photos of SLUG week 1

View pictures from the 1st week of the My Buddy, Slug book tour!

week one, done!

So Slug's first week in this world as a published book character has come and gone! And what a week it was. It started at my old college and ended at my old high school, with a visit to my old elementary school in-between! Visiting each school really made me realize how far I've come. And I've always been adamant to never forget where I came from, which should be true for everyone, no matter what their trade. I wrote earlier on the first few days of Slug, but since then.... I had a great time at the Boston Globe Book Festival reading on the Target stage. I got to see my good friend Peter Brown and see him read his book. If you ever get a chance to see him read - don't pass it up! I really came to a deeper appreciation for his books. Backstage I had the chance to meet Todd Parr and Rhea Pearlman. Meeting Todd was cool, because when Slug was a class project back at RISD, my teacher from that particular class was Megan Tingley, an editor at Little Brown, who at the time was publishing a brand new book by a first time author/illustrator - Todd Parr. It's crazy how Slug really has become about full circles.

Speaking of full circles, I was inducted into my old high school's hall of fame. I was introduced by my old art teacher at Holy Name, Mr. Shilale. He nixed the formal introduction to tell two stories. The first was about my application to RISD. When you apply to RISD, you need to draw three pencil drawings for your application. Well, Mr. Shilale thought he had sprayed the drawings with fixative, which seals the drawings and prevents smudging. 15 minutes later the drawings were still damp. And sticky. He had sprayed the drawings with spray adhesive!!! He feared he had forever ruined my career. The second story involved a mural that I painted in the high school. I painted our mascot (The Napoleon - I know weird mascot) on the wall across from what was then the room where the newspaper group met. Well, I had failed to take into account where the light switch would be. I'll give you one guess as to where it was... Let's just say that the mural is still up now and the students still get a kick out of flipping the lights off an on. Anyhow, I did get to give a little speech and I thanked Mr. Shilale for being a great educator. On a daily basis, I still use many of the basic elements that I learned in his classroom.

I also got to thank Mrs. Robin Casey. She wasn't a teacher of mine, but did serve as a moderator for both the newspaper and the class officers, for which I was a member of both. She's the one who let me paint that mural in the first place and also the one who offered me the job as the cartoonist for the school newspaper. My role as school cartoonist had a profound affect on my life. Not only did I get a charge out of sharing my stories and cartoons with my peers by having them published, but the job kept me from transferring out of the high school. And even bigger - the high school eventually sent me to Camp Sunshine, which would later bring me to the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. Robin also helped me through some pretty traumatic times in my teenage years. It's a rare opportunity to get to publicly thank people who had a big impact on your life and I was grateful for it.

And now I am home painting. It's the calm before the storm - for both my book tour and my impending book deadline!

Dear Boston,

Come out to the Boston Globe Book Festival tomorrow and check me out on the Target stage! 1PM in Copley Sq - represent!

And there is a chance, though slim, that Fox25 News may be coming to cover my reading. So get your beauty rest and come on out!

cats out of the bag

What else have I been working on, you wonder?

Publishers Weekly's Children's Bookshelf has broken the news!
CHECK IT OUT!

NPR's Here and Now

Listen to Robin Young's interview with me on Here and Now.

A great start!

Talk about a great start to the SLUG tour. I had a great few days in Worcester schools and got to see some old friends as teachers! The day My Buddy, Slug was released, I walked to my old elementary school. It was so surreal. It was the walk that I did for 9 years from grades K-8. On that walk, I walk by a public pool and there is this concrete wall that used to seem so enormous to me. It's amazing how small it really is. It also struck me that I would be speaking at my old elementary school when the night before I spoke to my old college. (And this weekend I''ll be stopping by my old high school to be inducted into their 'hall of fame'.) Craziness. I loved visiting my old elementary school. It isn't the same building, though. That was torn down in 1991. But the new building does have a plaque right in the front with an image of what the old Gates Lane looked like.

Spent the day with my grandparents and then the big night was upon me. The B&N event was a HUGE success! My family was there, so many old and dear friends and a lot of new readers as well. It's crazy to think back to when I first wrote the book and carted is around to read to family, back then I would have never thought that someday there would be this book signing - where my godson Ryan would stand at 6'3", my little brother would roll up on a motorcycle and my mother would come running in without a second to lose as I began to read the book. My grandparents sat proudly in the first row, surrounded by family members. Old high school teachers and friends were there, along with childhood friends' mothers. I even had an old camper who I hadn't seen in years turn up! I was truly honored by everyone's presence. It's always great to see so many familiar faces come out to support me and my latest work. And people came from far away this time around! The award for the furthest trip comes from the Engel family who traveled all the way from upstate NY, just to be there for the day that Slug was released! I began reading at 6:10 or so, started signing shortly after that and the line went until 8:30!

I couldn't have asked for a better way to start the book tour or to celebrate Slug's release.

It has truly been a dream come true.

Then today, on the 2nd day of Slug, I tune into NPR and here a familiar voice. It's me! They aired the segment and the timing couldn't be any better! And I - couldn't be any more thankful! Listen to it here - http://www.here-now.org/shows/2006/09/20060913_17.asp

SLUG!

It's officially here!!!!!


MY BUDDY, SLUG

is in book stores!!!

Today was a busy day! The two schools were a good test drive for the giant SLUG book. I'll be really strong by the end of this book tour! If you get out to an event, I think you will get a kick out of watching me try to manage a 2 foot by 3 foot book. My RISD talk went really well. Too many funny highlights for a tired illustrator to post right now. But I wanted to introduce "The SLUG count". Every time I read My Buddy, Slug, I will put another stamp on this board. Kind of like old fashioned bomber planes that you would see in cartoons.

so. so. close....

So not even 2 full days until Slug's release date..... I am getting ready for a busy two days. I am speaking at a few Worcester elementary schools in the morning and then heading down to Providence at night to be the RISD Orientation Keynote Speaker. Then Tuesday is the BIG DAY! I'll be speaking at Gates Lane, my old elementary school and then signing at B&N Lincoln Sq that night!

Here we go!

Worcester Magazine

As press comes in, I'll post it here first!

http://www.worcestermag.com/archives/2006/09-07-06/7_days.html

the GIANT sized SLUG book

The very awesome people at Random House publicity have created a very cool version of My Buddy, Slug! It's a GIANT oversized version of the book that I am bringing on tour with me. It is about 2 feet tall and when opened, 3 feet wide!!!

So come out to an event and you will see me reading one giant book! OR - keep an eye out for me at the airport trying to lug this thing past security!!! That will be a sight!

Media Madness

If you live in central Mass and watched channel 3 last night, you may have caught my interview there. If you missed it, it may be posted here eventually, but not for a while. However, you could try to catch some of the following local media -

Sunday 9/10 @ 11:30 AM - NBC Boston
Sunday 9/10 @ 9:30 PM WICN 90.5 FM (and webcast at wicn.org) - This is Inquiry, hosted by good friend Mark Lynch. This is my 6th appearance on this show!

And I'm not sure when - but I will also be on NPR's Here and Now, check in at www.here-now.org

in ONE week

In ONE week, My Buddy, Slug will officially be released! And if you live in or around the Worcester, MA area - come help me celebrate at Barnes & Noble Lincoln Sq. It's a new venue for my Worcester signings and I've never had a signing on the day of publication - so come on by if you can!

9/12 - B&N Lincoln Sq Worcester @ 6PM

Also, if you are in Boston - come by Copley SQ on 9/16 @ 1PM and I'll be reading on the Target stage and signing shortly after.

The Get This Book Series

Jeff Newman is a new author/illustrator on the scene and his first book with Little Brown has just been published. It's called Hippo! No, Rhino and I highly suggest that you get it. It's hysterical. Jeff is sparse on words and let's the majority of his story be artfully told by his pictures. The illustrations are rich and are very much an homage to funky illustrations from the late 60's and early 70's. Jeff is a fellow central-Massachusetts-ian, but he is now a Midwesterner. If all works out, I should be meeting the talented Mr. Newman while on my fall book tour. Take my advice - get this book!

acceptance speech

The 'Hot Men of Children's Literature' is an ongoing series on the Fuse#8 blog, a blog about children's lit by Betsy, a librarian in the New York City public library system. It's kind of like TRL or Tiger Beat, but for librarians, editors and authors. I was so honored to have recently been chosen. The following is my acceptance speech.
__________________________________________________

(walks up to podium. takes trophy in hand.)
Wow. (wipes brow) What an honor. (applause subsides) I'd like to thank everyone who texted, emailed, and phoned in their votes. But I'd really like to thank Mo Willems most of all. Mo, thank you for believing in me and knowing that I, too, could one day be a Hot Man of Children's Literature. It is through Mo's pursuance that I am lucky enough to be included on such a fine, fine list. While Mo has been oh so humble as to want to remain anonymous in his "nomination", I can only hope to live up to his expectations by submitting a monthly photo of myself to the Fuse blog, so that I can maintain my status.

(holds up statue) Mo, this is for you, buddy!

(music kicks in. escorted off stage by models.)

the SLUG book tour 2006

Ladies and gentlemen.....boys and girls......attention one and all......

The schedule for my 2006 fall book tour for My Buddy, Slug is now posted online at...




studiojjk.com/events.html


As you can see, it is going ot be a very busy fall!


If you're able to get to a public event, I will have a stack of free Punk Farm stickers with me (while supplies last)!
there is the old school sticker



and the new one-

Time Out New York Kids!

Well, it is 18 days until My Buddy, Slug is released and it has already received a very big honor! I'm very excited to announce that Time Out New York Kids has chosen Slug as it's inaugural pick for it's new book club! The Time Out New York Kids' Book Club will be highlighting a new book every issue.

To celebrate their new book club and Slug, they will be hosting a party/reading/signing at Books of Wonder in NYC! So come on over on Friday, September 22 at 5:30 PM! Please RSVP to events@timeoutny.com - you will get a goody bag and a free 1 year subscription to TONY Kids! Awesome!

Thank you, Time Out New York Kids!

CHECK IT OUT!

scbwi LA conference pics

Thanks to everyone who sent in pics from the SCBWI LA conference! Take a look!

the Punk Farm Book Tour video

page by page

ATTN: SCBWI'ers - I've uploaded the Page by Page video to YouTube.com

Due to popular demand - here ya go! Feel free to pass the word on!

The Get This Book Series

So I am starting a new series on my blog. I want to give shout outs to friends who have new books out and I want to suggest books that I just think are neat. The innagural book for the JJK "Get this Book" Series
is....(drum roll please)....

Chowder by Peter Brown . Peter let me take a look at the proofs for this book a few months back and I have to say - it's great. Great story and amazing illustrations. If you didn't see Peter's first book - Flight of the Dodo - check it out. Pete will be around in this biz for a long time!

the JJK imposter

So apparently, there is a JJK imposter out there. People kept mentioning seeing or talking with me at the SCBWI Jade Ball - when in fact - I wasn't in attendance! But there was a guy who kind of looked like me and people kept coming up to him and complimenting him on my speech and movie...and he kindly accepted - as me. He also posed for photographs!

Well, well, well Mr. Fake JJK....I would be upset if that wasn't something that I would probably do myself! Are there any JJK imposter stories out there?

in 1 month.....

My Buddy, Slug will officially be in stores!!!

photos anyone?

Hey does anyone out there have photos from the keynote that I gave at SCBWI? If so - could you please mail them to "props at studiojjk dot com"? It would be much appreciated! Thanks!!! - JJK

home from the LA SCBWI conference

So after a fun filled 4 or so days of the SCBWI, I am home! And trying to catch up on stuff here. It's a fairly busy week - I have an interview tomorrow at "Here and Now" on Boston's NPR station and the day after at 7 NBC's "Urban Update". I'll post airdates for both soon! And I'll also post some photos from the SCBWI soon as well!

There were so many highlights of the conference for me, but one of the biggest for me was to hear Jane Yolen speak. I've never actually heard her give a formal speech - and if you ever get the chance - by all means get there to hear it! She is wise, humorous and graceful behind the podium - which is no surprise!

SCBWI, yo....

So I had my big fancy keynote speech this morning. It went really well. It was a pretty big audience in a really big room and believe it or not - I do get nervous just before I speak. I got to show Page by Page - and if there was ever an audience for that movie - this was it. It was great to hear people laughing and identifying with it. And the biggest props came from Caroline B. Cooney, (who has written over 80 books!) who told me that it reminded her of the joy that is found when seeing your work published.

Overall, a great time so far! Getting to hang out with my agent extraordinaire Rebecca Sherman, my great friends from Random House - Beverly and Nancy, and other good pals Alvina Ling, Pat Mora, Jane Yolen, Mo Willems, Lisa Wheeler, Erin Eitter Kono, and Hope Vestragaard. I've also got to meet some really cool new people like Jacqueline Woodson, Jesse Joshua Watson, Nina Laden, Justina Chen Headley and the incomparable Tommy dePaola, among others.

A few more days - then it's back to Boston and back to painting for my new book! I have about 4 paintings done so far...

LA Autograph Party on Monday

On Monday there is an Autograph Party -- 3:00pm--5:00pm -- at the Hyatt on Ave of the Stars to conclude the SCBWI conference. Lots of authors should be there signing. I'll be there with pens in hand!

Caleeeforneea

Hey everyone-

I'm in LA gearing up for the big SCBWI conference. If you're going, check out the schedule - www.scbwi.org and come check out one of my talks. I'm giving a keynote speech on Saturday morning called "From Sketch Book to Published Book: An Author-Illustrator's Creative Process" (8:30am-9:30am) and then a workshop later that day called "How To Make it Once You've Made It: Promoting Your Published Book" (3:15pm-4:15pm). On Monday I'll be giving one more workshop called "STAND OUT: What Makes A Great Website and a Well-Designed Promotional Postcard" (10:45am-11:45am). I guess I like fancy titles....

And if you are at a kareoke place watch out - because my friends Carter, Jaime and I ripped it up last night... choreography and old skool rapping were involved....

*so excited*

Yesterday, I received a large envelope in the mail from Random House. I could feel that the envelope was sturdy...

That meant only one thing...

Before even tearing open the envelope, I knew what it was... a hardcover copy of My Buddy, Slug!!!!

For the first time, I could hold my book and flip through the pages. For the first time, I could see all of my ideas and hopes for the book realized.

And now all of the creative work for the book is DONE!

But then - there's the book tour! The My Buddy, Slug book tour starts on September 12, 2006 (46 days from now)!!! There will be a kick off event in my hometown of Worcester, MA on the day that the book is released!!! So if you live in or around the Worcester area, I hope to see you at the Barnes and Noble on Lincoln St in the early evening. The exact time for that - as well as info on the other 14 or so cities that I will be visiting this fall will soon be listed both here and at www.studiojjk.com/events.html

Woo Hoo!!!

Spida'wick

A BIG congratulations to my friends Tony D and Holly Black! If you haven't heard already, their book series - The Spiderwick Chronicles - was optioned as a movie by Nickelodeon and Paramount a little while back. And NOW - they have a greenlight!

Read all about it!

monster puppet

This past weekend, my old friend Galen was in town. Gina and I had just been shopping for presents for friends' newborn babies. I bought a monster puppet. But we fell in love with the puppet too much, so we decided to keep it and I now have to find a new baby present for my friend. The three of us couldn't stop talking as the puppet. It's sort of like how Jim Carey putting on the mask in the movie The Mask...the puppet just sort of took over your personality.
He definitely came out in public with us.

We walked into Curious George, the really cool children's book shop in Harvard Sq. Whenever I head into a children's book shop, I offer to sign anything they might have in stock.

But this time I had a monster puppet.

I brought the books up to the counter.
And then the puppet said (in gruff monster voice), "Hello, would you like
for my friend here to sign these?" Now as odd as it sounds - people respond to the puppet. Even though my lips are moving, they look at the monster. So the monster carried on a conversation with the sales clerk and a woman witnessing this whole ordeal said, "Did you write that book?!"
The monster replied, "Yeah, and he illustrated it, too."

At this point my friends couldn't deal with the absurdity. We walked around Harvard Sq for another hour or so and then headed to the Border Cafe for some Mexican food. The monster puppet asked for a table. We were seated and oddly enough, people gave us looks. Mostly smiles. A monster puppet sure cheers people up. The people at the table next to us were talking about us. The monster puppet wouldn't stand for it.
In a gruff monster voice, he said, "Excuse me, I'm right here, I can hear you talking about me!" The woman at the table struck up a conversation with the puppet. Then turned to me and said, "I was that lady at the book store, I bought your (Punk Farm) book, because I teach music to elementary school kids. Could I take a picture with you?" Whoa. Needless to say, the monster facade was dropped, because that was just crazy. Even crazier - she was in town from - Wisconsin! What are the odds? Her friend asked, "So are puppets your thing?"

That's sort of an embarrassing question. But all ego has to be thrown out the door when you and your friends are walking around town with a monster puppet who talks to random people. "No, puppets aren't my thing."

But we did walk aorund to strangers and asked, "Could I take a picture of you with my puppet?"(we don't know these people)

old new paintings

I was just doing a little spring (ok, mid-summer) cleaning in the studio and found these. thought you would like to see them.

The Grapevine Gazette

I just found this when I was looking through an old drawer.

when my diner was new

My first piece of ridiculous home decor came in 2000, when upon walking past an antique furniture store, I saw this - a shiny, beautiful booth set from an old diner. I splurged and it was the best purchase I ever made. Unfortunately, it needs to be reupholstered these days. But it's still great to have dinner parties on. When someone sitting on the inside needs to use the restroom, everyone needs to stand up to let them out.

cool Spanish claymation commercials for coca-cola/world cup

When I was searching for info on Will Vinton, I found these. They're awesome! Vinton Studios became Laika/house and they produced some hilarious Spanish commercials for Coca-Cola and the World Cup.

http://www.laika.com/house/?m=bookmark&g=directors&c=new

Muppets & Raisins

My friend Kevin and I were just down in Virginia visiting our friend John. While John was in class during the day, Kevin and I had said that we would take the train into DC and check out the Smithsonian Museum of American History. But when we woke up, we were lazy and dragged our feet about it. That was until Kevin looked on their website and saw that there was a Jim Henson exhibit. We were out the door within minutes.

I'm sure this goes without saying, but the Muppets were a huge part of my childhood. They were another obsession. The exhibit was cool. Definitely worth seeing if you are in the DC area. It was small, only a few glass cases, but it was worth it to see the Swedish Chef, a few members of the band and the original Kermit, along with the cast of Sam and Friends.










A few days after getting back to Boston, my friend Gina reminded me that we still hadn't seen the Will Vinton exhibit at the New England Institute of Art. We went to that last night. Not as many California Raisins as I had hoped and the Noid was nowhere to be found, but impressive just the same. They had a video loop of Vinton's work and I loved seeing the old California Raisins commercials.

I am a child of the 80's

And if nothing proves it, this will. It's my official membership to the Smurf Fun Club. I was obsessed with the little blue guys, watched the show, had all the toys and even stacked up three apples to imagine just how tall they would be in reality. I saw "Smurfs on Ice" and even had a Smurf club house in the backyard. (If I can find a picture of it at my parents' house I'll post it sometime - it really was amazing.) I also saw "Snorks on Ice", but it just didn't compare.


In 2000, I traveled to Europe with my friend Kevin. We had a 6 hour layover in Brussels. What does one do with 6 hours in Belgium? We went straight to the Belgian Comic Strip Museum to see works by the one and only Peyo. They had an exhibit set up to look as though the Smurfs were an actual people who had since died off and the museum held their artifcats - Gargamel's potions, Hefty's weights, a mushroom house cut in half... It was outstanding.


I was also a member of the California Raisins fan club. I would get the newsletters. I have one around here somewhere... But in the meantime, I am very excited to check out the Will Vinton exhibit at the New England Art Institute!

Yesterday I.....

....started the paintings for a new book. You should see it in fall '07. I wrote the first draft in the fall of 2004 and the last round of revisions are just about to get approval from my publisher.

What is it you ask?

I'm going to keep you in the dark for now. But as time goes on, I wanted to give you perspective on the timeframe that a book takes. I kind of gave you an in with this blog on My Buddy, Slug, as I started blogging as I handed in the artwork. Here, I'm starting with the day I started the paintings.......

It's a very exciting feeling when you first put the brush to the paper. And there is a huge range of emotions that you go through as you try to finish everything. Stay tuned.....

Thank You, Thoreau School!

For the past few years, I've been visiting Thoreau School in nearby Concord. When I was there last December, they informed me that they had built a new Thoreau across town and that the current building was being torn down. We were in the auditorium. I instantly asked, "Could I have a few rows?" At first they thought I was a bit off, but I love random stuff like that. I have a diner set and an old Pac-Man machine from 1981. And now I am the proud owner of 2 rows of theater seats! I was going to go for 3 rows, but that just seemed a bit excessive. ;)

Thank you, Thoreau!

random sketches

Smith Lane

The other day, I was driving up from the Cape and saw this road sign -




I grabbed my phone and snapped a picture. I sent it to Lane Smith and he thought it was eerie, because he had recently driven by the Cape and saw this road sign.


What are the odds?

embarrassing photo clue

Some people are writing in who think the high school picture with all the shaggy hair is my hidden most embarrassing picture. But they're off. Think Urkle, but white. (That's what my family called me.)

(and it will open in a new window)

a big THANK YOU to Carolina Charrie

Last winter, I placed Spanish translations of my books on my site - free to download and to paste into your books. Being that I don't know how to speak Spanish, I had a friend translate the text for me. But then a few months ago, Carolina Charrie wrote to let me know that the translations were WAY off. She had coincidentally been translating my books to her sons already. Understanding why I had made the effort, she volunteered to translate the text for me. They are now posted on-line under the book section. I can't thank Carolina enough! Because of her help, my books can now be appreciated by all Spanish speaking readers!

Check them out-


Buenas Noches, Monito

Cabeza de Bolsa

Piratas de Bañera

Annie Fue Advertida

Max Presidente

La Granja Punk

¡Arre, Vaquerita!

new author photos from stevedepino.com

If you need something for your dart board, head over to studiojjk.com/pressfiles.html for new author photos taken by Steve Depino - (www.stevedepino.com) Steve and I went to college together freshman year at University of Hartford and he's been a good friend ever since. Now, he is a hot shot photographer in Connecticut.

all time most embarrassing picture of me

Not too many people have found the all time most embarrassing photo of me yet. It's hidden deep within my website - somewhere. A few people have found it, but fewer than expected. I guess I did hide it very well...... I'm not about to give any hints...

PS - I just did.

Let me know if you find it. It's my 9th grade student ID.

www.studiojjk.com

The Career Cookbook

Last summer I was interviewed by the Career Cookbook - (here) Since then, I have become friends with the site's creator Paul Maniaci and have put him in touch with some friends who are doing cool stuff (both inside and outside of the publishing biz). Check out some recent interviews-

Chad Beckerman - children's book art director

Alvina Ling - children's book editor

Rebecca Sherman - children's book agent

Becky Birnholz - designer for Puma

the making of "Punk Farm"

So back when I relaunched my website last winter, I created a link from the sketchbook section called "The Making of Punk Farm". The thing was, I hadn't created that little bit of the website. I figured I'd get it done in a few weeks. But - I never had the time. Until now.

So to see how Punk Farm went from ideas on a sketchbook (When I didn't even realize it was Punk Farm yet) to the finished book, check it out -

www.studiojjk.com/makingofpunkfarm.html

preview My Buddy, Slug

The preview movie for My Buddy, Slug is up and ready for viewing! Check it out at www.studiojjk.com/mybuddyslugpreview.html

the 12th of June

June 12th is a significant date for me - because on June 12, 2001, my first book - Good Night, Monkey Boy was published. Which makes today Monkey Boy's (and my publishing career's) 5th anniversary. These past 5 years have flew and I've enjoyed every moment of creating, reading, traveling and everything that has come with this game of publishing. Needless to say there are so many people that have made this possible for me - my family, my friends, everyone at my publisher who has continually backed me up, all of my readers and librarian friends and of course most recently, too - my agents and everyone involved with the DreamWorks project.

And another reason why the 12th is a big number for me - 3 months to the date until My Buddy, Slug is published!!!

my brother's video

Last fall, I was honored when my younger brother asked if he could do a video on my life and work for his media project. It was the final project for the class and it had to focus on a member of his family. Rich wanted to talk about how I grew to be successful, along with the circumstances of my childhood. He used some outtakes from The Punk Farm Book Tour movie and shot additional video of me painting and us talking at my house. Why he wore a mullet wig, I don't really know. But I'm sure you may be asking yourself, too - why would I own a mullet wig in the first place? I guess both could be answered with a simple - "Why not?" At any rate - here's the video - I think he did a great job putting it together.


Watch it here.



.

be one of Punk Farm's friends

If you are old enough to have a MySpace account, "friend" them up at www.myspace.com/punkfarm.

in the Boston Globe today

check out the Boston Globe article .

Art All State

I had an amazing weekend at Art All State this past weekend. I've been going to A.A.S. for a while now as an artist mentor and it just gets better and better every year. It's just such a great experience to reconnect with young artists. They are all finishing up their junior year of high school and they always remind me of what it was like to be an artist at that age - unsure on your direction, being excited to be around other artists and finding pure joy in creating because you don't get to do it all of the time.

This year's group was no exception to the many talented artists that come through. I was paired up once again with my amazing co-artist mentor Shoham and we led the kids through a very cool installation - which was derived fully from their ideas. Here is the video that we created to document their experience (which was in the end played on the TV that is a part of the piece).

Studio 5 UP 4-life, people.

the librarians at Ellsworth Public Library in Wisconsin know how to party.

SCBWI in LA this August

Hey everyone - I'm excited to announce that I'll be a member of the faculty of the big fancy SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) conference in August. I'll be a keynote speaker on Saturday morning and then giving two break out sessions (one on Saturday, one on Monday). For more info, check it out here - http://scbwi.org/events.htm

SUIT UP! - How I Met Your Moter - season finale

and if you look close enough - you'll see me in the backgroud at McClaren’s.....

Monday night, 8:30 PM EST - CBS

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/how_i_met_your_mother/
(click on the preview for the season finale....)

the Boston Globe

If you live near Boston or can get the Boston Sunday Globe, look for the article on my work in the arts section next Sunday. I had a great interview with Globe reporter Cate in my studio a few weeks ago. If it doesn't turn up, check back in 2 weeks - but it should be there on the 14th.

UPDATE- the story didn't run this Sunday, but should in 2 Sundays.....I'll keep ya posted....

UPDATED UPDATE - the story is set to run on Wednesday May 31. Check it out on newsstands or at boston.comhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

I'm on imdb.com

So I've made it to the Internet Movie Data Base.... you know you've made it when.....

check it out.

4 months to go....

....until My Buddy, Slug is released! There are a lot of cool plans in the works to celebrate. Random House has done a lot of creative thinking and as time gets closer, I can't wait to tell you what they have planned. One thing that I can tell you is that I will be going out on tour for the book. Random House is organizing 3 cities, I'll be visiting some more local cities and then other places in other cities by invitation. So in all - I think there may be up to 10 cities involved in this SLUG tour... I'll tell you more later!