Folktale Week 2018!

Hey there!
I’m joining the Folktale Week 2018! 🍁🌟🍄

(Watercolor, Ink and white marker on paper)

I’m copy&pasting the official text and can just recommend everyone to follow the linked accounts and the hashtag #folktaleweek2018 to see lots of great art! 🧡

Here is  Jennifer m. Potter s announcement & the officialprompt list!

“How it works:
On October 29th, we’ll release the prompts. Then for seven days starting November 12th, follow the prompts and create a piece of art. Interpret the prompts any way you wish and with any medium you like.

Use the hashtag #folktaleweek and #folktaleweek2018 to show your work and interact with other artists. The challenge hosts will be pulling work from the hashtag to promote in our stories! At the end, we’ll share our favorites in our feed!

The challenge was created to encourage artists from all around the world to share stories and explore character creation and visual storytelling. We want to see Your bewitching characters and dreamy scenes!

Many incredible artists came together to make this challenge possible. Be sure to check out their profiles for inspiration.”

I chose some German Fairytales, some might not be well-known in the US, so I am curious to see what the others are creating and what you will think about my work! I will use different techniques, so it never gets boring.

At the end of the Folktale Week, I will add all the pictures to an album on my homepage, until then you can follow me on Instagram or Facebook and see my creations there!

So let’s start with “Once upon a time…”,

Yours,     Corinna

 

Art/Work – Life – Balance

Now that I’ve spent a whole weekend with this motto and listened to two talks (by Jennifer K. Mann and Kirby Larson), I want to share some of my notes and thoughts with you on this topic.

• Acknowledge that your Art = Work.
• Your Work matters.
• Harvest “hidden pockets of time” (Mann), for example, while you’re commuting, at night, when your kids take a nap, …
• Try to find useful things (like information/ inspiration/ people/ material/…) everywhere you go
• Make your art/work portable so you can work everywhere! I try to carry a sketch pad with me at all times, and most of us are never without their smartphone, with which you can take pictures, take notes, do research,…
• Be aware of your needs, self-care is important!
• Keep a journal (whatever works best for you, a notepad, sketchpad, a digital note file on your smartphone, even Instagram is a journal!)
• Look for memories and experiences in your life that are worth being told and shared
• Engage friends and family to get some fresh ideas/ inspiration/help you get the time you need
• Establish (good) habits/rituals/routines, that help you start the day/your work  (like making tea or taking a deep breath, easy things. If you already have a habit you can try to add a new one to that)
• Enter competitions and take classes, be brave and learn! I submit to “draw this!” by the SCBWI every month and I’m always looking for opportunities.
• Disregard advise that doesn’t feel right or that doesn’t work for you.
• Life happens, be attentive! Everything has its time.
• Find someone that supports you (this can be family & friends, but it can also be a critique group/partner, fellow artists, …)
• Make it easy on yourself, let go of a clean house – it’s not worth it if it stops you from creating
• Build connections! Go to conferences, workshops, events, … talk to people and stay in touch
• “Don’t be afraid to make crap!” (Larson), in art quantity makes quality, you will always learn something (even if you draw the same apple a 100 times)
• Be a “Flaneur”, that is “a part of this world, but apart” (Larson), observe your surroundings, take notes of things you see without analyzing them
• Stop thinking, start creating
• DON’T QUIT !

In short: be good to yourself and others and never give up.

Don’t Quit!

Keep creating!

Corinna

 

 

 

 

SCBWI Weekend on the Water

Weekend on the Water 2018

The SCBWI in Western Washington offers writers and illustrators the chance to go on a retreat every year. Location is the magical campus of  IslandWood on Bainbridge Island, right in front of the doorstep of Seattle. The ferry ride itself is a great adventure with views of the Puget Sound, the islands, nature and of course the Seattle skyline.

Day 1

So, Friday, November the 2nd my journey started when fellow illustrator Gretchen v. Hansen picked me up at home and we shared a ride to the island. The weather was nice and we arrived at IslandWood in time to check-in and get our welcome-package. The guest rooms are in different lodges that have names like the “mammals den” or “vertebrae inn”. I haven’t slept in a bunk bed for years, but if I have to I definitely would choose one in IslandWood! Every bed has little peek-a-boo windows and wherever you look and go you’re surrounded by nature and history (the mattress was a bit firm for me, but others like it that way!).

The retreat opened with Beth Bacons friendly and welcoming words, followed by delicious dinner and the first talk of the weekend by illustrator and author Jennifer K. Mann. With the motto of “art/work-life balance”, she told us many things about her life and her way to becoming a published author & illustrator and gave us a good list of tips to achieve our goals. I took many notes that I will have to revisit and internalize! After this, some people enjoyed their time together with drinks and talks while others felt inspired to create. I sat in front of the fireplace in my lodge and did some drawing.

Day 2

What kicks off your day better than a walk through the woods to get some delicious breakfast and then listening to the second talk of the retreat?! Author Kirby Larson told us about her experiences when it comes to work-life balance and her way to create. More great information that my brain still tries to soak up! After sitting around we put on our rain boots and met with Frank, one of the nature guides of IslandWood. He reminded me of Santa or the Professor in Jurassic Park – either way, he is a great guide (and I want to hug him)! For almost 2 hours Frank walked through the woods with us, gave us time to take pictures, fed us information about trees, animals, the campus and its history, showed us the two amazing tree houses and guided us over the suspension bridge. This is truly a nature-Disneyland! Unfortunately, time was running, it kept raining and fog hang between the trees, so I had no time for making drawings on the walk, but I took a ton of pictures!  After lunch (again, delicious!) I went with my fellow artists to the Learning building to meet Jennifer K. Mann and to learn many things about working with collages as an illustrator (while the writers had a workshop with Joni Sensel). She showed us her favorite books and works of other illustrators, shared her stash of crazy amazing paper scraps for making collages and guided us through the process of letting go & keep gluing. We kept creating, talking, learning and experimenting the rest of the day and suddenly it was time for dinner (again so delicious!). After dinner a big part of the group went to the “friendship circle”, a covered structure with circles of seats around a big fire pit, to get some S’mores and listen to the 5-minute-readings of the open-mic night. I went back to my desk and kept on working on my collages until the people from IslandWood made me go so they could lock the building at 10:30pm! Time surely flies when you’re working so concentrated and you’re in the “flow”. Did you know that walking through a dark forest at night, while there is wind blowing, it almost feels like being underwater and waves are crushing in the tree crowns above your head?

Day 3

After breakfast, check-out and paying for the books (thanks to Eagle Harbor Bookstore for trusting us) the writers got to listen to another talk (by Beth Bacon) while the illustrators went back to work in the studio. We got some more insights on creative processes by Jennifer K. Mann and after the last meal on IslandWood, the group started to clean up and say their goodbyes as more and more people left the campus to get home. On our way home Gretchen and I came into a lovely sun-shower (that’s what they call rain showers while the sun is still shining up here) and admired a big and very colorful rainbow over the Puget Sound while we were boarding the ferry. We found some good spots in the front and enjoyed the journey over the waters. Suddenly the captain interrupted the humming sound of the ferry engine with an announcement that made many of us jump from our seats: Orcas ahead! We went outside and saw a pod of Orcas swimming and splashing around, what a “pod” of cold we had found!! Being able to observe these majestic creatures in this “in front of the door wilderness” makes me incredibly happy. To get some sprinkles on the cake a man with his pet-pig crossed our path in Pioneer Square! What a day!

 

Now that I am back home, slowly unpacking my art supplies, looking at my finished and unfinished collages and projects, sorting through pictures and revisiting my notes… I can’t believe how many things I have experienced during this weekend without once feeling pressured or stressed. IslandWood is a truly magical place, the scent of pine needles and the forest with its sights and sounds make it so easy to forget that there is an outside world. The work of SCBWI members and volunteers is incredible and I am so thankful for their engagement and energy that it’s hard to find words for it. I learned so many things by listening to other creative people, by talking to authors and fellow illustrators, while walking through nature and by learning from talented people and creating more art. It was worth every cent and I would go back in a heartbeat. I achieved more than I hoped for and I hope to be back next year!

Yours,
Corinna

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SCBWI – A WORLD OF BOOKS AND ILLUSTRATION

Today I joined the “SCBWI“, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

I was at a BBQ last year and I met a woman who told me about the Society and I was intrigued. But I didn’t feel comfortable enough to sign up, but today’s the day! I signed up and I will upload some images to my gallery there and I hope that they will be liked by others. I’m also looking forward to getting some critique so I can develop and improve my work as an artist.

I just love children’s books and my wish is to illustrate children’s books in the future. I think books, in general, are important for every person, but even more for children who have a different view of the world and are growing and discovering every day. I want to give children the opportunity to have a fun experience with books so they keep on reading when they become grown-ups and share their love for stories and pictures with their children and grandchildren. I remember when I learned how to read that it opened a door for me into fantastic worlds I could have never imagined. With the help of my precious library card I went on adventures, discovered new things and I was always learning something new that fascinated me. When I grew older I switched from the more positive centered world of children’s books to literature for teens and I learned to cope with cruel characters and stories that don’t always have a happy ending. I even started to pick topics (like psychology, biology, drugs, cults, …) I tried to read as much about as I could find in our small local library. And I always enjoyed coming back to picture books and children’s books when I read them to my smaller siblings, my cousins or the children  I was taking care at a summer camp I volunteered at.

So here I am, painting pictures, hoping that a child out there finds themselves in the adventures of the story. And I hope the SCBWI will help me get discovered by them.

My Profile on SCBWI.

Off to new shores!