STEAM, Service Learning and Middle School Kids- What a Great Mix!
How do you get 7th and 8th graders excited about school? Give them voice and ownership over a service learning project and allow them to understand the impact … Read More
How to Use Tools for Painting Textures in Oil and Water Color
In the past few year, art supply stores have expanded their line of tools that help artists make textures in paintings. But you don’t have to buy fancy … Read More
We all like to be recognized- particularly when we work hard. It’s even better when that recognition comes from professional illustrators, AND your work is compared to that of Chris Van Allsburg!
Recently I was awarded Honorable Mention in a … Read More
This year, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators ended the Tomie DePaolo award and replaced it with the Narrative Art Award. The rules are simple- you submit three illustrations that convey a cohesive story in the theme of … Read More
Make fantastic pop-up books with your students using Dan Santat’s Beekle for inspiration.
Robert Sabuda is well known for his amazing pop-up books. I wanted to use his pop-up techniques to show my students how paper may be manipulated. But … Read More
Want to know what happens after you submit your picture book to a publisher? Last week I attended The A to Z of Picture Books, presented by author Kat Yeh and Rotem Moscovich, Editor at Disney-Hyperion. The presentation was true … Read More
My New Tutorial Video: How to Draw a Dog!
OK- time to try something new. I just uploaded a video of mine detailing how I drew my dog Paige. Three hours of drawing boiled down to 12 minutes. Topics include … Read More
Often when children can’t verbally explain the problem they are having, I ask them to show me their work. It is then, looking at their image, that I immediately understand what they were trying to say. Visuals speak where words … Read More
Knights, dragons, queens and wizards… all the making of a great story. The illustration Knight Time utilizes all of these details- and more- to inspire creative writing. Visual writing prompts should be dynamic and intriguing, something clip art can not … Read More
Science and art make a perfect marriage for illustrations, especially when you make narrative art. My latest Story Starter writing prompt illustration, I was inspired by chaos theory.
Chaos theory is fascinating- we see it every day in life, whether … Read More
