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greeting card © 1996 Kathy Weller
Anyhow, I’m really, really proud of the work I did with my little card business. It was a springboard for so many different things creatively, it’s hard to even begin making a list for you without writing a book. Professionally, as far as helping me gain both self-confidence and business acumen, nothing can match the experience – and especially at a time in my life when I was so in need of direction.
Here is one of the cards that was in my line back then. I’ve always loved this one, and in the following years, I’ve found that the “stage” concept has clearly adopted itself as a running theme in my work. Happy Valentine’s Day!
I painted this the other day in a festive mood after our first snowfall of the season. I was also inspired by some Ernest H. Shepard drawings I saw on a blog. Sometimes, in weather like this (it’s currently -4 with wind chill) I feel like a mouse in a burrow — and I mean that in a good way.
Today, I mailed out more than 100 flyers (front, back) to Austin area librarians, advertising my school/library program. Beyond my website, this is the first time I’ve marketed directly to librarians.
I began by downloading promotional materials of other authors and illustrators. Once I had a taste of the competition, I wrote, designed, and then had the flyers printed and folded at Kinkos.
An author friend of mine gave me a list he’d already compiled of local librarians. Only thing I had to do was to confirm his list with the AISD website, just in case some librarians had moved. I also sent flyers to private school, some of my best and most reliable customers.
The most exciting thing about this flyer was making a last minute revision. Normally, I’m not thrilled about stopping the presses to make a change. But in this case, my newest book, Ron’s Big Mission, has been selected by the Junior Library Guild. I think that’s good enough news to throw away a few flyers to make that addition.
This year, I adjusted my pricing down a bit. I’m charging $600 for a full day (three presentations). Four hundred for a half day (two presentations). And all that is negotiable. Some of my colleagues have said I should charge more, that the going rate for an author/illustrator visit is at least $1,000.00, and that’s low. But I’ve been doing school visits for about 10 years now, and at that price, I’d have not visited many school, if any at all — com’mon.
Typically, I visit about 6 to 7 schools per year, and I also speak at maybe one or two conferences. But with a slowdown in educational work, and two trade books that won’t provide any income for well over a year, I could use a boost from school visits.
Wish me luck!
Be sure to check out an interview with illustrator Duane Smith, conducted by Don Tate, both Tugeau 2 artists. The interview can be found at The Brown Bookshelf, and is about Duane’s new book, Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story.
Over the past year, I’ve mistakenly referred to Corrine Naden’s and my book, Ron’s Big Mission, as Ron’s Mission, Little Ron’s Big Mission, and Little Ron on a Big Mission. It’s not entirely my fault because the title did change several times.
But to make matters worse, until recently, I’d also posted that the book would publish with Dial. And to make matters worse than that, I addressed emails to my editor as Ron. His name is Steve. He was patient with me.
I’ve got it straight now. The book that I illustrated is called Ron’s Big Mission. It’s edited by Steve. And it will publish with Dutton later this year . . . um, I think. Possibly early next.
Anyway, I received 1st color proofs and they look great! Dutton did a fantastic job. I’d used a rougher than normal watercolor paper, so I was worried about the reproduction. My 140-pound watercolor paper turned out to be 300-pound extra rough, but I didn’t realize it until half way through the project. I continued to paint, and I just hoped everything would turn out OK.
I have no idea what kind of scanning process Dutton used, but the rough paper texture is gone. I couldn’t be happier.
Hello, this is the first time I’ve ever Blogged! However, I’m happy to do so as Nicole has encouraged me to participate and I trust her judgment and direction. I also am delighted to announce the publication, and reviews for my book, A Boy Named Beckoning: The True Story of Dr. Carlos Montezuma (Lerner/Carolrhoda).
I’m thrilled that the book has earned starred reviews from School Library Journal and Booklist…and, a Book of the Month from Rutgers University. Also, I’ve had the pleasure be interviewed on Bookbites web cast. You can hear it at www.blogtalkradio.com/bookbitesforkids
This project has been an inspiring 12 years in the making. The research has been exhilarating and daunting at the same time. I firmly believe that while A Boy Named Beckoning is a Native American story it also reaches out to everyone who needs and wants a hero. For me, there have never been enough words to describe how profound of an influence Carlos Montezuma has had on my own life.
I was also challenged by the art while illustrating the story. My usual medium is watercolor but this book called out for acrylic. I experimented with different types of papers for each spread. Contact papers with wood patterns, rice paper, and even an archival newspaper of the Chicago Tribune dated in the late 1800’s. What fun I had! To be honest, I look forward to doing this type of work again. Sure, there are a few things that I would do differently but overall I’m very pleased and proud of the book.
We’ve built a temporary website for this book. You can see it at www.beckoning-carlosmontezuma.com. Also, Dani is graciously uploading a number of images for the book on the Tuguea2 website. Thanks for your hard work Dani! Go Tugeau2 team-you’re the best!
Thanks for reading my first blog.
Best to all,
Gina Capaldi
Want to stay on top of trends in the kid’s markets? I want to share a good little resource with you. Big Blue Dot is a multimedia firm (web, print and TV) devoted to serving the kids’ industry. They have a bi-monthly email newsletter called Trend Update, which tracks trends in the kid’s world. It’s a cool tip-sheet and a free, effortless way way to stay on top of what’s hot and going on at the moment. Check it out!
Many companies like BBD, plus children’s publishers, put out similar newsletters. Happy web surfing, and if you happen upon any that you find useful and would like to share, please do (in the comments)!
I’m about to admit something very embarrassing here. Recently, I’ve been feeling nostalgic. Maybe because I’m in my mid-40s, and I haven’t been home in awhile, but I’ve been thinking a lot about my childhood. So I downloaded a bunch of music last night, stuff that was popular when I was a kid.
I grew up in the 70s and 80, and mostly listened to funk, soul and R&B music. But in Des Moines, during that time period, that kind of music wasn’t played on the radio stations. We had a record player at home (and an 8-track and later a cassette player), but for the most part, we were stuck with mainstream popular music, music that I really didn’t care for. Or so I thought. Here’s what I downloaded last night, and what I listened to all day, misty-eyed and homesick:
Barry Manilow
Pains me to admit, but I loved this music. Reminds me of when I used to go camping with my grandparents in their RV trailer. Those were the days. I miss my grandma.
The Bee Gees
This music brings back the days when I used to go to the Metro Disco, a teenage disco club. Must have been about 7th grade, such an awkward time. Even though I didn’t like to dance, I loved going to The Metro. Mostly to hang out on the sidelines with my friends and make fun of the serious disco dancers, John Travolta wannabe types.
Barry and Andy Gibb
Again, this music reminds me of the times I spent with my grandparents. My mom raised my brothers and I, but she was my grandma’s baby girl. So, we spent a lot of time with my grandparents.
Elton John
Painful music, painful time. Takes me back to my little league baseball days. I hated little league baseball. It was one of those things that, as a boy, I was supposed to do, that I didn’t want to do, but I did it because . . . well, I don’t know if there was any getting out of it. Many a day, my three brothers and I, and my mom, crammed into her old, beat up, VW bug and headed to the ballpark. Elton John on the radio.
Barbra Streisand
This music takes me back to the time when my parents split up. My mom didn’t work, she stayed at home and took care of us kids and our home. So when she and my dad split up, she had to learn a skill and get a job. She went to school and learned basic clerical work — short-hand, filing, how to take dictation. I was so proud of her.
I even downloaded some Celine Dion, which has noting to do with my childhood, but, shhh, I’ve already given you enough fodder to last a lifetime of jokes.
*********
Edit to original post: The wife just caught me listening to my newly downloaded music, Barry Manilow’s Mandy. She had a good laugh. Apparently when she was growing up, her family actually had records for their record player, so they didn’t have to listen to the radio. She won’t admit to listening to Barry Manilow, but I’m sure she did. Curious she knows all the lyrics.
I draw my family a lot, and they’ve all gotten pretty used to it and don’t grumble much, although my husband has objected to the number of sketches I’ve drawn of him holding a beer. But that’s when he tends to hold still, when he’s done working in the garden and comes in for a refreshing beverage and to check on the ball game. As for kids and pets, they’re most easily drawn when they’re asleep.
It’s taken me awhile to get used to this technique — transparent color layers over greyscale images — but it’s growing on me. These paintings have depth, more so than any of my previous works. They possess a 3-dimensional, jewel-like quality. It’s like I could reach right into this painting, grab a plate off the table, and sit it down on the counter behind Ron. This happened by accident. Believe me, I didn’t plan it that way.
On the downside, finishing this book is going to take longer than what I’d anticipated — at least another month, which will take me into mid May. Having spent so much time on the underpaintings, establishing values and form, I figured it would take no more than one day to color each image. That. Nada. Gonna. Happen.
If I had it to do over, I’d use acrylic paint instead of oil. I love oil painting. No other medium can touch it’s luminous quality. But acrylics dry almost immediately, where oil paint takes it’s time. Even though I’m using alkyds — fast drying oil paint — I still have to wait at least a day for the paint to dry before I can paint over it again. Grrr.
OK, gotta go.
P.S. About the bald head. It’s an accident. I cut my own hair, and last week in a hurry, I forgot to clip on the little plastic accessory that prevents the clippers from going too low. Took a bite out my ‘fro the size of an apple. So, I had to cut it all off.
On the upside, the wife says it’s very sexy attractive, so I’ve decided to keep it.
