The Ugg Lives! Dr. Yes, and Book Stand

Christopher Rantala made wonderful bookstands for me and Summer Havelin did an amazing job creating two stuffed Uggs, along with a surprise Fimo version of Dr Yes, both from the Ugg and the Drip. Both commissions were created for promotional purposes. Thanks!! They look great! The kids love them.

Giving Back: Big Book Giveaway at 3 different schools in Thunder Bay.

To give back to Thunder Bay for all the public's support of my endeavours as a self-published author I wanted to give away 300 books to kids across the city. About 260 + children each received their choice of one of three of my self-published picture books in the last month. And last year I gave away 90 books in Surrey, B.C. In T. Bay, I visited three different schools. The best reaction came  from kids who asked me, "Can I take this home?" When I said yes, they were either thrilled or stunned. The response from the principals, teachers and the kids was fantastic. I did get paid for the readings, which basically covered the printing costs of the books, but the fun and excitement generated was what it was all about.

The photos above were taken last week at Ecole Catholique Franco-Superieur, in grades 4 and 5. At Ogden School kids in 2nd and 3rd grades got books. I did readings in two sessions. During the second reading the teachers were whispering and talking in the halls. They apologized for the distraction as it turned out that Ogden was in lockdown mode informed that a "shooter" (man with a gun) had  left Intercity Mall which was evacuated. The teachers and staff handled everything very professionally and quickly. A group of children waited in the library for their parents, a few distracted by the books they just received. The man with the gun was soon after arrested without incident. 
     At St. Martins (photos below) in Westfort I did the reading in the gymnasium to 88 kids who all got books.

I also talked a little about how the stories were created, the underlying meanings, and what it's like to work as a freelancer and self-employed person. The children had lots of questions and were very attentive. There are always a few good insights and I get a few good laughs from the unpredictable responses, questions and interpretations. Thanks to all involved. It was a blast. I might do more come September. Please contact me if you think your school might be interested. Thanks!

Book Stand by Carol Kajorinne with Books

                                             I commissioned Caroline Kajorinne, a young metalsmith in Thunder Bay to create a book stand for me. Her boyfriend, Kriev, did a little sculpture version of the Ugg, featured at the top of the stand, complete with little buildings and the cloud of dust the Ugg kicks up when he stomps down his path. You can see Carol's work HERE.

Helping out students at Confederation College

Had fun last week helping out students of the film program at Confederation College, playing the lead role as the "Liftman" - operating an elevator, getting berated mostly by the tenants in an old apartment building. The students are from all over the world this year - Sudharm from India, Zhenya from Ukraine, others from the Caribbean, South America, and elsewhere. Some shooting was done in an actual apartment building, but the students built a set in the green screen room at the College where most of the filming was done, and allowing for some special effects. Can't wait to see the results.

Interview with upcoming radio host and author, Sadie Nastor

Bright young Sadie Nastor, a neighbour and fan interviewed me not long ago about my books. She is an author herself, having completed a novel! Good going Sadie! You can check out her other podcasts HERE. And check out the interview with me HERE.

Opening Night rescheduled: Some New Works Including Images (illustrations) for a secret international project: EMERGENCE

Special thanks to Thomas White who is opening his Espresso Bar/Gallery in the newly happening downtown North Core centred amongst our booming new restaurants - waiting times of up to two hours! Thomas is likely to do well from the spillover alone. Paintings I couldn't complete for my last show, will be featured here. Joya will be open this Tuesday, February 17th. Official opening night for the show will be announced shortly.

Minor News - saw a flying squirrel!

Photos taken from the Internet

Christmas night. My cat, Emily and I saw a flying squirrel last night. We were outside at 11pm, behind my brother's house near Central. Emily was staring up at a tree, watching what I thought was a chipmunk running up and down a branch that was as high, and next to, the 3 story house. I couldn't recall ever seeing a chipmunk or squirrel running around at night. So I kept my eyes on it, wondering what it was doing. The squirrel jumped from the branch. All of a sudden this thing with giant wings, but in a square shape rather than normal bat wing shape, came flying towards me. But I still immediately thought it must be a giant bat. I ducked slightly thinking it might hit me, but it swooped in a big curve and landed five feet away on the tree to my left. The wings had vanished and a small squirrel ran up into the tree. Then high up on a tree to my right another squirrel was running around, so there might have been two of them. I've never seen one before!

Two Art Shows in Thunder Bay (Both extended till end of November: Lara Wood at the DEFSUP Gallery, Faces and Figures at the Habana Gallery

TWO SHOWS! Back to back and then the Studio Walkabout! Busy months. I've been painting like mad. Click on the images below for more details.

Lara Wood is a darker children's picture book for older kids who will appreciate Lara's strengths and ability to conquer adversity. The book won't be out till next year some time. Meanwhile I can build up some promotion for it and let people see the amount of work that goes into such a project.

The Faces and Figures show was inspired by Bram Dijkstra's book, Naked: The Nude in America. It's been incredibly influential on me. Although I enjoyed painting nudes, I always felt awkward – a sense of guilt. No longer! The way the nude has been depicted is fraught with difficulties, but this book gave me a clear head about many issues. I second guessed myself for years. Here's a great line from the book: "Artists who refuse to assault the body with stylishly perverse psychological or physical deformations are usually dismissed as hopelessly out of tune with today's art world. In fact the rampant imagery of paranoia and obsession rife in the contemporary art world can be traced back to the Puritanism that continues to rankle the American mind. It is not the product of artists who celebrate life by celebrating the body."

So, here are two shows that combined celebrate both the mind and body of women (mostly. There will be a few naked men in the figure show). In the children's book, Lara is a strong young woman who risks her life to save a young man, not for reward or because she is told to, but because it is the right thing to do. And she stands up to a wolf, a dangerous wizard, and is able to poke fun at the idiot king, King Nimrod who builds the Tower of Babel. In the Faces and Figures show I celebrate the human face and body in many different facets. I finally got around to painting a few women I had crushes on, and painted women from figure drawing classes whose beauty had nothing to do with sexual attraction and everything to do with human beauty, not diminished by age or popular concepts of beauty. Character can be everything, along with confidence in oneself. I plan to continue painting portraits and figures, and will incorporate them into a series I call Stage 500, for which I will have a big show one day in the future.
Special thanks to the Ontario Arts Council.

The 2014 Bologna Children's Book Fair this year was a great experience. I met with publishers from around the world and spent the last week sending pdfs of my books to interested parties. I met with friends, spending one week in Bologna, another in Switzerland (first time! Thanks Meejong!) and another week in Holland (Thanks Barbara and Gerard!). No volcanos erupted this time so I returned in good order to Thunder Bay to be met with three successive huge snowfalls. We've had SIX MONTHS OF WINTER!! So it was refreshing to mix with Europeans outdoors, see flowers bloom and swans in ponds. Although the benefit of winter weather is that it keeps me inside and productive I do get inspired by better climates too. European architecture, art, food, bicycle lanes, and the people are always inspiring. I'm back at work this summer to complete two very involved picture books, Lara Wood and The Chameleon Snake. Then I'll focus on Tiger Dream and other works. Too many ideas and not enough time!

Kids Get Books! Lots of Books! - Reading at Guildford Public Library in Surrey, B.C.

89 children from two schools, Holly and Hjorth Elementary, near the Guildford Public Library got a surprise when they trekked over for an hour's worth of stories on March 11. First, I read a few of my stories, published and unpublished, where the illustrations were projected to the wall. The last story I read was The Love Ant. Then each child got a free copy of the book! One child, rather sadly, said he didn't like the story. He returned the book, so I gave him a copy of The Ugg and the Drip. He flipped a few pages and nodded approvingly.

The two schools are part of an effort the city is taking to support early literacy in an area where 36% of the early year's population is identified as being vulnerable, as determined by UBC's Human Early Learning Project. This made me feel a lot better about giving away so many books.

The reaction made the trip and the giveaway all worthwhile. The kids were great – attentive and funny, occasionally blurting out hilarious statements in response to the stories. The teachers got the end joke of The Love Ant before the students did, but the kids quickly figured it out and burst out laughing or shared their surprise and/or distaste for the story's ending.

This event is a bit of a delayed book launch for the Love Ant. The illustrations for the book are part of the mural in the children's department. The story was told orally for 13 years, the librarians telling it to children and children to each other.

Special thanks to Sara Grant, Melanie Boyle, Amy Ashmore, the National Public Readings Program (Canada Council and Canada Writer's Union) for funding half the flight and the reading. Also thanks to Susan, Namrit, and the teachers!

Reading at St. Martins and Progress continues on Lara Wood starring Lara Wilson

For Family Literacy Day at St. Martin's School with about 200 kids brought into the new gymnasium for two one hour bouts of readings there was no time for demonstrations or much discussion. The kids were great - attentive and inquisitive. And LOUD! They read their queues for The Ugg and the Drip with gusto! Thanks to Laura Racco and St. Martin's. It was great fun for me and always a learning experience.

Lara Wood is reaching its conclusion after intermittently being worked on for the last year, adding another 14 illustration to the five illustrations I completed 15 years ago. I came across this old photograph of Lara Wilson, who posed as Lara Wood. Yes, her name inspired the name of the heroin, not Lara Croft! I gave Lara this knife to pose with and she began to goof around with it. Her mother calls me once in a blue moon to find out if I've completed the story yet. Soon! Soon!

Little Neve Memorizes My Books!

Success! Neve, my three year old niece can't yet read, yet Neve has memorized the complete text of my books Big Electric Cat and The Ugg and the Drip. She can be heard reciting the text aloud while she plays with her toys. "Dr. Yes is a crazy fool!" she'll declare. And she makes noises in rising volume to mimic the increasing size of the text. The dialogue is printed in different colours to help children discern between characters, potentially reveal a character's mood, and to make reading a little more fun. What I didn't think of was how the shape of the text on the page, which is very identifiable with the illustration, allows a child to more easily memorize the text that belongs to the corresponding picture. When Neve asked me to read The Ugg and the Drip to her, I sat with her. When I began to read she immediately began reciting the text. I was only there for comfort. She read the entire book to me! What a nice surprise. I'm honoured to have my books memorized, two of the dozen or so she has completely memorized.

Book Signing and Reading

UPCOMING BOOK SIGNINGS / SALE
Soon TBA at Coles in the Mall

If you would like to order my books to have them mailed to you or a child, please send $20.00, cheque or money order, per book (shipping and handling included) to PO Box 26053 Memorial PO, Thunder Bay, ON, P7B 0B2. Please include the child's name so that the package can be addressed to the child. Please let the child open the package - there will be creative packaging.
Past Book Signings
COLES in the Mall: This Thursday, Nov. 28, 11am to 5pm, Friday, 11am to 5pm
Baggage Building at Prince Arthur's Landing: Sunday, Dec. 1: 11am to 5pm, as part of Christmas on the Waterfront. 
Waverly Library: Readings with projected images from the stories on Saturday, November 30 at 2:30pm.
Wiggles and Giggles:  Corner of Park Ave. and Court St. Saturday, November 30, 10am to 6pm (excluding 2:30 to 3:30 for reading at Waverly, same day.
Chapters/Indigo Memorial: Friday, Saturday, November 15, 16.
BAGGAGE BUILDING ARTS CENTRE: in Prince Arthur's Landing as part of the Christmas on the Waterfront showcasing local artists and artisans: Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 7 and 8. 11am to 5pm. 

Coinciding Events: Word on the Water, October Walkabout, Baggage Building Show

14 hour work days for a few weeks before last weekend kept me busy, with the bulk of the promotional work for the Walkabout tour, where friends sat for me in my home (also occupied by the artist John Books and his wonderful bronze sculptures) while I was in Kenora for the Word on the Water Festival. Meanwhile I have about twenty paintings and drawings in the gallery space at the Baggage Building in Prince Arthur's Landing. But no complaints! It was stressful, yet fun. Some of it made me money, and some won't but I met some wonderful people and got involved. Now I'm painting, writing and practicing lines for 3 student films where I'll play Victor von Frankenstein, an action hero, and the son of a man with Alzheimer's. More fun stuff.

In the photo above is Mike Grandmasion (amazing photographer) getting a copy of Little Ship of Fools signed by the author – our very own Charlie Wilkins who is, by the way, an excellent travelling companion. We rode back and forth to Kenora and had excellent and honest conversations. Thanks Charles! The list of other authors allows me to do some serious name dropping - Gail Bowen, Catherine Hunter, Chadwick Ginther, Sherry Peters, Doug Whiteway (whose photo above needed to be censored, but I dare not say why), Robert J. Sawyer, Karen Dudley, and the young and talented Samantha Beiko. Attendance may have been strangely low, but I loved Kenora, the enthusiasm, getting to meet other writers and being able to commiserate about this bizarre industry. The Best Western Hotel was wonderful. I loved my room! The sculptures (above) were a nice addition to the school yard by the hotel. The kids playing there were interacting with the colourful monoliths.

The October Walkabout Tour saw eight artists (see card) opening their studios with work for sale. My art was on my walls (and books for sale) and John Books had his sculptures dispersed throughout my dining/studio room. And finally, I threw up my work when a short term space became available at the Baggage Building. It's coming down soon (no deadline as yet), but I love an opportunity to show somewhere new.

One of my next missions is finding a place to show work and sell books before Christmas.