RISD Sale!!

I'll be at Booth/Table 151

Stop...Shop...Say Hello!

Catching Up...

The order is a little "off" here -- but I thought I would try to give some semblance of order to recent events around here. So, working backwards, from least to most recent events in the Susabean household, but otherwise in no particular order of relevance, I offer a few photographs...

                                                   1. DELICIOUS CHOCOLATES ARRIVE

 

These are a gift from the middle child, as we have agreed to watch his dog for a fortnight. 

2. SIR ERWIN ARRIVES

3. SIR ERWIN ESTABLISHES HIMSELF AS THE "ALPHA" DOG, 

 notably by proceeding to eat the food intended for one Miss Coco Chenille

4. SEVERE BEDHEAD, due, in all likelihood, to dealing with Sir Erwin 24/7

5. COCO CHENILLE, paper consumptor (is even that a word?) extraordinaire,

enjoys a bit of sunshine whilst patrolling the sundeck

6. ENTIRELY UNRELATED EVENT:

SENDING OFF THE YOUNG LADY TO BRIGHTON, ENGLAND

FOR THE SUMMER, to work at Fat Pebble. (Gotta love the name of that company!)

7. ALSO UNRELATED:

ENJOYING A LOVELY CUPPA TEA WITH MISS MOFFATT

Life is good

RISD CE Graduation Celebration!

Congratulations to the 2013 RISD CE Children's Book Illustration graduates!

Sorry the quality of the photo isn't a bit better -- it was taken with my mobile phone -- but

at least it captures a bit of the happy spirit of the moment! Everyone looked happy and fabulous! And it was a special treat to meet some of the family members. I am looking forward to seeing all that you are sure to accomplish in the future! (Hoping for a few autographed books!)

The Last Class

Last night was our final meeting of the RISD Children's Book Portfolio Review (Illustration lV) class that I TA'd, and which was taught by Judy Moffatt. What a blast to see everyone's work come together so beautifully these past twelve weeks!

Good luck, Anne, Emily, Jeanette, Karen, Laura, Mary, Meg, Peter, Rongyuan, Sarah, and Sherri. I hope you all have a wonderful time celebrating at your graduation!!

Medway 300 Art Show -- Tomorrow! And Sunday!

I'm nearly ready...a slew of new cards and the newly printed "To Moo" notepads have made it back from the printer. If I can manage it between walks with the dogs (and yes, that is plural -- I am dog sitting for my middle son) I will post a picture. In the meantime, come check out the table Judy Moffatt and I will be sharing. Here's the address:

The Medway High School, 88 Summer Street Medway, Massachusetts
10:00 - 5:00 Saturday, May 11th, and Sunday, May 12th -- Mother's Day! 

For all those prone to procrastinate, there will be Mother's Day cards! And lovely flower pens! And the aforementioned notepads! Come visit...and maybe do a little shopping!

Getting Ready for Medway 300 Arts Festival

Susabean Studios will be joining forces with Miss Judy Moffat for the Medway 300 Arts Weekend. The dates are Saturday May 11 and Sunday May 12. Hope you can make it!

https://www.facebook.com/Medway300ArtsWeekend

The Pear Lady is Posted on Etsy

Here's a little "teaser" of my Pear Lady card, which I've just posted to my Etsy Shop, Susabean Studios. https://www.etsy.com/shop/SusabeanStudios

Come and take a look around!

Class Time!

RisD Class!

Last night was the 6th class for Illustration 4 -- the class that I am a teaching assistant for, with Judy Moffatt as the (fabulous!) teacher. (She really is the best critiquer!)

Coco/a's Activity du Jour

                                            Surreptitiously approach the trash can...

                                                   When NO ONE is looking (or you THINK no one is looking),
                                                   select a highly desirable piece of trash.

                                                   Shred said trash.
                                                   (Do not forget to attempt a guiltless look.)

     
                                                    Repeat process.

                                                    Sit back and admire your handiwork

                                                  Indicate utter despair -- with a very sad face --
                                                  once the game is over

Art Installation: How to Build a Forest

Wow! Eight hours, and a (beautiful!) forest was both built and dismantled at Brown University yesterday. "How to Build a Forest" is a provocative performance piece: a look at the earth, the world we live in, how we use it. It challenges you to assess the impact of these choices for the future. This interactive performance will be traveling to other sites; get there if you can! Check out their website, pearldamour.com for more information.

Illustration Friday!

It's only Monday, but I've uploaded an Illustration Friday image. (Will wonders never cease??)
The word of the week: whisper.
This little guy is getting ready to snooze! Shhh!!!

Illustration Friday!!

Back on track with Illustration Friday! This week, the topic is "wool." So here are a couple of my
fuzzy little sheep creations. I've made them with cut-paper and added a little bit of pen and ink -- if you know me, you won't be surprised, because you know how much I love to incorporate words and calligraphy. I've even added a little bit of colored pencil. (It's always a mixed-media circus around here!) Hope it makes you smile!

Etsy Shop Opening!!

It's done! My shop is finally available on Etsy! So exciting! I hope you're able to stop by and take a look. At the moment I have a sampling of greeting cards and luggage tags, and am in the process of putting up some original cut-paper pieces. I will add more items as I get the hang of it all. Feel free to get in touch via my shop, SusabeanStudios on Etsy, through my website: www.susabean.com, or here on my blog if you need any further information or just want to add a comment. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Coco/a's Adventure

Turns out, Coco/a is a reluctant walker. Going for "walkies" throws the majority of dogs into the spasms of a body-wriggling, tail-wagging happy dance, but this is not the case for Coco/a. I am determined to address and reverse this minor dog failing. With the blizzard behind us, snowdrifts and slush-filled roads ahead of us, I once again buckle on the leash and velcro up the dog's faux sherpa-lined coat.  

What should be a 20-minute walk from our College Hill home to the Brown University Bookstore begins with recalcitrant fits and starts. The hill looms large in front of us, but somehow, between sniffs, tugs, and much cajoling, we make it to the top of Prospect and Meeting Streets. We begin our downward decent to the bookstore. This, direction, for reasons known only to Coco/a appears to be mind-altering. She steps lightly and perkily. No one is a stranger -- unless they approach her. We reach our destination, and Coco/a, nose the ground, makes a bee-line to the children's book section. Books about dogs? Check. Leftover raisins? Check. Leftover Cheerios? Check. We just might be on to something here. Sated by the leftovers of previous -- and oh-so-thoughtful -- visitors, the dog sits patiently and supremely well behaved.

Introducing Coco/a

Back to blogging. Must be the storm. Or perhaps being inspired by the (relatively) new puppy, Coco, aka, Cocoa, Cocoa Bean, and/or Coco Chenille -- a little fiber artist joke, sorry -- who is eight and one-half months old. Coco/a is similar in temperament and activity level to a three-year old child.

In anticipation of cabin fever setting in -- both mine and the dog's -- I decided to take a walk this afternoon, before the storm was predicted to really kick in. Found the boots, the scarf, and the hat (ugh! definitely not a hat-head kind of girl). Put on an extra sweater, bringing the total number of clothing layers to four. Wrapped myself up in the very flattering puffer coat, mittens -- you get the picture. A fashionista I am not. Next, it was on to the dog, which, in addition to the locating of and subsequent buckling on of the reflective leash and yank free neck harness, included dressing her. Yes, DRESSING her. Something I swore I would never do. However, the truth is this: the dog could be described as a rather delicate, (she tips the scales at eight pounds or so) flower. With the predicted high winds and anticipated close-to-record-breaking snowfall, I thought it would be the prudent thing to do. Clothe the dog, that is. So earlier this week, I cast personal integrity aside, went to the local Petco, and purchased not one, but two coats. In my defense, one had a hood, and the fabrics are quite different. Once home I tried each coat, multiple times, ultimately deciding on the black and grey number with faux sherpa lining and appropriate touches of reflective tape. We were ready!