I’ve always been an all or nothing type of person. As a kid I would play outside in the hot sun all day until I would be attacked by a crazy migraine and my mom would have to place cold compresses on my head and soothe me until I’d eventually throw up. Now, I know … Read more
Saturday, April 21 11:10 a.m.-12:10 p.m. ~ Shadra Strickland (Illustrator) Positivity and Fulfilling the Dream Strickland works to promote self-affirmation and validation for African-American children in order to encourage positivity. Through her work, and her ultimate goal as a picture book author and illustrator, Strickland believes her work is about teaching children how to live their … Read more
October has been EXTRA busy. If you’re friends with me on facebook, you’ve had a front row seat to all of the comings and goings. Here’s a recap of the past month. I kicked the month off with a trip to Pennsylvania College of Art and Design with Amy Sherald to hear Robert Pruitt speak about his … Read more
Hi everyone, Craftsy is offering two new exciting classes this fall. Sketchbooks: Drawing the Everyday, and Sketching for Concept Art. Both classes are illustration oriented and offer tips and tricks that you may not have thought of on your own. Again, Craftsy classes are appropriate for all age levels and all art levels. You are never … Read more
Getting published is a HUGE accomplishment.But where most civilians (non authors & illustrators) think that a book deal means buckets of money and leaving behind a legacy, those of us in the trenches know that getting a book published is only the beginning. Looking back to my late twenties and thirties, all I wanted to … Read more
Happy Day! Today my online Craftsy class, The Art of the Picture Book launched! Check out the commercial and head on over to Craftsy to join us in adventures in storytelling. (An addendum—WHITE WATER takes place in 1962, not the 1950s. Please forgive me of the faux pas if you enroll in my class)
It’s the end of the semester. I’m fried. My students are fried. We’re all dragging ourselves across the finish line at this point. It has been a great semester for us, but man, I can’t wait for things to settle down. If you have never talked to a graduating senior on a college campus in … Read more
Congratulations and many thanks to the Auburn Avenue Research Library for their recent acquisition of two (of my favorite) original pieces of art from A Place Where Hurricanes Happen, “The Flood” and “Window”. I am excited and honored to have my work included in this collection so that other students and lovers of art can … Read more
Last week was senior portfolio week at MICA. By a strange stroke of luck, four of my SVA homies all ended up at MICA to participate. Though we didn’t get to see each other at once, it was great getting hugs and catching up with everyone in small groups. Taeeun, Lauren (MICA graduate), and Nora … Read more
Today I participated in a luncheon and open discussion with roughly twenty students, two female faculty members, and a visiting artist of color, about being a minority at a predominately white institution. Growing up in the south, I was privileged to attend a predominately black elementary and high school. Acceptance and understanding was never an … Read more