More Connections – Sophie Blackall
May 31, 2011
And so to carry on from the last post Missed Connections: Love, Lost and Found in which we learned about the talented illustrator Sophie Blackall…
A few weeks ago, I was helping out in the book booth at a school fair. As we sorted through the books I discovered a number of donations from a series called Ivy & Bean. Being in a household of boys I wasn’t familiar with them at all but was immediately enchanted by their quirky illustrations and sassy story lines. As I explored the world of Sophie Blackall for the last post, I realised she was the illustrator of Ivy & Bean!
The coincidence doesn’t stop there. Reading about Ivy & Bean I learned that the author of the series was none other than Annie Barrows. Wondering why that name sounds familiar? You’ve no doubt read one of her other works, the hugely popular The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. If you haven’t had a chance to read this yet, treat yourself soon!
But back to Ivy & Bean … These adorable tales are geared toward the elementary school aged girl but I’m convinced there’s wider appeal. Let’s take number 6 in the series: Doomed to Dance. My schooldays pal Molly and I could well have been the inspiration behind this story. When Molly and I were convinced we’d be the next prima ballerinas our gracious mothers enrolled us and diligently delivered us to Ms. McBirney’s ballet class once a week. Let’s just say it was grossly obvious from the start that we were delusional.
Aren’t the drawings tremendous? Sophie Blackall has a number of projects on the go – other illustrated storybooks and also a poignant project with her father. Take the time to visit her website here and enjoy her inspiring work.
Missed Connections – Love, Lost and Found
May 29, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
-m4w
“Ack! ‘Round 7pm or so… I was browsing the shelves and saw you on the other side. I swear I glimpsed our entire future together in that brief moment. It was beautiful. And then someone asked you for the time. I mean c’mon, who doesn’t have a damn time-telling device of some sort these days!
Oh, if only I’d thought of that.”
I’ve been itching to share this bookish discovery with you for the last week (dastardly computer!) The word serendipity is one of my favourite and this post (which has grown into two so standby for the story to continue) oozes serendipity.
Now, where to begin? Let’s start with the artist: Sophie Blackall is an illustrator with a talent for conveying whimsy in delicate colour. Originally from Australia she now resides in New York city. Sophie, like many, I’ve learned, peruses the on-line world of Missed Connections. What’s that, you ask? Missed Connections are the web postings launched following one of those occasions when a person feels a particularly strong connection with a stranger but lets the opportunity to form a bond pass them by. There are designated sites, Craigslist’s Missed Connections column among them, which provide the forum for regretful folk to post an appeal with the hope that the feeling was mutual and a connection is also being sought. Serendipity is wildly at play! Sophie Blackall saw a wonderful opportunity to bring the poignant and funny messages to life with her charming art. In her words:
“Messages in bottles, smoke signals, letters written in the sand; the modern equivalents are the funny, sad, beautiful, hopeful, hopeless, poetic posts on Missed Connections websites. Every day hundreds of strangers reach out to other strangers on the strength of a glance, a smile or a blue hat. Their messages have the lifespan of a butterfly. I’m trying to pin a few of them down.”
We benefit by being able to follow Sophie’s work on her blog (http://missedconnectionsny.blogspot.com ) by being able to purchase her works of art on her etsy site (http://www.etsy.com/shop/SophieBlackall) and soon by being able to read her book (September release) called Missed Connections: Love, Lost and Found.
There’s more to Sophie Blackall than Missed Connections but you’ll have to wait for the next post … meanwhile, enjoy a few more of her illustrations and the messages by which they were inspired.
“Thursday, December 31, 2009
– m4w – 32
You had on a furry hat with ear flaps and you crashed into me at Wollman Rink today. You are a terrible but adorable skater.
Happy New Year!”
“Sunday, March 15, 2009
-w4m 27 (East Village)
Green Hula Hoop in Tompkins Square Park
Yesterday you had a bright green hula hoop around your waist and you were VERY cute. Hope you reply.”
Crash!
May 28, 2011
Hello readers!
A quick note to let you know you’re not being neglected (well, on purpose anyway!) I’ve experienced the universally dreaded “Computer Crash” and have therefore been hog-tied so to speak. Have new machine as of today and so only a steep learning curve prevents me from sharing new posts with thee. A whole list of fun topics in the docket to motivate me so stay tuned. Tally ho!
Mermaids by Robert Fulghum
May 16, 2011
“Giants, wizards and dwarfs was the game to play.
Being left in charge of about eighty children seven to ten years old, while their parents were off doing parenty things, I mustered my troops in the church social hall and explained the game. It’s a large-scale version of Rock, Paper, and Scissors, and involves some intellectual decision making. But the real purpose of the game is to make a lot of noise and run around chasing people until nobody knows which side you are on or who won.
Organizing a roomful of wired-up gradeschoolers into two teams, explaining the rudiments of the game, achieving consensus on group identity–all this is no mean accomplishment, but we did it with a right good will and were ready to go.
The excitement of the chase had reached a critical mass. I yelled out: “You have to decide now which you are–a GIANT, a WIZARD, or a DWARF!”
While the groups huddled in frenzied, whispered consultation, a tug came at my pants leg. A small child stands there looking up, and asks in a small, concerned voice, “Where do the Mermaids stand?”
Where do the Mermaids stand?
A long pause. A very long pause. “Where do the Mermaids stand?” says I.
“Yes. You see, I am a Mermaid.”
“There are no such thing as Mermaids.”
“Oh, yes, I am one!”
She did not relate to being a Giant, a Wizard, or a Dwarf. She knew her category. Mermaid. And was not about to leave the game and go over and stand against the wall where a loser would stand. She intended to participate, wherever Mermaids fit into the scheme of things. Without giving up dignity or identity. She took it for granted that there was a place for Mermaids and that I would know just where.
Well, where DO the Mermaids stand? All the “Mermaids”–all those who are different, who do not fit the norm and who do not accept the available boxes and pigeonholes?
Answer that question and you can build a school, a nation, or a world on it.
What was my answer at the moment? Every once in a while I say the right thing. “The Mermaid stands right here by the King of the Sea!” says I. (Yes, right here by the King’s Fool, I thought to myself.)
So we stood there hand in hand, reviewing the troops of Wizards and Giants and Dwarfs as they roiled by in wild disarray.
It is not true, by the way, that Mermaids do not exist. I know at least one personally. I have held her hand.”
© 1986, 1988 by Robert L. Fulghum
It doesn’t always have to be a big book to convey a powerful message. This special little story is among the gems in Robert Fulghum’s All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. The essay upon which the title is based appeared in last year’s back to school post. Happy day to mermaids everywhere!
Ex Libris
May 12, 2011
Art and books go together like … hmmmm … milk and honey. Where did that come from? I’ve never even had milk and honey! Doesn’t sound that appealing either. PB & J perhaps. Rogers and Astaire? You get the idea. Whether beautifully illustrated or fronted by a gorgeous cover, bound words are always enhanced by well chosen art. The British Museum is about to release a wonderful book featuring art in the form of Bookplates. Bookplates or Ex Libris (literally “from the books of …”) are the sophisticated book treasurer’s approach to declaring ownership of a book. I may scribble my moniker inside the front cover but am inspired by this book and the wonderful discoveries I made (I’ll share below) to embrace the Ex Libris and add a little sophistication, or whimsy, to my library.
Ex Libris – The Art of Bookplates by Martin Hopkinson accompanies the upcoming exhibit at the British Museum of an archived collection of bookplates. When printing presses led to the availability of books for the first time for personal libraries books were treasured, and valuable, possessions. Labeling the books was important and also became an opportunity to show respect for the book by decorating it with beautiful miniaturised fine art. Here are a few of the historic samples: (click on the link to the book title above to see more)
I thought I’d take a cruise around the web and see what modern versions were available. Be still, our hearts – there are some lovelies out there! I’ve narrowed it down to two of my favourite sites – click on the name to be swept off to the shop. Have fun!
From Felix Doolittle:
From Oiseaux:
Happy Mother’s Day!
May 7, 2011
Happy Mother’s Day!
A special greeting to my Mummy who has always encouraged me in my reading and writing. She introduced me to the joys of a good read, a cosy bookshop and a well-stocked magazine store from an early age and we have always maintained our bond over literary love. She is an avid and adventurous reader with a particular fondness for non-fiction, occasionally emerging from the New Age aisles even. She challenges my learning and still she is always game to make room for reading my latest “you simply have to read this” novel … In the words of Anne of Green Gables she’s a kindred spirit and I’m oh so lucky she’s mine.
And to all you Moms who share a love of reading with your children, whether you’re snuggling up in “the big bed” together reading Harry Potter (and struggling to keep your eyes open) or you’re delighting in sharing your favourite “grown-up” books for the first time with your teen or you’re exchanging best sellers and book club reads with your child who’s flown the nest … have a wonderful Mother’s Day!
Channeling Half Pint
May 1, 2011
Does this book’s cover spark a pang of nostalgia? Did you also spend your early reading years immersed in the adventurous world of Half-Pint? My Laura Ingalls Wilder “Little House” books were the 1971 edition illustrated by Garth Williams and were gifted to me as a boxed set. (Thank you Santa!) I’m typing this with dusty mitts as I was just flipping through the pages of my still treasured collection. Had Santa elected to purchase just a single copy of one of the books it would have set him back $1.50 (or $1.75 in Canada). What has brought Laura out of the cupboard you may wonder … Well there’s a newly released book that takes a fondness for the Ingalls clan to a whole new level …
Wendy McClure, a children’s books editor, also adored the Little House series when a child and returned to them as an adult. The re-reading of the books inspired McClure to launch an exploration of the world of Laura. Her memoir The Wilder Life is described by Indie Bound:
“For anyone who has ever wanted to step into the world of a favorite book, here is a pioneer pilgrimage, a tribute to Laura Ingalls Wilder, and a hilarious account of butter-churning obsession.
Wendy McClure is on a quest to find the world of beloved Little House on the Prairie author Laura Ingalls Wilder-a fantastic realm of fiction, history, and places she’s never been to, yet somehow knows by heart. She retraces the pioneer journey of the Ingalls family- looking for the Big Woods among the medium trees in Wisconsin, wading in Plum Creek, and enduring a prairie hailstorm in South Dakota. She immerses herself in all things Little House, and explores the story from fact to fiction, and from the TV shows to the annual summer pageants in Laura’s hometowns. Whether she’s churning butter in her apartment or sitting in a replica log cabin, McClure is always in pursuit of “the Laura experience.” Along the way she comes to understand how Wilder’s life and work have shaped our ideas about girlhood and the American West.
The Wilder Life is a loving, irreverent, spirited tribute to a series of books that have inspired generations of American women. It is also an incredibly funny first-person account of obsessive reading, and a story about what happens when we reconnect with our childhood touchstones-and find that our old love has only deepened.”
Wendy McClure has written several memoirs and manages humour adeptly. Though my initial thought was uh-oh – a Laura groupie on the loose (You will learn about those in the book too!) I have been impressed by the number of positive reviews. Perhaps I’ll add this to my summer reading list. You?
