Art

Doodle 4 Google – Vote by May 10th!

/ still a dreamer

Did you know that Google holds an annual contest – Doodle 4 Google – whereby children in 5 different school grade groups design the Google logo on a specific theme? I just found out, and the voting ends May 10!

The contest is sponsored by the New York Public Library, Crayola, and, of course, Google. This year’s theme is “If I could travel in time, I’d visit ….”   There are several tiers of prizes but the National Winner can really clean up! That person “will have his or her doodle featured on the U.S. Google.com homepage, will be awarded a $30,000 college scholarship to be used at the school of his or her choice, a trip to New York for an event on May 17, 2012, a Google Chromebook computer, a Wacom digital design tablet, and a t-shirt printed with his or her doodle on it. We’ll also award the winner’s full time school a $50,000 technology grant towards the establishment or improvement of a computer lab or technology programming.”  Holy moly! Go vote and help out some talented kid!

Check out the Doodle 4 Google web site for information, but be sure to vote for your favorite. In New Jersey in the Grade 10-12 group, Cynthia Cheng, an 11th grader from Edison, NJ, is our state’s winner, and chose the Vikings. Her artwortk is really fantastic, featured above in smaller format, and you can vote for Cynthia here.

What a great chance for young artists — and perhaps future illustrators — to be recognized. Signing off … I’m going to vote!

Whose First Book Is Being Released April 10th?

/ still a dreamer / 2 Comments

It’s Ame Dyckman! Boy + Bot is Ame’s first picture book, published by Alfred A. Knopf and illustrated by well known children’s book illustrator, Dan Yaccarino! It’s being released Tuesday, April 10th, and Ame has been beyond busy getting ready for the launch. She and her husband just finished creating her first book trailer – and it’s appearing on the Watch. Connect. Read blog, along with Ame and Dan Yaccarino interviewing one another, or you can view the trailer alone below.

When I asked Ame why it wasn’t on her own web site or blog, she told me she had been inundated with over 200 tweets in the last 24 hours and was just trying to keep up!  She has already appeared on a couple other blogs and will be on another tomorrow, plus she is in the process of setting up a Facebook page for herself AND another for Boy + Bot. Wow. Go, Ame!! (So … is this what we aspiring-to-be-published authors and illustrators have to look forward to? I’m exhausted already!)

As for Boy + Bot, it’s bound to be a hit with very young readers, and is a story of friendship between a boy and his red robot, the discovery of how they’re alike and how they’re different, and can they make their  friendship work when it hits a snag? You’ll have to buy the book and find out, but in the meantime, you can check out the trailer right here.

Congratulations, Ame!

Trees …

/ still a dreamer / 2 Comments

Spring brings a particular delight to many who suddenly really notice the trees in their new, colorful finery. The weeping cherries, flowering plums, dogwoods and magnolias literally herald the season and confirm the retreat of winter. But for those of us who feel deeply connected to nature, trees are magnificent in all seasons. They are equally as beautiful in their fresh Spring blooming as in their Fall brilliance as in their Winter bareness, where the most basic structure of their being proudly holds forth.

Many authors have written about the wonder and beauty of trees over the centuries. In an earlier post I even took a turn on writing about trees myself. However, two lovely things have crossed my path in the last few days about trees … one a video, and one in the book I’m reading by Dr. Wayne Dyer, (Wishes Fulfilled.) He quotes 18th century poet, William Blake:

“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a Green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all Ridicule and Deformity … and some scarce see Nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, Nature is imagination itself.” – William Blake

And with this in mind, passed on by a friend, an absolutely magnificent video of trees called Listen with Your Heart …

 

New French Bulldog Notecards

/ still a dreamer / 4 Comments

If you enjoyed the image of the little French Bulldog with a flower hat that I posted a short while ago, you’ll be happy to know that you can now send her adorable little self out to friends, family or anyone with whom you’d like to share a smile.

Yup, this is the image that first appeared in Just Frenchies magazine and earned me a spot as a finalist for excellence in Illustration/Painting in the 2011 DWAA (Dog Writers’ Association of America) awards. (Read more.) This was big news! So I thought you might enjoy a visit from this little pup. She’s ready to travel!

10 adorable notecards with matching white envelopes for only $15.00 plus shipping, and you can buy them right here!

Note: All illustrations, drawings and photographs are © Jeanne Balsam and may not be reproduced in any format without written permission. Thank you!

Catching the Light – Part II (the Cats)

/ still a dreamer / 3 Comments

Although spaced much further from the earlier Catching the Light post than I’d intended, here we have, not what … but who … was catching the light.

What is so wonderful about making art is that chance or happy accident that occurs during the creative process. Now we’re not talking about that flash of inspiration which takes us in a new direction in what we’re writing or painting, but the unintended change in direction from what we’d planned. I suppose that could be the same thing in some cases, but right now I’m referring specifically to capturing an unexpected moment in time, and the excitement of it happening in photography. (Hmmmm …. I am suddenly remembering an e-mail filled with moments such as those, but that’s not where I’m going today.)

Back to that warm morning sunlight streaming through the front window. Claude, pictured above, often takes this position in the morning after breakfast and basks somewhere along the back of the sofa, though this particular spot is preferred. I took a bunch of shots of him, always marveling at how elegant and sophisticated he appears in his photographs when in fact, he is one of the goofiest animals I have ever known. I had a nice selection of Claude, the sun worshipper, to choose from.

The unexpected shot came when Gypsy Rose wanted to see what was going on. Happily, I was able to quickly switch gears and capture that moment of cat curiosity. Not much time to adjust camera settings, to account for the darkness of her coat, etc. but then this was about the moment.

Even if we have no intention of taking photographs, our eye can easily be trained to find and appreciate those amazing moments where, in just one second, the view changes. Camera not needed; call it a memory.