Hecho en Cuba

My story goes back about 10 years ago, but my memories are still very fresh. 

I was invited to draw a fashion show during a conference in Old Havana. 

I was very official, applying for, and getting granted a license to travel. 

I proudly got my passport stamped and arrived to travel experience 

unlike any that I had to that point, nor have had since. 

The air was hot, as it was summer, but the heat and humidity transcended the temperature. 

The people that I met, beautiful, soulful, smart, and sweet, moved about as if in a haze, under the gloom of poverty, restrictions, and the lack of freedom that I so casually enjoyed. Instead of money, they begged for soap, for hair bands, for toothpaste- all of which I had been advised to bring with me, and I did. I passed it out to Cubans of all ages and had my hand kissed.

It was all at once sobering and endearing. 

The heat and glow of the sun, kissing those antique cars and cobbled streets gave way to sheer exhilaration, for as the sun started to go down, the music, that Cuban music that acts as a constant, pulsing but quiet beat during the day, simply explodes as the light of the day changes. 

I See London, I see France

Back in September, I posted about my whirlwind trip to Oxford. 

Following the conference, I spent a day in London and then, off I went to spend a few days in France. Oh, it was amazing and heavenly, and full of cafés and museums and shopping and wine and I wish that I were back there right now. 

I was fascinated with the details and the grandeur- be it London or Paris and beyond. 

With all good intentions, I set out to do these living histories justice, but true to form, it soon became a pile up of details and winding in and out of the architecture, but boy, did I have fun!

Capturing the sites on the way to somewhere else is not only a challenge, 

but it creates great memories that resonate for longer and better than just gazing out the window.

What can you say about sitting anywhere in Paris and soaking it in?

A cafe and a scene- who needs more?

A side trip to Normandy, rich with history and delicious ornamentation.

And The Pink Kept Coming

I think that I am pretty well known for saying "There is color in black and white." But somedays just call for some color and today was one of them. I was on my way to FIT to the MFA in Illustration Alumni Demo Day and Open House. Just one of about a bizillion happenings in New York today, not to mention the World Wide Sketch crawl. As is my habit, I planned to cross the street to take the bus downtown, waiting alongside Riverside Park- I do this every day. But today was different- I thought that I would see the annual Walk for Breast Cancer in full bloom heading down Riverside Drive.  I was leaving kind of early, and so, was not sure. I sat at the bus stop, when all of a sudden, I saw the roar- yes, I said saw- for all at once, in this gorgeous, powerful bloom of pink- and power- came the throngs of walkers, hand in hand, decked in pink work out gear, hats, scarves, tutus, tiaras, chatting, singing, SURVIVING!!! One had to be a rock not to feel choked up. I had a few minutes before the bus arrived and so, I went to work, barely capturing the crowd and the soaring sight of all of these sisters, united by a single cause for today. Oh, and they had their mens too!! 

It was a sight to behold, and the pink kept coming. 

Across the pond in Oxford

I recently had the distinct honor of presenting a paper at Oxford University at 

Fashion: Exploring Critical Issues, an interdisciplinary conference.My paper was titled 

Fashion in Illustration, Not as Illustration: Accidental Fashion Illustrators of the 1950's and 1960's. This was an academic paper and while I am proud of being accepted,and found it so very interesting, you know where my heart lies.So, with the little free time that I had,off I went to capture the  little bits of that wonderful townwhere and when I could.

I fought off jet lag and set out that first afternoon.

The next morning, I had but a couple of hours until the conference started. So, I started out a little early to find some coffee and just take it in.

Suddenly, the streets were filled with hundreds of flowing robes and regalia. I had stumbled into the middle of a graduation ceremony!

In just a few minutes, it was over, and the bicycles, the icons of Oxford were back.

Fall Fashion Ritual

This year looked as if stripes and plaids, with black booties were in. What do I know? Just that skulking around Lincoln Center during Fashion Week provides me with a drawing day almost unparalleled with opportunity. Designers, models, model wanna be-s, the famous, infamous, paparazzi, seekers of fame and the people- like me, just happy to be in and around one of the hottest tickets in town come Fall.

100 (Almost) Views of Haystack Rock

On the heels of a most inspiring ICON conference in Portland, Or. this summer, I treated myself to three days at Cannon Beach on the magnificent Oregon Coast. Cannon Beach is home to the infamous Haystack Rock. There is no doubt that once one is on this majestic beach, everything is about that Rock. The Rock looms large as you round the coastal highway, approaching town. It is a sight to behold. It has a presence, a persona, that is overpowering. People flock to it all hours of the day and night, when you are eating in a restaurant, every so often you hear "Haystack Rock" wafting through the conversations, when you are shopping, you are asked if you have been to the Rock, when you are given directions, it is always in reference to the Rock. From my incredible beachside room, I could see the Rock, and I, too, fell under the influence. On my first day, I tooled around the coast, driving to Manzanita, a town that has an equally beautiful beach, but it did not have that Rock. I drove north to Astoria and had some great chowder under an historic bridge, but, again, no Rock. I found myself missing that Rock. It was like a companion piece for me- 

a stability, a, well, a Rock. 

Of course, I drew it the minute that I got there, hardly doing it justice. 

But, as its presence and comfort grew in my mind and my space, I realized that it was always with me, even when I was 40 miles away. And that is when I thought about one of my favorite and biggest inspirations, Hokusai. Most of you will know who I am speaking about if you think about the image of the big wave- but he was so much more than that. First and foremost in my mind, an incredible draftsman whose sketchbooks are legendary. Another lesser known book that I adore is Hokusai's 100 Views of Mt. Fuji. And that is when I decided "yes, I am going to channel Hokusai! 100 views of Haystack Rock." It was 5pm on Tuesday when inspiration struck. I had to leave for the airport at 8am on  Thursday am. I set to work. No one had to twist my arm to walk in and around the beach for a day, sketchbook at my side, working feverishly to get to my goal. I did not make it. 75. That is where 

I ended.  I think that I could have, if I used my photos to record those last 25. 

But, this was a challenge to draw it on location.

 I am back now, from my mini vacation with the Rock.

 I still feel as if it is over my shoulder.

Happy Accident on Columbus Avenue

With only two weeks left until school starts, it is a bittersweet time. Beach days have given way to lesson plans, assessment, new faculty hires, tracking down paperwork, wah, wah, wah…Long, languorous days of drawing are now peppered with errands, meetings and all of that back to school prep that has that air of excitement and anticipation- but busy. So, when after a downtown meeting, I hopped off the bus, literally, into a free lunchtime jazz concert across from Lincoln Center, I thought, this is too good to be true! The sun was hot and the air was cool this day- and so was the music. Though I had missed the first hour forty, I had twenty minutes-I found myself a spot and got lost in the moment.

There you have it- drawing saved me again. Changed my whole day. 

Ribbit! Frogfolio for Dellas Graphics

Once a year, for many years, a proliferation of beautifully illustrated frogs- riding bicycles, 

playing baseball, painting, drinking, just about anything that you can think of, 

populate the pages of illo annuals, and now, websites, blogs and FB. 

All for Frogfolio from Dellas Graphics, 

who gives the juicy assignment with only one caveat: there has to be one frog.

This year, with a huge thank you to AD Jim Burke, I will have a frog, a poison dart frog, 

turning the tables, charming the snake that usually eats him~

I am very honored.