Cancer Sucks

Last year, a close friend of mine, Kristen Pakla, started a Relay for Life team with the American Cancer Society in memory of her father, Kevin O'Brien. Her team name was "See You in the Morning"...it was the last thing her father said to her before cancer unfortunately took his life. Not knowing what to expect, I joined in her efforts to make a real difference in the lives of people facing cancer and to remember those who have passed on.
During the overnight event we walked over 15 miles to help raise funds that aid in prevention of cancer by supporting groundbreaking research, affecting public policies, and educating people about early detection and prevention of cancer right here in our own neighborhood. The Relay was an amazingly, moving experience and so I've choosen to walk again this year on June 20th. My personal walk is in memory of my grandmother, Florence Filo (lymphoma), and in honor of my friend, Clarissa Alliano, cancer survivor.
Please visit the site and make a donation to support my efforts. We want to continue to remember those we have lost, celebrate those who have survived, and continue to fight back until we find a cure.
Thank you so much for your past and future support!
Click here to visit my personal page.
If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RelayForLifeEasternDivision?px=4398421&pg=personal&fr_id=4135&s_tafId=207568

SOLD!

I did it! I sold my first single page illustration!

I've become a vendor through Barnes & Noble's and their Product Development team purchased the below illustration to be the cover of a "tweens" locking diary for 2010.

Tell all your emo pre-teens to get over to B&N when it hits the shelves!

SketchCrawl

The World Wide SketchCrawl 18 was yesterday! Lead by Pixar Artist Enrico Casarosa, SketchCrawl involves people from different corners of the world in a day of sketching and journaling.

Read all about it and then particpate in SketchCrawl 19 on July 2nd in Central Park. Enrico and I will be there.

Creative Kids

I've been laid up for the past 4 days with a torn ligament in my ankle...just me and my laptop. Needless to say, I've bee doing plenty of websurfing. Today I decided that my future kids are going to rock the house when it comes to color theory prinicples!

Pottery Barn's Color Wheel Puzzle:

"Easy-to-manipulate blocks provide endless possibilities for the creation of designs and patterns inside or outside of the wooden tray! Great way to introduce child to the basic principles of both math and architecture, while encouraging both individual and group play. Designed to teach basic color theory principals, and stimulate children's thought process of cause and effect by showing the result of color combinations."

I like the word "excellence".

Today I was going through the motions of my Monday morning in the office when I recieved a very much needed phone call from Marywood University. It was the Alumni Office calling to tell me I had been selected for the Recent Alumni Award of Excellence for Professional Acheivement!
Here is a blurb about the award that I took from my school's website:

Recent Alumni Award of Excellence for Professional Achievement
Award Description
This award will be given to an alumni who has demonstrated significant professional achievements within 10 years of Graduation from Marywood University (Undergraduate and Graduate).
Award Criteria
-Excellence in service to community locally, nationally and/or globally by applying the Core Values of Marywood University in their day to day lives.
-Excellence in achievement in their professional lives by utilizing their education and experiences at Marywood University and serving as a role model for current and future students and alumni.
-Excellence in dedication to serving the Marywood Community thereby encouraging others to witness the potential of becoming active and serving the institution through example.
-Excellence in leadership by displaying the ability to live responsibly in a diverse and interdependent world.

I was very excited to learn I was nominated and won this award, especially because I was told it is very competitive. The award ceremony is in May during Reunion Weekend. I better work on my speech! ;-)

From Artlives Studio

I'm taking a new class that my Yoga Studio is offering - The Channeling Art Workshop.
The Channeling Art Workshop aims to help students to connect with and record personal journeys. Students will be guided through the process of unearthing their creative / spiritual self through symbolism; develop and demonstrate the ability to express their visual / aesthetic sense of design; use color, texture, images and symbols to explore their own visual language.
With one class down, I'm hooked. My teacher is Nadine LaFond and she is amazing. Her statement pretty much sums up how intriguing she is as an artist and a human being: "Making art for me starts with those moments in Life that immediately strike me as lessons. When the underlying tale begins to emerge, I simply follow that energy."
I can not wait for the next 5 weeks of this class!

Marywood Magazine

Just thought I'd share the shout out I got in the "Seen and Heard" section of the Spring 2008 Marywood Magazine.

Dedication to Phil

Dear Phil,
"I'm drawn to you like a powerful magnet. Please protect me like a ninja would. Like an octopus my hug will surround you. We fit together like perfect pieces of a puzzle. Even my juke box said I'll be your quarter. I'd enjoy the itch if you were my rash."

Okay, not really, but Phil Hanson's work rocks...check out his newest feature pieces - Goodbye Art...and be sure to see the Candy Heart Valentine's Day Special.

SCBWI

Hello!

Here are some pictures from the conference as promised:

The Infamous, Tomie dePaola

The Inspiring, Carolyn Mackler

Also, some of my favorite quotes from the weekend:

"It's not art if we're not in a new place."

"Never let your lack of experience or your simple ignorance deter you from doing something."

"Start out as you're meant to continue."

"Just look at your work and know, that's who you are."

"Self esteem is the enemy of achievement."

Wow.

I've just spent two of the most amazing days in New York City and there's one more left to go tomorrow! The SCBWI conference has been absolutely inspiring. They've choosen some of the most phenomenal keynote speakers to be here this weekend. I'm seriously blown away by these people - Robert Sabuda, Jerry Pinkney, Harry Bliss, David Wiesner...not to mention Tomie dePaola! And those were just the illustrators, that I'm obviously going to focus on over the writers. There was one writer that really hit close to home for me though - Carolyn Mackler. I, of course, have heard of her books from working at B&N and being an avid teen reader (shh, don't tell anyone). She spoke during our luncheon today and it was one of the best speeches I've heard, maybe ever - yes, I'll go that far. I was holding my side laughing at points and later finding my eyes tear, not from pain, but from listening to her personal stories, her honesty, and her growth as a writer. Seriously, I left feeling like I want to write a teen novel. This of course may be hard considering I only took one creative writing class in college and have no idea how to do such a thing, but she was just that motivating.
So, when the conference is over, I would really like to share some of my notes here. Also, I've made a list of books that must be checked out. I've got some great quotes I'd love to share. I took some snap shots. Even did some character sketches in my notebook that I'll probably scan right on to my website. Good stuff. I know, the anticipation is killing you. Hang in.