Mentone, Alabama - what a weekend!

As I mentioned last week, I was invited to give three talks at the Moon Lake Community Library in Mentone, Alabama by Anne McLeod. Anne and I met in 2015 in Athens, Georgia when A Bird on Water Street was named a Georgia Book Award Finalist. She was doing her PhD research on union representation in children's books, so I gave her an ARC of my novel. You never know where these sort of things will lead...
     Scroll ahead to 2022, almost ten years later. Anne had been keeping track of my career and wanted to invite me to speak, but I moved to Scotland, then there was a pandemic... at any rate, it finally happened! The irony is, when she asked me to speak, she had no idea that I had a strong connection to Mentone, Alabama.I went to Camp Skyline Ranch in the heart of Mentone from age ten to sixteen, 1977-1983! I LOVE Mentone, and have been back to visit the camp a few times over the years. So, the entire weekend became a homecoming of sorts - how wonderful!
     The generous people of Mentone pulled together to make my trip possible. Many thanks to Hank and Susan for loaning us the use of their adorable guest cottage at Chimney Corners.They both worked in the movie biz in Atlanta for many years, so the walls were covered with framed photos of famous people, signed to them both—so many stories!
And at the end of the street, they had a lovely dock overlooking the Little River, which I have canoed on many times! They even asked the Rhododendrons and Mountain Laurel to bloom so that I'd feel right at home.The locals came out to say 'hi.' Downtown Mentone has changed a little since the days I used to visit. The old hotel burned down several years back, which was a serious blow to the city both economically and emotionally.So, the town is in the midst of figuring out how it wants to grow moving forward. It has some great restaurants, like Elevation (where we ate twice it was so good - order the tempura-fried Vidalia Onion Greens - OMG!), and the landmark Wildflower Café. The "Yellow Deli" (famously run by a cult when we used to visit) and later the "Log Cabin Deli" (who served THE BEST carrot cake!) is under renovations, so will have a new incarnation soon. Meanwhile, they even have a pop-up taco truck, where Stan got lunch one day.Speaking of... Stan brought his bike and went all over the mountain-top.
Mentone is located at the southern tip of Lookout Montain, where it crosses over into Alabama. SO many good things have happened in my life on Lookout Mountain! For instance, the hang-glider flight park is about 40 minutes up the ridge (where I spent many years trying to be a bird). This is the view from the top (click the image to watch on Youtube): Stick around and I'll share more about this lovely weekend in the following posts!

Uterus Dragon

I made some more protest art! It's a Uterus Dragon. You can buy it on Redbubble as stickers, hats, magnets, mugs, and t-shirts. You can buy it on white backgrounds, although it's meant to be on PINK!It's inspired by Kelly Barnhill's latest book, When Women Were Dragons, which I highly recommend! (Click the image to purchase it from your local independent bookstore.) Even better! I had an umbrella made for protest rallies! I'm looking into seeing if I can make these available to you too. Stay tuned!

Mentone, Alabama!! - And a surprise!

I am in lovely Mentone, Alabama right now! Anne McCleod and The Moonlake Public Library invited me to give three talks this weekend, here are the deets:And here is the surprise: when they invited me, they didn't realize that I spent six summers in the heart of Mentone, Alabama at Skyline Ranch—so this has become a bit of a homecoming of sorts. I have such fond memories of my summers here and the magic that is Lookout Mountain. I'm thrilled to be back, and to share what I've learned. I'll post more pictures of this beautiful place, so stay tuned!

Graduation Day! *sniff sniff*

The Winthrop University BFA Illustration Students graduated today. I'm excited for them, but I'm also going to miss them. This was the first class that I had all the way through their upper level studies, so they feel like my kids! Here is a compilation of the ones who walked (click the image to watch on YouTube): Here is the ceremony proper: And Izzy and Josh waving 'hi'!And them moving their tassles from the right the the left - GRADUATES!I got some excited selfies with a few of them after the ceremony. Here I am with Quila:And Josh:And adopted illustration student Jordan:

Thursday night was their Senior Show too - this is what they worked towards all year. It was a very big deal! They held the event at Lenny Boy Brewery in Charlotte and invited in Creative and Art Directors from all over Charlotte and the surrounding areas. This is their official Debut!
     Here's Dani:And Joy: And David: Hannah: Marquila with Shaunie and Guye: Sierra with her family: And Izzy: Go check out their amazing work on their Senior website "Synthesis": http://winthropseniorshow.com.
     It's bittersweet to send these amazing and talented people off into the world. It's been such a joy working with them and I know they are going to do great things—I can't wait to see what! I just hope they keep in touch!

Pixy Camera: Mind Blown!

The new Snapchat Pixy is the first drone camera I've seen that looks like something that could easily go mainstream. It doesn't record sound yet, but savvy social media folks can record sound separately and combine the two. (I imagine that will be the next big feature.) Sure, you can't use it in a high wind, and I imagine there are other limitations. Even so, this just looks like the future of photography! Click the image to learn more about it at GoodNewsNetwork.org.

A return to 2-D animation from Disney? Yes, please!

"‘Aladdin’ Animator Eric Goldberg Says Disney Plans Return to 2D Features. The famed artist is one of six subjects in the upcoming documentary series ‘Sketchbook,’ which champions the process of hand-drawn character art in animation." Premiered April 27 on Disney+.

Kali Wallace's HUNTERS OF THE LOST CITY

I so enjoyed Kali Wallace's new HUNTERS OF THE LOST CITY. It's a fantasy adventure with a strong underlying cultural commentary on isolationism. Kali stopped by to talk about it... One of the strangest things about writing fiction is that often we don't know what we're trying to say until we've said it. That's what happened to me with HUNTERS OF THE LOST CITY.
      I first came up with the idea that would evolve into HUNTERS about twenty years ago. For years I had only a few scenes that never developed into a full story, not until I was brainstorming ideas for a middle grade fantasy novel and realized that I had a perfectly good premise sitting right there, unused in my Very Old Drafts folder, just waiting to be rediscovered.
      This isn't unusual for me; I often stew over ideas for years. What made HUNTERS different was the same thing that has disrupted everything these past few years: I started it in late February of 2020, with the alarmingly on-the-nose timing of somebody who had only the vaguest suspicions that she was about to spend a period of bewildering, alarming social isolation writing a story about an isolated community. (There was even a plague in the earliest drafts!)
      As a result, I put a lot of things into HUNTERS that I didn't realize I was including at the time. Frustration with leaders who lie and misinform because they value their own power more than the well-being of their people. Empathy for children and families trying to navigate a frightening world. Nostalgia for the wilderness and the winter that I had come to miss while living in southern California. And most of all a yearning for adventure and exploration, for getting out and seeing new places and learning new things about the world, something I had taken for granted until it became impossible.
      The book I wrote is not the one I imagined before I started, and it certainly isn't the story I first imagined twenty years ago in my college dorm room, but it's the one I had in me when I sat down to write. For all that we love to view writing and other creative pursuits as something apart from the world, as pursuits that require space and distance from humdrum reality, everything we create is always going to be in conversation with the world we are in and the lives we are living.
      Writing this book, over these past few years, has shown me that it's better to embrace that, rather than fight against it. Because creating the best work that we have in us in this time, in this place, made from all the pieces of the people are now, that's all we can ever do as artists working in an ever-changing world.

Our new WUCON!

Saturday was our first ever WUCON as in Winthrop University Comicon - and it was A HIT!

There were several fun photo opportunities. Here are my students Tianna, Ave, and Alyssa with a fun backdrop.And here I am with Iron Man! Our print professor, Myles Calvert set up a small screen printing set up to share blank comic book pages, ready for story-makers. All my illustration students set up tables to sell their wares. It reminded me a bit of "Bookmarks" at the Edinburgh College of Art. My students prepared for weeks, putting together comic books, posters, postcards, earrings, stickers (lots of stickers!). I bought way more than I should, but I think some of what I bought will be collectors items someday. Keep an eye on these talented budding creators! Here's Erin:Guye: Josh, David, and Ethan: Kaelen (with Asher doing some shopping): Michael:William: And Sarah, Maggie, and Reagan (who wore cool contact lenses): I talked about Creating Graphic Novels and had a great turn-out with lots of questions from a very interested audience. I might have even gained two new illustration majors!
     My colleague, Prof. Jason Tselentis, also gave a panel with guest speakers Jonathan Belle, Asiah Fulmore (of Amethyst fame, and a WU alum), and Liana Kangas. There was also a cosplay competition later in the day. I wasn't able to stay for that, but here's a sneak peek:
The keynote speaker was voice actress Tara Strong. Here's the full line-up for the day:Honestly, there wasn't a lot of advertising that went out before the event, which goes to show how much interest there is in our area for a comicon. And now that folks know about it, and with more long-term advertising, I think next year is going to be three times as big. How fun to be on the ground floor for the inaugural year! Many thanks to Willie Bush and DSU for inviting me to be a part. I look forward to next year's WUCON!#ArtsWinthrop

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

Oh bravo - this was a fun read! Three separated sisters pulled apart by an abusive past are reunited by the return of the tower of Avalon. With it, they rediscover each other and innate powers they use towards improving the plight of women in New Salem, a town oppressed by a righteous Mayor, who isn't quite what he seems. This is a story of female empowerment as they grow into their strengths and the ability to right wrongs, to find love that actually means something, and to spread hope. The story twines through historical events of the late 1800s, lending just enough credence to make it all feel possible and believable. It left me feeling that I too might already have the words and the ways to share in the power. Fabulous! I highly recommend this book!