Last week on the East Coast was like a whirlwind. You fly in. Shove in as many events as you can in your schedule and head out feeling exhausted. I love New York, and when the Original Art Show is showing at the Society of Illustrators it's my opportunity to crawl out my studio and go out and mingle in the flesh with the rest of the publishing industry. Here's a summary....
Tuesday night I flew into Boston, where I met up with my longtime online friend, Kelly Murphy and her husband to come speak at the Rhode Island School of Design. RISD was a wonderful campus which clearly had a different feel than my alma mater, The Art Center, College of Design.
I thought the lecture was pretty good. Instead of me talking about my work and about how great I was and so forth I started the lecture out by showing my entry portfolio into art school, my student work, and my work as it progressed throughout the years as a professional. I gave some perspectives into the fields of animation, video games, editorial art, gallery art and picture books so that everyone there felt like they walked out of the presentation with some sort of useful information.
Afterwards, Kelly showed me the amazing reference room. Art Center had NOTHING close to this. I called it "The Lovely Room of Death"...
They also had great skeletons. I named these two Tomax and Xamot (A nerdy GI Joe reference)...
Then in the middle of the room a bear and I started an a capella cover of "We Didn't Start the Fire"....
and Kelly started digging for gold inside a moose's nose...
Afterwards, since Brown University was across the street, I decided to skim through the campus to find Hermione Granger...
Then it was off to NY. (NOTE to the state of Connecticut and Rhode Island: Don't start construction work on the 95 freeway at 9PM at night! There are still plenty of folks on the road, and cutting it town to a one lane freeway during that time is just a bad idea. Not to mention that your freeway is already flawless. If you want to see damaged roads come to California, where CalTrans starts working at 1AM. You folks are just a big bag of DUMB.)
Once we got to New York we checked into the famous Algonquin Hotel. Home of the famous writer's roundtables and this amazing mural created by the always amazing Natalie Ascencios. I dreamed for years of seeing this mural in real life.
Then it was off to Times Square in search for a drink and a gyro...
Though I didn't find a gyro stand I did manage to find a hot dog stand. Then Kelly, Antoine, and I sat in Times Square long enough to actually watch it SHUT DOWN. Lights turned off on Billboards, vendors packed up and left and we were literally one of the very few people left out in the street.
The next day it was off to meetings.
Now, every time I come to New York I see someone famous. Last time it was Julianne Moore, Horatio Sans, Eric Stoltz, Tina, Fey, and Conan O Brien. Since I was only in the city for a day I didn't expect to see anyone famous this year, but lo and behold, the first person I meet getting off the subway was Katie Sokoler, the creator of the amazing blog "Color Me Katie" , freelance photographer, and frequent contributor and senoir agent to the infamous "Improv Everywhere" events that occur around New York.
Here's a sample of what 'Improv Everywhere' does....
10AM I had a quick muffin and coffee at Hyperion, then it was off to see my tough as nails agent Jodi Reamer at Writer's House at 11:30.
Then 12:30 I was greeted by these folks....
The hard working employees of Sterling Publishing who took me out to lunch and afterwards threw a nice champagne party in honor of 'Chicken Dance' getting into the 2009 Original Art show.
I finally got to meet my awesome designer and partner-in-crime, the lovely Ms. Kate Moll. Naturally, I asked her to strike an embarrassing pose....
As I also did with the rest of the folks at Sterling. Air guitar anyone?...
After the warm reception it was off to the New York Public Library (I always think of Ghostbusters when I see this place)...
where I paid a visit to the lovely Betsy Bird....
and signed their guestbook.... NEXT TO ERIC 'FRICKIN' CARLE!!!!
5PM... Went to Scholastic to hang out with my editor Arthur Levine.
5:30PM.. Took a subway to the O show where I met a slew of famous illustrators.
This is an awful pic of the event where I was too preoccupied meeting other cool people to take pictures.
That man onstage is Chris Van Allsburg, the man who influenced me ever since I was five years old. I met him, in the Society of Illustrators bar standing in front of the famous Norman Rockwell mural....
He was cool. He looks and reminds me of this guy...
Afterwards, Scholastic was kind enough to take me out to dinner where I met with lots of great artists, designers, editors, and most importantly, my art director for "The Domesticated Four" Phil Falco...
I ordered the steak the size of a boogie board (quarter to scale)...
I showed it who was boss...
I think my art director, Elisabeth Parisi, was a little astonished by my performance....
Afterwards, it was off to a bar to hang out with some picture book folks. Here I am with Edel Rodriguez and Peter Brown....
1AM came and it was back to the Algonquin... but not until I found a gyro stand... After that huge steak you ask? You betcha...
The next morning it was off to 'Books of Wonder' to sign stock of 'Chicken Dance' with the lovely Ms. Derry Wilkins of Sterling Publishing....
and was finally introduced to Peter Glassman, the owner (long time fan of your store Peter)...
Then a quick car ride to the airport to catch a 1PM flight back home to celebrate my youngest son's first birthday the next morning. Awwwww....
Overall, it was a great trip. Now, a big hi-five to all the cool literary folks I hung out with on the trip (apologies to any names I may have left out)....
Tamson Weston, Jodi Reamer, the fine folks at STERLING (too many to name personally), Betsy Bird, Arthur Levine, David Saylor, Elizabeth Parisi, Phil Falco, Marijka Kostiw, Marietta Zacker, Sara Varon, Andy Rash, Dan Yaccarino, John Rocco, Chris Van Allsburg, Paul Zakris, Cecila Yung, Rebecca Sherman, Sean Qualls, Selina Alko, Julia Denos, Alvina Ling, Connie Hsu, Peter Brown, Edel Rodriguez, Kelly Murphy, Antoine Revoy, Paul Zelinsky, Scott Magoon, Matt Tavares, Peter Glassman, Brian Floca, Lincoln Agnew, Dilys Evas, Laurent Linn, Megan McCarthy, Lauren Castillo, Paul Hoppe, Lizzy Bromley, and Drew Willis.
