The Pineapple Diary

The room formerly known as my office, 1 year later

More than two years ago I blogged about my old office being fully decorated. Less than a year later, I culled down to the basics and moved my office into a back corner of our living room. One year ago Saturday, it officially became our daughter Piper's bedroom.

I have no regrets about giving up that space. I love Piper's room. We've built lovely memories there. I love having my office where I can hang out with my husband in the evening. To be honest, I decorate at a snail's pace. I put a few finishing touches on her room this week. I don't decorate by ordering everything in one theme. My own baby blanket hangs over her crib. The blanket I crocheted while she grew in my tummy and I wanted nothing to do with illustration is on her glider.  The Amy Ruppel wall sticker goes with the original painting my husband bought me years earlier, that never had to move from it's spot on the wall.

Many of my children's books still hang out in the upper shelves. Her brother's baby toys line her shelves too.

Auntie Louise bird painting was the first thing I painted when the urge to be creative hit full force (and her middle name is Louise, after my great Auntie Louise who inspired that bike-riding, fish delivering bird). And most importantly, Piper seems happy here. And we are so happy and blessed to have her. She's our wild, funny, independent, sweet, and easy-peasy, spikey-haired girl.

Happy Birthday Piper Louise!

21 Day: version3.19

Boy, this 21 day challenge is taking more like 52+ days...

21 Day: version3.18

A little Mickey in dough to remember Maurice Sendak. Farewell, and thank you.

21 Day: version3.17

I had an itch to draw elephants.

21 Day: version3.16

Sun sticker, courtesy of my son's Busytown activity book.

NESCBWI 2012 Conference Recap

I know the NESCBWI conference was two weeks ago. I know you've read all about it on other blogs. But humor me.

It took me a full week to absorb and appreciate the experience. Friday was beyond exhausting. Kids, house, travel, keeping on schedule, parking garage malfunctions, and THEN having a critique I was really nervous about just did me in. Immediately after my critique (mid-day Friday) I was quite ready to throw in the towel with my whole career. Yup. It's not that it went so horribly. It's just that I was tapped out. I wanted to hear the impossible, and instead I got mostly good advice. By the time Monday morning rolled around I was desperate for time to work on my picture book dummy - even if it meant taking a red pen to every aspect of it. (see image above)

The highlights of the conference for me, were (in no specific order):

Dan Yaccarino's workshop: I enjoyed it enough at the time. But when the dust settled in my brain, he shone a light on my picture book dummy that I think was the key to making it infinitely better - publishable, even. One major thing, a few little things, plus a whole lot of inspiration.

Portfolio Showcase: Seeing my portfolio out there for the first time in four years was awesome. It's nearly ALL published work. And I like a lot of it. It sorely needs more cute animals, but that's an improvement I'm happy to work on. Giving just a few little feedback cards to others was greatly rewarding too. A little birdie said there was some good response to it - and that's all you can hope for in these situations. To plant seeds, then walk away and hope something grows.

Writing Camp: I was so sad that my critique chewed up a good 25 minutes of this workshop. It was hands-on and fun. If I hadn't been so nervous about the upcoming critique, then dumbstruck, this would have been outstanding for me. Thank you Jo Knowles and Cindy Faughnan!

Friends: It was so energizing and fun to see illustrator friends. I missed last year's conference so I hadn't seen so many warm faces in nearly two years. Others I hadn't seen since the NYSCBWI conference in 2008, and still others were first encounters with people I had only talked to online. Connecting with fellow illustrators in person is beyond rewarding. And my roommate and friend Jen was a great sport for putting up with all my mommy anxieties.

Submission Strategy Consultation: This was the yin to the dummy critique's yang. Lionel Bender gave me some excellent advice. I knew in an instant that I was sitting down with a professional - and my ears were wide open. Thank you.

Maybe the best part was seeing how well my children did without me, mostly thanks to their wonderful father - next year I'm planning on going for all three days.

21 Day: version3.15