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| Purchase It's Halloween, Chloe Zoe! & download Chloe Zoe Halloween activity pages HERE! |
Saturday, September 30, 2017
Mandala Tile Designs for Kess InHouse
I'm super excited to share my NEW trio of mandala tile designs for one of my fav clients: Kess InHouse! Each design in available on a wide variety of fabulous, high-quality home decor products! Happy shopping! XO
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| Shop Socali Hippie Mandala Tile HERE! |
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| Shop Tangerine Dream Mandala Tile HERE! |
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| Shop Pink Indian Meditation Mandala Tile HERE! |
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Super Star Children's Book Review: Green Green, A Community Gardening Story
Welcome to the monthly children’s book review feature with a focus
on diverse books here at Bird Meets Worm! My team of reviewers—Cara Chow, Denise Holmes, Joan Charles, Sharon Calle—and
I are so excited to be championing books
celebrating everything from gender diversity, people of color, the LGBTQ
community to ethnic, cultural and religious minorities, people with
disabilities and developmental challenges to controversial topics, unique
family situations and anything and everything I did not include. It is to say
we take a rightfully board view of diversity! We aim to shine a light on books
that bring both familiar experiences to those who do not often see themselves
represented in books and new experiences to those looking to expand their
worldview. Here at Bird Meets Worm we believe in the power of story to build
empathy and thus a better world for you and me and everyone. Look for a new review on the second Wednesday of every month.
Green Green, A Community
Gardening Story
By Marie Lamba and Baldev
Lamba • Illustrated by Sonia Sánchez
Picture Book (ages 2-5) • 32 pages
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux • 2017
ISBN 978-0-37-432797-2
Green Green, A Community Gardening Story is a picture book close to my heart. I am lucky
enough to live in an urban city that recognizes the need for community gardens.
My daughter and I have a garden plot in our neighborhood, where it is has been
wonderful to see the plants grow and neighbors come together. So, needless to
say, I was excited when I discovered this book.
The story opens with a
family, who moves from the country to a big, urban city. A cast of diverse
children in the neighborhood, start to notice their city developing up around
them. Green spaces are becoming smaller, and empty lots are filling up with
garbage. The children take matters into their own hands and start cleaning up
one of the lots. With help from the adults, they start cleaning, digging and
soon have a space for planting.
Written as a poetic
narrative, Green Green shows how
children can change their own world and bring people together by doing
something as simple as building a garden for their neighbors to share. The
message is powerful—it inspires community and fosters a love for cultivating
our natural environment, even in a big urban city.
The back matter of the book
provides additional information for readers about how to create their own
gardens and make spaces that attract pollinaters, like bees and butterflies.
Green Green
will give the reader an open invitation to talk about their community, the
environment and how to care for our world.
Buy this book:
Reviewed by: Denise Holmes
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Squirrel Selling Nut-Flavored Ice Cream
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| What says summer more than a squirrel selling nut-flavored ice creams?! |
Super Star Interviews: Holli Conger
Welcome
to my monthly interview feature! I’m so excited to be interviewing all the
fabulous artists, illustrators and designers I’ve meet over the years (both
personally and virtually!) and sharing their artwork and experiences here on
Bird Meets Worm. Look for a new interview on the first Tuesday of every month.
This month I’m super duper excited to be chatting it up with the rock
star Illustrator & Designer, Holli Conger! I’m a long-time fan of Holli’s
fabulous mixed media collage artwork (and by long-time fan, I mean like the
better part of twenty years!) She’s an artist specializing in
illustration for the children’s market, art licensing and three-dimensional
found object art. Holli is a Nashville native. Three years ago, she left the
land of Country Music for the land of Krispy Kreme, and currently lives in
Winston-Salem, NC with her husband and two children. You can view more of her artwork here!
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| Go, Crocodile, Go! |
Q: I absolutely love your adorable characters and
whimsical artwork for kids! Dish with us a bit about your creative process:
ideas, sketches, creating color digitally, adding and balancing patterns &
textures—you know, all the good stuff!!
A. For any project, even if it's to make or build something around
the house, I start with a sketch. Pencil and paper is always the first step for
me. Many artists have switched over to working digitally for their sketches,
but I like the feel of drawing on paper, erasing but still leaving a faint
marking of what I've left behind. I like the process of layering pencil marks
in different tones to get my shapes and details worked out. I just can't seem
to have that effect when I try them digitally on my iPad or Cintiq. Also, I'm
on the go a lot so paper and pencil are always easy and accessible and it
doesn't need to be charged. I home-school my kids and I try and change up their
learning environment when I can since I know how well that works for me as an
artist. I work in the studio, different rooms in the house, coffee shops, the
library, the park, doctor's office, etc. I like to keep a sketchbook of just
random ideas. Inside are things my kids might want me to draw, a new found
object art piece I may make or ideas for art licensing.
For sketches that need to seen by a client before final color
artwork (my children’s publishing work or on-assignment work like licensing) I
know it needs to be a little more polished and within the size format. For
those projects, I use regular copy/printer paper. I'll box out the dimensions
for the piece and start sketching with a blue pencil. This allows me to get
loose with my lines in a much lighter tone than my gray pencil. That way my
"thinking" lines don't distract from the final, more detailed gray
pencil line. Once I have my shapes and details figured out, I go over it all
with my normal, everyday, number 2 pencil. At this step I finalize my lines and
add in details and rough shading if needed.
When it comes time to final artwork, most all my client-based work
is done digitally. I work in a vector, painterly and found object style. My
found object work is what I tend to do the most of since it’s my trademark
style. I tend to do more vector and painterly for educational illustration
(workbooks, etc.) and licensing. In my found object work I use a lot of
different things. I love shopping at thrift and antique store and even garage
sales to find "treasures" to use. I scan in or photograph the
objects, papers, textures, etc.—creating a huge digital archive of things to
use. Once they are captured digitally, they did go in my filing cabinet or in
the many storage bins and they are free to use for my three-dimensional found
object pieces.
In both my tangible and digital found object pieces, I rarely know
what type of textures, pattern or objects I will use in a final piece, but if I
have an idea at the sketch phase, say a button used as the nose of the dog, I
will draw it as a button just so I can remember. All my client work (except
vector art which is done in Illustrator) is done in Photoshop. I have a Cintiq
that has allowed me to work quicker and with more detail than I have before. I
was never a wacom pen user, just their mouse and tablet. I would always draw,
cut out shapes, etc. with the mouse. Now it's much easier just to draw and cut
with the pen directly on the screen.
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| Bring on the holiday cheer! Ho, ho, ho! |
A. I graduated in 2000 with a Bachelors degree in Graphic Design
& Advertising. I have always loved marketing and thinking through how I
could stand apart from my classmates (AKA competition in the job market once we
graduated). I started freelance designing toward the end of my freshman year,
but didn't do much until my sophomore year. By the time I graduated, I have 2
more years experience and a portfolio of completely different projects than my
fellow classmates had since their portfolios all consisted of the same school
projects and assignments. I had wondered how many hiring Art Directors saw they
same project come through the portfolio of job seekers over the years. I landed
my design job with a publisher 2 weeks before graduation that was beyond
entry-level and making almost double of what my classmates were being offered
for their entry-level jobs. That same mindset has help me maintain a successful
illustration career. Having that job for 5 years allowed me to do all kind of
design work like web design, advertising, book design, catalog design, art
directing photo shoots, etc. I was able to do so many different things I didn't
get bored doing just one aspect of design. Whenever appropriate I tried to fit
in some more of illustration work into it. It didn't happen often, but it
allowed me to experiment with different looks and techniques.
I think my love for typography started in collage. We had a full
semester on Typography and had so many wonderful projects using type. Around
that time the internet began to boom with free font sites so I would always
download them and use them in different ways and combinations. Today I love
creating my own letters within my work or using words and letters from old
paper clippings, packaging, signs, labels, games, etc.
When my daughter was born I decided to go into freelance
illustration. I wanted a career with goals but still wanted to be home with
her. Freelance design involved to many phone calls, face-to-face meetings and
that just a little too much client hand holding that wouldn’t interrupt my
mommy time. Sticking to illustration meant that most of my clients would be out
of town, prefer email contact and diaper blowouts could be managed without a
client even knowing.
Having a design background has been invaluable as an illustrator.
I always tell young people that if they are on the fence about a degree in
illustration or a degree in graphic design, go for graphic design. You'll be
able to design your own brand and promotional materials, you can always do
design work on the side if your illustration work slows down and most importantly
(I think) is to understand the production process of what happens after your
turn in an illustration. It helps to speak the Art Director's
"language" in understanding why they may need things at a certain
DPI, how to add a spot color or a foil layer to something, understanding bleeds
and how a book will be printed or how your flat art ends up on a
three-dimensional piece. With art licensing, I’ve had to lay out art and
specifications for entire product lines for factories in China and I would
never have known how to do that without having the technical design background.
All that to say, it's just helpful to know the entire process, as it's
benefited me greatly.
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| Speedy shopping helper! |
A. The artwork, clients and marketing are so
different from each other. For children's publishing it's all assignment based.
The client knows what they want. For art licensing I have to come up with the
idea and concept and then try and sell it to someone else. Promotion for these
markets is different and it is difficult to manage those two types of
self-promotion. For publishing, I send postcard mailers, email tear sheets and
post work online. That is all to entice an art director to hire me for their
project. For licensing, I have to contact the manufacturer (by email or phone),
get an idea of how they license art, what they might be looking for theme wise,
and if it's even the right time of year for them to review said art. Then I
have to go back and see if I have art that fits their need and reformat it to
their desired format. If not, I decide if it's worth it to create art to fit
their needs (because chances are that same art will be what another company
needs also) or move onto another potential client and try and license what I
have. With licensing it's best to build a relationship with clients and
continually show them new work I've already created as with publishing, the
work I've done for other clients is what I show to them. "Look what I
did." vs. "Look what I can do for you."
Q:
What is a
typical workday like for you? Set the scene (workspace, materials, accessories)
and describe your responsibilities (illustration, design, business stuff) and
creative juju (rituals, inspiration, process).
A. Depending on what deadlines I have that day, I may get up at
3:00 am to get a chunk of work done before my kids start school. I may get you
at 7:30 and work on emails from the couch and have a cup of coffee (or three!).
Afterwards I head to my studio, which is an extra living space in our basement.
It's filled with color and inspiration in the form of artwork, vintage finds
and childhood toys. I’ve had other kids come to my home and think the room was
a playroom for my kids. I tell them it’s all my things and this is where I
work. I get a weird look from them like "you're kidding right?" I
like to be surrounded with what I like and since I spend so much time there, I
might as well enjoy looking at it all.
My messy workspace for painting and sometimes sketching is a big
dining room table from IKEA. It's the perfect size and I can spread out lots of
supplies when working on my big found object pieces. I then have a separate
sketch table that keeps me in the studio, but allows me to work away from my
computer. And then my main computer area looks like I could land an airplane
from it. I have and iMac, dual monitor and a large Cintiq all accessible
without scooting my chair around. It's a set up that works really well for me.
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| Is this studio the coolest or what?! Total art pro playground! |
I try to be done in the studio by 4:00pm each evening, but I’ll
continue to work on things in the back of my head throughout the evening.
Thinking though specs for a project, what all I might have to do the next day,
etc. After work I usually go outside and walk while my kids play. Then
it's dinner and family time and I'm usually in bed by 9:00pm. I just can't stay
up late to work. I’d rather know I can sleep before working even if I do have
to get up at 3:00am and knowing that coffee and probably a binge worthy TV show
are waiting for me.
Q:
You are a marketing rock star—so much so that you even offer 4 different paid
consulting programs to assist fellow creatives with their own marketing! What
are the biggest mistakes you see artists making when self-promoting? And what
are your top 3 tips for effective self-promotion?
A. I love helping other artist with marketing. My consulting
program has been a big part of my business over the last few years. It does
take a lot of time since it's all personalized so I do have a limit of how many
artists I can take on at a time. I learned the hard way of committing to eleven
artist the first time I started offering it and it was exhausting. I didn't get
much sleep those two months.
Understanding that some artist don't have the time or necessarily
the money (especially if they are just starting out) to commit to consulting,
last year I released an e-book of marketing tips, how to work smarter, what to
expect in your career, etc. It's a totally interactive book and although it's and e-book, it's meant to be printed out and marked up with notes and ideas.
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| Tear sheets: this is how a pro gets it done!! |
Most artists have similar problems in staying motivated and
effectively marketing themselves. Some of the biggest mistakes I see artist
doing with their own self-promotion is:
1. Not knowing where to start and not feeling that they're
"ready."
My advice: You will never feel ready. Just start; get out of your
head. Stop over thinking and over criticizing yourself. We are our worst
critic. Even if you aren't 100% comfortable with your style, just start putting
what you have out there and keep creating it, fine tuning as you go. Start
promoting yourself to potential clients. Start to getting your name, your
brand, out there. You're style will naturally change over the years. My style
has change so much from my first professional illustration job thirteen years
ago.
2. Thinking you're not good enough.
My advice: Comparison KILLS creativity. If you’re doing you, just
keep doing you. If you love it and have such a passion for it, other people
will too. They just need to find you so put yourself out there.
3. Getting hung up on social media. Thinking their worth is in the
number of people who follow them and number of likes their post gets.
My advice: Don't get caught up in what others think. Easier said
than done, but trust me, you can get there. The feeling creeps up on me
sometimes and I have to check myself, before I literally wreck myself. I'll
open Instagram and say to myself "here's your dose of depression for the
day." I try and think of my social media accounts as a way to journal and
document my process and journey so I can go back later and reflect rather than
trying to post for people's reaction. Sometimes just posting and not looking at
your feed is a good thing to practice every now and then.
4. Not knowing what main image to put on a postcard mailer thus
never sending on out.
My advice: During consulting this is one of the main hiccups
artist seem to have. They want it to be just perfect, but their definition of
perfect will sideline their efforts. In the first year of consulting I worked
with a really talented illustrator who had a very marketable style and I knew
wouldn't have any trouble landing work, BUT, they could never nail down the
perfect image for a postcard mailer, therefore they never were able to get one
laid out, printed and mailed during our time together. They put in the time to
research names, find addresses, know the submission guideline, but they could
not decide on what image they wanted to send. Everything in their portfolio was
perfect in my eyes so they have plenty of work to choose from, but they didn't
have the confidence to see it. This goes back to #1 above. You've just got to
push through it and get yourself out there. Send out a promotional mailer and
forget about it. It's just one of many you'll be mailing in during your career.
Let it work for you and move onto the next promotion.
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| How totally fun is this 3D collage?! Love it! |
1. Stay active online and in the studio. Motivation will lead to
creativity. Creativity will lead to creating more work. Creating more work will
fine-tune your style, therefore you're more confident with your work. The more
confident you are with your work, the more you will share (self-promote).
2. Do some type of promotion everyday. Email a potential client,
connect with someone on LinkedIn, post to social media (but keep the mindset of
my advice in mistake #3 above). Self-promotion can be that easy. Just get your
work out into the world.
3. Follow-up. Any interest you may have had in your work,
follow-up. People get busy, they get sidetracked, projects get postponed -
those are all reason why you may not hear back from poetical (and even past
clients). Follow-up and keep checking in with them, even if it's just a
reminder that "Hey, I'm still around and would love to work with
you."
Q: Describe your most perfect day.
A. Waking up knowing I don't have any deadlines that day (which
rarely happens and I'm so grateful for that!) and the day is totally mine where
I can work on any type of project I want or just have a day of nothingness.
Coffee. A breakfast where biscuits are involved. I'm currently trying to
perfect my biscuit recipe. I'm almost there. Baking them and eating them has
become an unhealthy passion of mine. Coffee. Then doing any kind of creative
project. One of my large found object pieces, some kind of project around the
house (redecorating/rearranging/building something) or even taking a nap to
refuel. My kids like to help with those things—except the nap part. Coffee.
Then dinner delivered to my door (we have the best authentic Italian restaurant
in our small town) and a good movie with my family. And maybe a decaf cup of
coffee ;) To me, coffee just chills me out and it like a warm sweater for your
insides, since I'm always cold.
A day like that would be total bliss—coffee, biscuits, creativity
and rest!
Thank you so much, Holli, for catching up with us
here at Bird Meets Worm!! You’re a total rock star!
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