Nostalgia and Old Photos

Sometimes I get into a mood... nostalgia. It's a nostalgia I can't place like some memory in my cells from another era. And sometimes I wander shops searching for a picture of it. I don't have many, but I like old photographs.

I don't know who they are, if they're living or dead. In these photos they are very much alive. Imagine their stories.

Can I put music to this mood. I think it is close to Cat Power's voice.

Festivals

May is the month where the weather is just right, the flowers are in bloom and there are fun festivals to go to every week-end. There's the Pungo Strawberry Festival, the Greek Festival, the Blackbeard Pirate Festival and the Stockley Gardens Art Festival.
















Today we went to Stockley Gardens and the kids had a blast! There were clowns blowing balloon animals, a face painting booth, Abrakadoodle Art and live Bluegass to dance to. It was a PERFECT day.

The mailman brought my birthday package with 2 books that I am very excited about. Play Pen by Martin Salisbury has a sampling of new childrens book illustrations from around the world. It's only recently that children's book art has become highly inventive and seems almost limitless with all the "cool" diverse forms of media used. Yes, it's soooo true, there are way too many mediocre picture books published in recent years and as an artist, I tend to agree with Mr. Salisbury that "pictures in picture books have a far more important role to play in the development of the child than a mere aid to reading." "The smallest owner of books has his special, private art gallery and a unique relationship to it, for he pores over his favourites endlessly, staring at them with a fascination that guarantees indelible memories of scenes and subjects. " It is important that children are exposed to GOOD ART !

This book showcases some of the most exciting work emerging in our generation from a wide range of cultural backgrounds and both digital and traditional media. From Alexis Deacon's delicate monster family to J Otto Siebold's crisp cartoon creatures and Shaun Tan's surreal picturescapes.....(these are just a few of the works included.)

The Lonesome Puppy

The other picture book I picked up last Sunday is The Lonesome Puppy by Yoshitomo Nara. It was first published in Japan in 1999 and is now in the states with Chronicle Books, San Francisco. This is the first children's book solely by Yoshitomo, but his art is popular worldwide. The story is about a Big White Dog and a little girl who notices him one day. Apparently no one ever noticed him before because he was too big! Ok it's the wonderful world of children's books, whether too big or too small, sometimes we feel lonely right? So the girl climbs up his leg, slides down his head and they meet- eye to eye. Then we see a couple of pictures of the girl trying to make sense of this creature and on the next page she is singing him songs and they become fast friends. The moral of the story is spelled out on the last page of text. “ No matter how alone you are, there is always someone somewhere, waiting to meet you. Just look and you will find them!”









Following the text we have eight more pages of Yoshitomo's wonderful art. Contemporary museums have acquired his paintings and sculptures, and his pop art figures can be found on t-shirts and plastic plates as well. Here is a brief description of his work by Kara Besher,

"What is it about this art that elicits such a strong response? It doesn’t seem very complicated. The style is intentionally flat, with blunt, uniformly thick lines. This, combined with a lack of modeling, texture or strong coloration, seems to force attention to the subject matter. Yet there isn’t much of that. Narrative content? Not much of that either. Expressiveness? Not really.

Nara’s artwork "clicks" because we sense that beneath the sparse execution is a direct portal to a personal, almost intuitive vision."

And if you would like to see more of his work there are quite a few pieces posted on artnet.
He also has a video. Here is the third of three parts called Travelling with Yoshitomo Nara.

a day, a dog

Because it's still technically Mother's Day (four minutes left as I write this) I'll tell you about the day. One of my favorite things to do- besides early morning coffee in bed, is to drive about 45 minutes south on the Pacific Coast Highway to Santa Cruz. The natural landscape is awe inspiring. We stopped at Whale City Bakery in Davenport- in no time too soon too because my oldest gets carsick ...you should have seen how skillfully I held her up over the trashcan, no vomit on my shoes. Nothing was going to ruin this day : o

The carni rides are open on the Boardwalk and the girls had a blast riding the little whale cars round and round and round.... We had fun shouting their names, waving and relishing those giggly smiling faces- one of the many great mom moments.

But a trip to Santa Cruz is not complete without spending at least an hour in Bookshop Santa Cruz. Like many great independent bookstores, the titles are handpicked. How I wanted to take many picture books home! Alas, I chose two. One I've wanted for my collection of picture books for a long time is, a day, a dog by Gabrielle Vincent. I wouldn't say this is a picture book for young children as the images ( there is no text) depict animal cruelty and a major interstate pileup. Here is a good review by Elizabeth Kennedy and another by Blogging for a Good Book. However, as someone who loves a story told in pictures this book is a diamond. Maurice Sendak called it an entirely unique work of art with, "Fierce, fleeting images that manage, despite their intense breathlessness, to meticulously tell a tale full of power and honesty." Gabrielle Vincent is one of my most favorite illustrator/authors who is best known for her Ernest and Celestine books that have been translated into 12 languages. Well, that was Mother's Day in a nutshell. I'll write about the second book I picked up soon!

Happy Mother's Day!

When I think of picture books and Mother's Day, The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown immediately comes to mind.

This 1942 classic is a must read for all moms and children everywhere.

Enjoy your Mother's Day today!

Taurus

Ok, I didn't plan this but it is my birthday today and as I was looking through all the great children's books at the library, this little bull caught my eye. It's the perfect book for a Taurus!

Published way back in 1936, The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf is a true classic with a timeless message, "Stay True to Yourself."

Little Ferdinand likes to sit under a cork tree and smell flowers rather than jump around and butt heads with the other bulls. He grows up into a big, strong bull with a mild temperament until one day he is stung by a bee. Owweee! Now he can no longer sit quietly under the tree. That same day he is chosen by 5 men as the "biggest, fastest, roughest bull" for bullfighting in Madrid.

But Ferdinand's big day in the arena only brings out his true personality. He sits quietly in the middle of the ring and sniffs the flowers in the ladies hair. "He wouldn't fight and be fierce no matter what they did."

The artist Robert Lawson has won many awards for his gorgeous etchings, including a Newberry and Caldecott. He died in 1957, but his art and this book still lives strong............like a bull!

Traces

Traces is a book of beautifully written verse by master children's writer Paula Fox and illustrated by Karla Kuskin, author/illustrator of Roar and More among many others.
I was immediately drawn to Kuskin's mixed-media collage illustrations. What is that on the cover? Is it sushi decorative garnish? And look at that- she's appropriated little glitter stickers of ladybugs and butterflies. Children LOVE glitter stickers how fun to include them! It looks as if the drawings are done with watercolor and acrylics, and I also spot fabric, torn newspaper and gold foil.

The book starts with a line that is repeated to the end,
"Something, someone was just here. Now there's barely a trace of it..." We find traces of animals who leave tracks, a jet plane has left a trail in the sky, a dinosaur has left its traces, children, "They were just here. Now there are still shadows on the ground. Following the leader,.... And, "The wind! The invisible wind! that can only be seen in its traces."

The magic of this book comes together in the layout. Just the right amount of text placed smartly on the pages. Sometimes it's squarely centered and sometimes it's about to run off the page in anticipation of the next line as we follow the traces like a snail trail. This book is a little gem. It makes me think about being in nature and summer vacation plans.






Beyond Disneyland, I want to go camping in a T@B trailer. Check out this promo on youtube- you'll have to do a little creative interpretation. These little trailers look so retro modern. I love to be out in nature but I like a good nights sleep. And I never sleep that well in a tent with all those nocturnal critters and bears roaming the campsite. So I found a place that rents them across the bay. Yeah campfires!