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The Friendship Alphabet a U-tales collaborators. Cover illustration by Anders Lindholm. My"P" page contribution.
Sometimes being a small part of a large effort can be very rewarding. I recently had the opportunity to work with some of the world's most talented writers and illustrators of children's book. It was part of an effort of the gang at U-tales.com. They had the inspiration to join forces to create a book that would teach children the virtues of friendship, through words and pictures. Here was the tricky part, we couldn't use the word friendship in our pages. All of the profits would go to Pencils for Promise, a non-profit that works to provide education for all throughout the world. It happens to be the same charity as authors we can support with a portion of our individual profits from our own books on the U-tales site.
If you're not familiar, U-tales is a website wholly dedicated to e-books for kids. With a worldwide audience it has a large audience. I was contacted by the group last summer before they launched, with an invitation to be part of the initial effort. I was very honored to be thought of well enough to be invited. By fall I had two e-books published with U-tales, by their launch date. I hope that the world doesn't ever lose our love for physical books, but I can see the writing on the wall. As the next generation learns to read on their parents I-phones, I-pads and Kindles. U-tales is a very loving and high class site to fit that bill perfectly.
My "P" page posted above has an adjoining page that says "The perky puppy and his panda pal, slurp a pot of pasta with the praying mantis, Mr. Chow. " I hope I managed to get the friendship in with all my P's. Shhh.... don't tell anyone, I did cheat a little, the Chinese symbols watermarked on the drawing are the symbol for friendship. I was very glad to be able to participate in this worthy project and humbled to be part of such an outstanding community.
If you wish to see the entire book, check it out on U-Tales at http://utales.com/books/the-friendship-alphabet . While you're there check out my books, especially my new one, "Wiggly Tiggly Tell Me Who". This book was first attempt at a book with sound and animation. It's a new twist on the old pop-up book. By the way, if you have any wee ones in your life, you can gift them a subscription to the site.
For more information on Pencils for Promise, visit their site and read their heartwarming story. http://www.pencilsofpromise.org/ So go curl up with a good book, be it hardback or virtual and read a good story.
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Tyler for a bit, but left to raise a family. I have 4 kids from 16 to 23. I kept up with my art though. Working for as an art director for a print house, learning everything from design to finish. Even taking classes to learn to run the presses. I also worked in a small sign shop design and making signs. But most of the last 2o years has been spent working in real estate, of course loving the marketing and materials design aspect of it. I opened a real estate office for a company in 2009, but with the economy the way it was found myself unemployed. I decided to reinvent myself and be what I wanted to be when I grew up, an artist. I had continued to go back to school on and off, brushing up on my skills. SO in the fall of 2010 I went back to Bucks to learn photoshop and illustrator, then in the spring took an illustration class. I realized how happy I was and saw some success, so I decided to finally finish up my BFA and applied to Moore. Funny thing was I received a phone call while away at my oldest sons graduation from Florida state university last spring. So he was completing and moving on and I was continuing my journey. Being a non-traditional student has it's challenges. I manage my school schedule so that I can complete 2 days at full time. Leaving my house at 6am and returning after 11pm. That leaves me time to work on the other days. With school, work, family and volunteering it leads to a tight schedule. So time management is crucial. I ate my lunch at the computer, do homework on the train and try to squeeze every minute out of the day. The other thing that has been a challenge is the financial end. Having been unemployed for awhile, loans are out of the question, so I have work on every scholarship and grant I can find. SO looking back on when I first attended college, I wish someone would have told me that you have all the time and money necessary to get the job done. My theory now is where there's a will there's away, and I'll get it done.
What and where is your current job? What type of things do you do?
