Winthrop Students at the Maurice Sendak Exhibit

Saturday, I headed to the Gaston (NC) Public Library with a small troupe of Winthrop U illustration students to see the Maurice Sendak Memorial Exhibit. We met up with members from the Carolinas chapter of SCBWI (the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators). If you've been with me for a loooong time, you might recall when a Sendak exhibit visited Atlanta back in 2007. Librarian Dandria Bradley spent three years putting this show together and it paid off in spades!The exhibit has been all over the world for many years, so it was the first time my students had seen it, let alone Sendak's work in person. They were enthralled!
It was so fascinating to see original works, like Max...Final pencil drawings from We are all in the dumps with Jack and Guy...I mean, look at that line work!There were even pieces from The Nutshell Library...(I had to purchase a set as the ones my sister and I had from childhood went to her.) I especially loved seeing an animation cell from In the Night Kitchen, a sculpture of Max in his boat..., and a study for the movie version of Where the Wild Things Are.Of course, the stars were the actual images from the book Where the Wild Things Are (known in the kid lit world as WTWTA). To be able to see Sendak's crosshatching and watercolor work together was truly special. We made sure to get a photo of the whole gang while we were there.Only a few of us got to wear crowns (this is Shawnee and Izzy).Afterwards, we all headed to Nellie's Southern Kitchen in Belmont, North Carolina, home to The Jonas Brothers - yes, those Jonas Brothers! The restaurant is the family business and all their gold records line the hallways. They also serve up a mighty fine chicken and waffles, so says Kaelen!We tried to mix up the students and the SCBWI folks so that everyone could get to know each other. It turned out to be a fun and valuable experience for all! Thanks to Kelly Dyksterhouse, the new Carolinas SCBWI ARA for putting the day together and letting us Winthrop folks join in. What a wonderful day it was!