2007, when I graduated from college with my degree in Art Education and started my first teaching job, feels like a lifetime ago. And in many ways, it is. I’ve moved four times and had a least 12 different job titles since then.
That was the year I landed the job I thought I wanted, which was true for the most part. I LOVED teaching, the kids, and the endless exploration of new ideas and opportunities for learning. But to say that I didn’t like the school system would be an understatement. As you may or may not know, I left my first teaching job after eight years, and I didn’t just leave it for another teaching job; I left teaching. Or so I thought.
I then continued to teach advanced placement classes online for eight years. Education and creativity would be the connecting drive on a very windy path of new roles.
This year I made the hard choice not to sign a contract that would commit me to another nine months of teaching advanced placement courses. I loved almost everything about teaching those courses, but I was finding it hard to balance my full-time job as a product manager while running a publishing company with my brother.
When I left my first teaching job eight years ago, I had no idea what would come next. I was still determining what I wanted to do and working to understand the opportunities for someone with my education and skill sets. I quit my teaching job without another full-time job, believing I would figure it out. Through a willingness to experiment and say yes, I did.
I decided to step away from teaching online because I wanted to create more space for play, joy, and experimentation, which I’ve found in illustrating and publishing books. Working on books has helped me to get back into a creative practice filled with curiosity. It means I ask many questions, observe the world around me, and explore how to turn that into an image.
This week I sat on the ground and watched bees buzz from one piece of clover to the next, and for the first time, I realized that bees open each white petal on the clover. I saw a tiny insect with transparent dotted wings that I’d never seen before, and I was curious about why some of the salad greens from the garden had a hairlike quality on their spine. I noticed all these things because I’m working on a book about soil, seeds, and nature and making space for experimentation.
I want the same for you and your kids because it’s where the magic is.
In the book, Your Brain on Art by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross, they say this about art and aesthetics, “Knowledge is more than just cognitive intelligence. The best learning is knowing that cultivates wise discernment and understanding, and that evolves and grows over a lifetime. We are driven to learn. We long to fit the puzzle pieces together, to solve the mystery, to figure things out. We are a curious and questioning species by nature. Our desire to learn is innate, and if we’re lucky, we won’t have it tamped out of us. The best kind of learning sparks curiosity and, in return, endless discovery; it’s your own renewable energy source.” p.136
As I work on a new book, I hope to spark curiosity for you and your kids by inviting you to join the process. You may take one part of the process and use it to create images or hone in on observation practices. You could use The Oddball Activity book as your text and build your illustrations. Adopt my process, or use it as a jumping-off point to find your own.
Whatever you do, I hope that you create. Tag us on Instagram and share your work or email pictures to readingtreepublishing@gmail.com
DAY 1
1. I handwrite the story, making quick decisions about where page breaks should be based on the images that are popping into my head. [These might change as I get to work, but you have to start somewhere]
2. I underline words that are things I know I want to draw. This forms a checklist to help me get started.
3. I create basic sketches to understand the shapes. And continue to think and make notes as I draw.
DAY 2
Welcome to day 2 of making a new picture book.
Here I show how I underline key objects in the story and then make quick pencil sketches as I try to understand the basic shapes.
I’m going to take you along on the journey in real-time. Let me know if you’re going to work on a book or creative project with me.
DAY 3
Today, I’ll show you my collection of paper to create collaged images. While I’ll likely end up making some painted paper for the book, I like to work through my scraps when I’m in the experimentation phase.
Look around and see what paper you can use to experiment. I like to use the inside of security envelopes, cards, or any other fun packaging materials.
DAY 4
Today I’m showing you how I transformed some of my pencil sketches into objects. I’m experimenting with various papers that I already had.
You’ll see that I make one piece at a time and then I’ll use those to build the images.
What questions do you have about making a picture book?
DAY 5
Here are some of my favorite supplies.
Sketchbook from @chartpack with pages that are easy to remove.
@blackwing pencils
Pencil sharpener
@elmersproducts glue stick
Scrap paper
Lots of collected paper for experimentation
What are your favorite art-making supplies?
DAY 6
I hope that you’re having fun learning more about how picture books are made, and maybe even taking some time to create on your own.
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Remember that The Oddball Activity Book, is a perfect tool to help you get started, as it has all of the text for The Oddball, but the images are removed.
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Today I’m showing you:
1. How I go from the individual parts of an object to a finished image.
2. Photograph each part.
3. I like to use @adobeexpress to remove the background
4. I upload the images into @canva
5. In Canva I layer, resize, and adjust the position until I think I like the image
6. Save the image
7. Add it to the book layout
This method makes it easy to iterate and experiment, making adjustments easily as needed.
DAY 7
Materials selection:
1. You’ll see that I use a mix of painted paper, collages with paper that I’ve collected, and watercolor painting, but that doesn’t mean that you have to use any or all of those processes in your own illustration.
I like to select materials and processes that most kids would have access to and could try on their own. And I work to make choices that have some connections to the ideas that I’m working through.
2. This book is all about nature, so part of the focus is showing how to create with materials that you already have. A lot of the paper has been collected over the years from things that come in the mail. OR by repurposing paper that was already used.
The materials that an artist uses and the process ( how they use them) help to visually communicate ideas.
DAY 8
Welcome to another episode of Make a Book with me.
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I’ve shared before that I don’t storyboard or do a lot of upfront planning. Instead, build the images piece by piece.
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In previous days we looked at the text, determined what we KNEW we wanted to create, and hopefully have a pile of images.
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Next, I photograph those images, remove the background, and begin to place them into the book.
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On some pages, the images become almost finished, at least for the first draft. Others, I just put the objects on the page, because I”m not sure how I want to lay things out. This allows me to continue to build the book, and edit as I go.
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Whether you’re making a book with more, or taking some of these ideas to create your own art, I’d love to see it. Share and tag us.
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Remember that you can use The Oddball Activity book, as a great way to follow along with me. It provides you with the text from the picture book, The Oddball, and gives you the chance to become the illustrator.