Debi Gliori for Picture Hooks

Fabulous author/illustrator Debi Gliori was a recent guest of PictureHooks - what a treat! You might know her as the creator of No Matter What. LOVE her work and she was a generous and lovely speaker.
     I hadn't done one of these day-long workshops in a while and after Martin Salisbury's talk I really wanted the chance to reconnect with PB peeps and play...
     In the morning, Debi and her mentee, Rachel Everitt talked about the mentor/mentee process for PictureHooks.I especially liked this method Rachel used to display her gorgeous etching prints in a recent art show. They are just bagged in cellophane with a hardback and hung with clips. Brilliant!Debi shared her sketchbooks (OMG) and process. She talked about making unique characters. I know I've been to a million things like this, but I always learn something. Even if it's something I already knew presented in a new way that helps make better sense of something. For instance, my big takeaway was that young characters will oftentimes have a head and body that are nearly the same size. Yes, I knew that, but for some reason, the way she put it really struck a chord with me.
     After lunch, we got out the art supplies and played. The closets at the Scottish National Gallery are jam-packed full of fun things to play with. Debi encouraged us to build a plasticine model of a character and then draw from that. I used the 1/2 and 1/2 idea and made a wee fox. (Here he is with two fellow creators.)It was fun! Some folks used torn paper too.     Hollins students - see, I do this too! Debi got into it too!     I actually didn't get much drawing done as I was having too much fun gabbing with everybody. These are my peeps after all and I love talking picture books! For instance with Ruth who works at the Scottish Book Trust, and Rachel who teaches animation at the ECA. PEEPS, I SAY! I look forward to the next event.