology and her breadth of projects. Don't have much time to chat now...the fifty await. Our day starts at 7:45 a.m. and that isnt far away.

Day One: Hartford Art School: Introduction





We all gathered in the coffee room at the posh Residence Inn that we are staying in...and the room kept getting fuller and fuller with old and new people getting to know each other, updating each other on the last few months with the new people beginning to meet each other. There was a lot of loud buzz and happiness that really we could all just go home from there. Carol handed out folders with schedules, and the facebooks that she compiled from each of the classes. And then we all paired off to go over to the campus.

We met in the art building (with a brand new addition that hints at Frank Gehry) and went to the multimedia classroom for briefing. We were given locker keys and hartford email addresses. We talked about financial aid, loans the the process of transferring money, taking money and keeping it for later etc. We looked at my show which was shown twice. We talked about the thesis--the expectations and process and show. Murray and Anne Catharine Blake talked about an editing service they had discovered and recommended it to us. Then it was downstairs to lunch in the pretty open Koopman Commons with a champagne toast from Dean Power Boothe. All the soon to graduates were given embroidered baseball caps which they all sported proudly.

We newbies were given a tour of the facilities which are remarkable. There is a series of impressive printmaking studios with everything from letterpress to intaglio, woodcut, lithography with plenty of light and room to move. The spaces were used but maintained nicely, and it was clean. We saw their media suites which really had the basics for students to pursue multimedia and film with the right tools to begin learning the technology, techniques and thinking for film and film production. They have wet and dry photography rooms, with plenty of gathering spaces, and classrooms. We went to our building with an eating club and another gallery and were shown our spaces, our lockers and the computer room (with the big epson scanner and 2 big epson printers we can use. (note to self: must provide computer paper>bring next year>>Amazon this year). The University is running a football camp, arts programs for small people, a pre-coll program in art so the campus will prove to be quite busy. I was struck at the diversity of architecture, sculpture and many nice small spaces for congregating that were designed into the campus. Though it is in the country, the campus has a density I hadn't expected at all. It looks as if we are about to be spoiled what with the nice studios, air conditioning, choices for eating, all sorts of exciting stuff to go into our brains--that the two weeks will fly by and all we will have are assignments to do, and our lives to catch up with.

Top two images from the New art building, Middle: Paul Zdepski at lunch; Bottom: Chad Grohman (left) and Jay Lincoln (right) in our studio.

OMG

Well. The thing to do when Apple releases a product is to go to an Apple Store. My gripe from yesterday has been assuaged as the scene with the big white apple is so polar opposite to the monkeys at the death star company as night is to day. We showed up at the Syracuse Apple store. They had a bouncer at the front directing who got in, who didn't--keeping the level of nuttiness in the store to a minimum. I got a really cool sales person, Heather, with great hair, cool glasses and great eyebrows to walk me through my new acquisition, a 16GB iPhone, which, I must admit am in the process of falling totally and uncontrollably in love with. The whole Apple thing was great from the cleanly designed turquoise tee shirts with tiny little iphones under the person's chin, to the whole matter of fact way of selling...making even the most inept feel not so handicapped with just thumbs. Everything was on the level, and I am on my way to picking through what I need, making my email work etc. And on the way to Hartford we went!

After 4 hrs from the Carousel Mall in Syracuse we arrived via a lovely drive from the Mass Pike to a verdant Avon with a beautiful Residence Inn (no dormitory here!) filled with some of my most favorite people in the world. We are wiped and walking in the door, and there is Mike Wimmer looking handsome and fresh, ready to take on the world. I go into the lobby and there are Carol and Murray. It's okay....we can go home now. Then, unloading the minivan of a zillion black bags, and there is our newly wed, Catharine Anne Blake, looking ten years younger, happy and relaxed--amazed that July was here and her thesis was done. We settle into our room, trying to figure out how to make the internet work--and R figures it out. A. is laughing at me--teasing me about my close in or long glasses which is cute. As an aside, A. acted as a dj our entire trip--and we listened to old Beatles, Boston, The Police, Pet Sounds (the Beach Boys) and Tommy. It was really great. Our boy has great taste. I even liked the Paul McCartney stuff which, I must admit, I hated in the past. And, to be on the up and up, I loved.

As an aside. I was taken to the corner of the coffee room by Murray and Carol where they presented me with an unbelievable gift: an original woodcut from Evaline Ness and a finished drawing from Lorraine Fox. The Ness piece is striking-- particularly so as it has all the glitches and white out to make it perfect for the press. It is in her Girl and the Goatherd hand--which as you know, I think totally rocks. The other piece by Lorraine Fox is a heraldic picture with rearing lions and a steaming pudding/pie. I am assuming it has to do with "sing a song of six pence" but I could be off my rocker....it is elegant in it's simplicity and use of a single grey tone. Note--try this. I am so, so touched. Now all I need is for Mr. Tinkelman to tell us some stories about these ladies (ladies who did not do pictures of babies or puppies to make their mark) and the world will be complete.

We all ended up having dinner--an enormous table of people: Carol and Murray, Ron Mazellen, Jim O'Brien, Mike Wimmer, Yong Chen, Randy Elliot (a member of the incoming class , a friend of the wonderful Richard Williams), Ron Spears, Paul Zdepski, David LaBrozzi,--with A, R and me. Very jolly. Lots of loud talk, good ideas... It points up what was so sorely misssing for me at SU--the entire community of souls. We were a lean community....more of a chat group. What with this robustness...there isn't anything we can't do.

tomorrow starts early.