MY NEWEST BOOK

Hot off the press---the padded board book edition of one of my best-loved titles, Bedtime Bunnies. Now in a chewable format for all my youngest readers! Go to http://wendy-watson.com/books/bedtime-bunnies-board.html

to read reviews and to order from your favorite merchant.

And if you are longing for an autographed, personalized copy of the original hardcover edition, you can order that at my Etsy store:   https://www.etsy.com/shop/wendywatsonstudio.

I"ll see you there!

AUCTION! PLUM CREEK CHILDREN'S LITERACY FESTIVAL

I have just donated this piece of art from my book Holly's Christmas Eve ...

...plus a signed copy of the book to go with it...

...to the Plum Creek Children's Literacy Festival's online benefit auction of original art. Go to the site https://www.32auctions.com/plumcreek2016 
and prepare to salivate over all the wonderful original art from children's books that will be available. This is your chance to acquire beautiful art at often very reasonable prices, while helping to promote children's literacy. The auction begins September 1. I'll be bidding---hope you will too!

ART SALE BENEFIT

Donate to "Thumbelina", receive this art as a reward

Victoria Dobrushina, teacher extraordinaire in Norwich Vermont, has consistently created unique end-of-year recitals and productions for her students, who range in age from 5 to over 70. While these productions always have a classical piano focus, they also incorporate many other instruments, as well as singing, dance, and theater. This year, she and all of her collaborators are hoping to take the performance to a whole new level with a full theatrical production of Thumbelina, created by a team of talented artists including composer E. Krylatov, poet Y. Entin, drama director and librettist I. Khutsieva, choreographer D. Frawley, and Victoria as music director. 

I created this piece of art and have given it to Victoria's organization. They will use it as the program cover, and as a fund-raiser. Donate $150 or more to Thumbelina...and receive the orginal piece as your reward. There are 13 days left to respond!

Go to this link to find out more about the Thumbelina project:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thumbelinainvermont/thumbelina-collaborative-multicultural-childrens-m/description

Click on the tab for "updates" to see a video of Victoria's recital from last year. "Updates" will also show you see details about the artwork reward.  Or go to this link:  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thumbelinainvermont/thumbelina-collaborative-multicultural-childrens-m/posts/1608637

AWARD TIME 2016

Today the American Library Association announced its annual "Youth Media Awards", among them the Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children. 

This year's winner is "Finding Winnie"---the story of how A. A. Milne's Winnie-The-Pooh came to be.

Sophie Blackall created the award-winning illustrations.

The author was Lindsay Mattick.

Celebrate by clicking on the links below to find out more about illustrator, author, and book.

http://www.sophieblackall.com

http://www.lindsaymattick.com

http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/lindsay-mattick/finding-winnie/9780316324908/#desc

AUTHORS GUILD MEMBERSHIP SPECIAL ENDS SEPTEMBER 30

If you've been thinking of joining the Authors Guild, now is the time to do it. If you join before September 30, your first year's membership will be reduced from $125 to $100.  It's not just traditionally published authors who qualify for membership; self-published and freelance authors earning at least $500 in writing income can become members of the Guild. Use this link to join and receive the $25 discount:

http://www.authorsguild.net/services/join?rc=b595a67cd52f5db0

Membership benefits include:

• Free legal help on writing and publishing matters—including written book contract reviews. 

• Author website building with our exclusive Sitebuilder software and low-cost hosting (in most cases just $6 per month). 

• Free seminars, covering topics such as marketing and publicity, movie deals, estate planning, and more. 

• Access to our online members' community including the interactive member forum, and exclusive member-only content. 

Most importantly, the Guild has long served as the collective voice of American authors on Capitol Hill, in the courtroom, and at the negotiating table with publishers. We’re all in this together, and in these turbulent times for the book industry, we need the strongest voice we can muster. 

I've been a member of the Guild for my entire career, and it has helped me innumerable times. 

For more information about the Guild, go to https://www.authorsguild.org

To join and receive the $25 discount, be sure to use this link: 

http://www.authorsguild.net/services/join?rc=b595a67cd52f5db0

ABFFE'S HOLIDAY EBAY AUCTION

This piece is my donation to the The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE)'s Holiday eBay Auction of art from children’s books. About 80 other children's book illustrators have also donated works. The auction runs from December 1 to December 8. Proceeds of the auction help support the Kids’ Right to Read Project (KRRP), which is co-sponsored by ABFFE and the National Coalition Against Censorship. For more info, go to http://www.abffe.org.

And here is the link to join the auction directly:

http://www.ebay.com/usr/abffe

ETSY STORE OPEN AGAIN!

I've been so busy with book projects that I haven't yet had time to restock my Etsy Store shelves for the coming holidays. For now I've lowered prices on some "merchandise" that was left over from last year.  And I'm working on a few fun items that I hope to add in the coming days...so keep checking!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/WendyWatsonStudio?ref=hdr_shop_menu

RAGNAR NAESS OPEN STUDIO

If you are in the New York City area, 

visit potter Ragnar Naess's open studio

May 16 and 17 

107 Hall Street, Brooklyn, NY.

May 16 and 17, noon to 6 p.m.

718-636-8608

Ragnar Naess <ragnae@earthlink.net>

POSTERS OF THE MONTH

My free poster for the month of May is now available at my website: http://www.wendy-watson.com. When I first started this project, my intention was to create an original, never-before-seen piece of art for each poster. Then my infamous hiking accident broke my nose and interrupted my life.  By the time I managed to get back to work, I was two months behind schedule on my commissioned work. Alas, the original art for the posters went by the wayside; the posters have been created from already-published work---at least so far. 

My readers have been quite creative in using these posters. Shown above, from the Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro, Vermont: the display that the children's librarian created, using my January poster. 

All posters...for the months of January...

...February...

...March...

...and April (as well as May) remain on my website Poster Archive, ready for free downloading. Help yourself!   http://www.wendy-watson.com  

A BROKEN NOSE...AND ART FOR SALE

You may have been wondering where I was.  In a nutshell: first I was hiking with my daughter on South Mountain; then I was falling; then I was at the Emergency Room with a broken nose, getting stitched up; then I was hiding at home, looking and feeling like an Insectoid Alien from outer space.  I'm finally getting back to business.  I've begun listing original illustrations for sale in my online Etsy store, and today I added four pieces from the book IS MY FRIEND AT HOME: PUEBLO FIRESIDE TALES.

These tales were edited by the brilliant editor and translator of Native American literature, John Bierhorst.  Here is the opening image to that story, a tale that explains why Coyote has a blackened tail and crooked teeth.

Coyote tries to turn the tables on his treacherous friend, Snake...

 ...but Coyote's plan backfires when Snake sets Coyote's artificial tail on fire...

...and Coyote flees, a chastened and changed creature.  I am realizing only now, years after this book's publication, that I should have portrayed Coyote's tail in the opening image WITHOUT the blackened tip! Because of course, he had not yet been tricked by Snake, and his tail was at that point still beautifully rust-colored and pristine. Yet all the eyes (artist, author, art director, editors) that examined that art pre-publication failed to catch the slip.

Go to my Etsy store for prices and other details on these pieces: https://www.etsy.com/shop/WendyWatsonStudio?ref=si_shop  Or contact me through my website: http://www.wendy-watson.com

MY NEW "POSTER OF THE MONTH" PROJECT

January's Free Poster Of The Month
http://www.wendy-watson.com/poster.html

TA-DAH! I'm launching my latest website project:  a free poster to download and print each month from my website.  The posters are available in two sizes: 8 1/2 x 11, and 11 x 17.  In the past month or so, you may have seen the artwork for this January poster here on my blog, on my Facebook page, or in my Etsy store.  In the future I will be making a brand-new piece of art for each poster, so by the end of the year you'll have the entire collection of twelve posters.  Twelve pieces of art not found anywhere else (well, except for the January poster).  The poster files are large, so if you use a good quality stock, you should get a very nice print.  And what will the posters be promoting?  READING, of course!  Pass this on---to teachers, librarians, parents, and book lovers.  And let me know what you think of this idea!

http://www.wendy-watson.com/poster.html

50% OFF IN MY ETSY STORE

I'm having a big sale right now in my Etsy store.

Spend $30 or more, and get 50% off your total at checkout.

Use coupon code SAVE50.

Sale ends on January 7, 2014.

Hope to see you there!

Once again:  Spend $30 or more at my Etsy store, and get 50% off at checkout.  Use coupon code SAVE50.  Sale ends on January 7, 2014.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/WendyWatsonStudio?ref=si_shop

MY ETSY STORE

 I always thought it would fun to have a store---perhaps there are shopkeepers amongst my ancestors.  I also love holding Open Studios, but there is a limit to how many times a year the creative work space can be bundled away to make room for a party.   With the internet, however, it's now possible for me to have a never-ending Open Studio, and run a shop, without ever leaving my physical studio or disturbing my ongoing creative work.  I've just opened my Etsy online studio shop:

http://WendyWatsonStudio.etsy.com

 I'm starting out on a small scale:  a few Christmas cards...

 ...a few out-of-print books with either accompanying prints...

...or with enticing decorated envelopes in which to present them...

...and my favorite---a small 6 oz. mug with a couple of cavorting foxes adorning its side.  All of the art was designed and executed by Yours Truly, of course.  My shopkeeper mind is bubbling and bursting with more ideas for things I could make to put on my virtual shop shelves.  My other more sober mind is saying "Let's just wait a little while to see how this goes before we do anything more."  In any case, no matter which mind-set prevails, right now I'm having fun!  Please drop in for a visit---I can offer you some virtual tea and cookies!
http://WendyWatsonStudio.etsy.com

MY DONATION TO THE ABFFE HOLIDAY CHILDREN'S ART AUCTION

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression will be hosting its annual holiday auction of art from children's books later this month. The auction begins November 26 and ends December 2 (https://abffe.site-ym.com).  Proceeds from the auction go towards support of ABFFE's programming and advocacy work.  This is your chance to purchase art by some of today's finest illustrators of books for children, while supporting a worthy cause.  My donation will be the art that I created as a demo for my previous blog THE 3-COLOR PALETTE.  (Blogger will not let me add the link here, but you can find the post on the Blog Archive list at the right.)  I can't think of a better use for this little piece than to ask it to help out with the ABFFE'S efforts.

ORIGINAL ART SHOW: OPENING NIGHT

The Original Art Show, the annual exhibition of original art from children's books, held its opening on Thursday evening, October 28th, at the Society of Illustrators in New York City---and I was there.  The Society was founded in 1909, well before there was a separate category known as "Children's Book Illustration."

The Society is housed in a lovely old building on East 63rd Street---you can read more about it and its history at the Society's website, http://www.societyillustrators.org/Default.aspx.  

My book BEDTIME BUNNIES was part of the show, a very great honor for me.  My friend and I arrived at the Society in the rain around 6 p.m. along with other enthusiasts---checked our coats---got our tickets and our name tags---and waded into the crowded room.  I have to confess that the first thing I did was find my own piece of art, and have a photo taken of it with me, its beaming creator. 

After that, I was able to concentrate on looking at the entire exhibition.  It was amazing to be able to see, hanging in two rooms, 150 examples of the best of children's book illustration today.  I wished I had planned one more day in the city, so that I could have come back the next day to view the show more thoroughly.  It was equally amazing to mingle with all the illustrators, art directors, editors, and publishers who were responsible for the art.  The energy in the room was palpable, almost over the top.  One of the speakers proclaimed, "Some  predict that picture books are on their way out.  But looking around this room, I'd say:  We aren't going anywhere!"  The room roared back in confirmation.

      The Original Art awards medals annually.  This year the gold medal was given to Rosalyn Schanzer http://www.rosalynschanzer.com/.  The two silver medals were given to Kadir Nelson http://www.kadirnelson.com/   and Lane Smith http://www.lanesmithbooks.com/LaneSmithBooks/Lane_Smith_Books.html.  A lifetime award was also given, to Tomi Ungerer http://www.tomiungerer.com/.  The posthumous lifetime award was given to Robert McCloskey http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_McCloskey.  Since I have always admired both Ungerer and McCloskey from the very beginning of my artistic career, I was especially pleased to be present as those awards were announced.  

The gallery was now closing---but the evening was not over.  My friend and I climbed the stairs to the Society's dining room, where we were served a shockingly decadent and delicious meal.  Executive Chef Quelbyn Sanchez is a real artist with food, and the Society---and all the rest of us---are lucky to have him there. 

      And so ended a wonderful evening, an evening that was exciting...inspiring...and filling.