Figure Drawing

Copyright Emily Smith Pearce 2009

I recently started attending a figure drawing session with my friend, illustrator Judy Stead. I hadn’t done any figure drawing since college, and to prove the point, when I opened my sketchbook, out fell some papers from a mythology class I took my junior year.

It was an interesting experience—-kind of like stretching a muscle I forgot I had, but it felt good, too. My muscles did seem to remember a few things. The above is a contour drawing—-that is, done using a single line without picking up the pen from the paper. I used a Sharpie—love drawing with Sharpies—they make such a bold, decisive line that you just have to go with it, and when you stop for a moment they make these great little puddles. They’re kind of stinky, though. I felt bad for the fumes I was making my neighbors smell. I used pencil and charcoal in some other drawings but this was my favorite that night.

Picnic Quilt

I finally got some red thread in my sewing machine and finished this quilt. I used blanket binding to edge it, hoping that the synthetic fiber would be less likely to wick moisture to the quilt top (the bottom layer is red nylon). It was also a really easy way to finish it. If you want to know more about this quilt, click here for info about its beginnings.

My daughter insisted we had to go on an immediate picnic to celebrate, which we did. The quilt is a little small for four rear-ends, but we had fun being cozy.

 In other news, I recently visited the brand spanking new Harvey B. Gantt African-American Cultural Center here in town. Wow! I had seen the Hewitt collection (including works by favorites Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence and others) about a decade ago and had been missing it ever since—until now it had no permanent home. I was so happy to see the collection again as well as the two stunning exhibitions of recent works by contemporary artists. The space itself is really lovely—-it would make a great event site.

Native Flowers

I finished this painting a few weeks ago. It was a commissioned piece. The client requested flowers and suggested a color palette. Here’s what I came up with:

 

 

copyright 2009 Emily Smith Pearce

I guess because I’ve become so interested in gardening, it seemed important to me that the flowers be in-the-ground native plants (or hybrids of natives) that could actually co-exist together here in North Carolina. Without lots of extra watering. High standards, I know, for 2-D plants. I used butterfly weed (the orange), rose verbena (the lower pink flowers) and coreopsis, the small pink flowers in the upper area. All of these plants grow on the hill behind my house, though my coreopsis is actually yellow (it can be pink, however).

Here’s a view of what the painting looked like at the beginning:

a little further along:

mid-way through the process:

A Shiny New Firebird

No, I didn’t get a new car. Charlotte has a new mascot. The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art is opening on January 2, but right now I’m drooling over the outside of the museum, including the recently installed Firebird sculpture by French artist Niki de Saint Phalle.

I love the way the orange brick frames the sculpture. I just couldn’t help smiling when I stood next to it. And the light! The light bouncing off it creates these gorgeous constellations on the ground.

 

I am so totally stoked about this museum. Its big ol’ collection includes works by Giacometti, Miro, Picasso, Le Corbusier, Alexander Calder, Warhol, and on and on. I can barely wait for Jan. 2. For more info, click here.

Interview on BookNAround

Thank you to my friend Kristen Knox, who interviewed me on her blog, BookNAround.  Kristen must be the most voracious reader I know—-take a look at her blog and you’ll see what I mean. If you want to know about any new book out there, chances are Kristen has already read it. She is a fellow member of the Charlotte chapter of the Women’s National Book Association.

AASL: Revving Up to Write Bibliography

The AASL conference was a fun blur of activity. I saw some dear old friends and met lots of new people, too. Thank you to everyone who attended my signings and concurrent session. Thanks especially to media specialist Debra Heimbrook, who presented along with me.

Debbie shared some books at the end of our session that she recommends for teaching and talking about writing. Since we didn’t get to include those in our online handout, I’m listing them here:

Brown, Marc. Arthur Writes a Story. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1996.

Allen, Susan and Jane Lindaman.  Written Anything Good Lately?  Minneapolis, MN:  Millbrook Press, 2006.

Rylant, Cynthia.  In November.  New York: Harcourt, Inc., 2000.

Wong, Janet.  You Have to Write.  New York:  Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2002.

Clements, Andrew.  Frindle.  New York:  Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1996.

Bruel, Nick. Who Is Melvin Bubble? New Milford, CT: Roaring Brook Press, 2006.

Anything in the Dear America series for writing letters, diaries, journals

Pictures from AASL to follow.

Two Book Signings Friday, November 6 at AASL Conference

So I now have two signings on Friday. The first is from 9-10a.m. at the Boyds Mills Press booth at the exhibit hall. The second is from 12:45 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. at table 9, the Author Pit Stop. Please come say hi, and don’t forget to sign up for my concurrent session on Saturday at 10:15 a.m.

Upcycled Princess Gown from Thrifted Items

I decided that I would make this costume for my daughter from things I already had on hand. I started thrifting when I lived in Boston and couldn’t get to a fabric store easily. Luckily, Boston is a great place to thrift (I miss you, Urban Renewals!) and I often found fabulous things to wear as well as wonderful, sometimes crazy pieces to tear up and sew back together. I haven’t lived in Boston for several years, but all the materials for this costume (except the back of the bodice) came from my time there.

The bodice of the dress is made from something that looked like a long jacket made out of a sofa from an ancient sitting room. The skirt is made of various table covers that were once used at the performing arts organization where I worked. I saved them from the trash, what a hero. I did line the inside of the skirt with muslin, though, to make it less scratchy.

Taking a cue from the Disney-fied costumes sold in stores, I made the back of the bodice from an old knit nightgown so that it would stretch to fit.

The applique and the pink edging were the only things I purchased. Can’t wait to see her in it tonight!

Writing Exercise: Found Poem

This is an oldie but a goodie, first introduced to me by my favorite college professor, the late and great Robert Kirkpatrick. I don’t really consider myself a poet, but because of my classes with him I do try to think like one.

Start by photocopying a page of text from a dictionary or field manual or suchlike. Something with plenty of concrete nouns is best, but you can do it with nearly any kind of writing. I have even done it with a page of my own fiction drafts, but nothing beats a good old-fashioned, real-live made-from-paper dictionary. I’m partial to the American Heritage.

Skim the page for your favorite phrases (three words together or fewer), and circle or highlight them. Next, copy down these phrases in your notebook, in an order that pleases you. Cross out any words that seem off point or  less appealing to you now. Try to boil them down to the most concrete, stick-in-your-craw words.

Now, arrange the remaining words in a poem. Don’t think too hard about what a poem is or isn’t. Just arrange. Enjoy the sounds of the words together. You may want to try to make some kind of meaning out of the words, but you can also just make  interesting nonsense. You’ll be surprised at the way the words teach you. Here’s the initial list of words I came up with:

Air hunger

Compressed air

Faint

photochemical luminescence

airlift

Transporting freight

Propeller blade

Hard-surfaced

 (seek) exercise

Unequal

pressure

Freshening

Health

promoting

Bubble pocket

Wing

Vapor

Airtight sack

Skyjacking

Craft aircraft

Bone cavities

No weak points

passage

rudder

upper atmosphere

Wiry tan coat

 

and here is my latest draft:

To craft air from the upper atmosphere—-

make it compressed, hard-surfaced—

a skyjack tight sack:

Apply pressure to the bubble pocket,

Add faint luminescence,

as if transporting freight by propeller blade.

Check for vapor in the bone cavities of the wing.

Your rudder must have no weak points in its passage.

Revving Up for the AASL Conference: November 5-8, 2009 in Charlotte, NC

The national conference for the American Association of School Librarians will be held here in Charlotte, NC next month. I will be signing books at the Author Pit Stop on Friday, November 6 from 12:45-2:15 p.m. on the exhibit floor.

I will also be presenting, along with librarian Debra Heimbrook, a concurrent session from 10:15-11:30 a.m. on Saturday, November 7 in room 213D.

Our session is entitled Revving Up to Write: How One Author Fuels Writing by Reading, Plus: How an Author Visit Can Rev Up Writing at Your School.

Revving Up to Write emphasizes ways of collaborating with teachers to create writing assignments. I will also give suggestions for leading students in pre-writing exercises driven by reading. The program is also designed to encourage students to think creatively about using various library resources. Ms. Heimbrook will speak about using the library as a fueling station for writing, for those laps around the track as well as trips outside the raceway.

Come join us for an interactive session, including writing exercises designed to get you going.

Stay tuned for more details. I will also be signing books at the Boyds Mills Press booth at some point.