Poetry Friday is here and with it my last feature of a Robert’s Snow snowflake and artist. These weeks have been a tremendous feast of visual delights and creativity. I can’t get over how beautiful each snowflake is. Just like a real snowflake, no two are alike and this one, “Titania’s Flowery Bed” is no exception. It’s based on Victorian lullaby and it features a sleepy little fairy.
Today, I’m featuring Elizabeth Sayles, who has illustrated more than 20 books for children. Her latest book is “The Goldfish Yawned” (Henry Holt) and it is the first book that she wrote as well as illustrated. It is a winner of the Bank Street College Best Childrens Book, 2005. She also illustrated “I Already Know I Love You” written by Billy Crystal which was a NY Times #1 best selling picture book.
Her Titania made me think of Shakespeare and A Midsummer Night’s Dream so my Poetry Friday offering is Elizabeth Sayles, her magical snowflake and Shakespeare. Makes a nice trio, doesn’t it?
I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows, Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine, With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine: There sleeps Titania sometime of the night, Lull’d in these flowers with dances and delight;
William Shakespeare, from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Scene 1
Liz was kind enough to send me a long email telling me all about what inspired her snowflake, how she came to Robert’s Snow and a bit about herself.
“My Snowflake — Titania’s Flowery Bed — was inspired by a book that I just illustrated called “Mother’s Song.” It is a Victorian lullaby and many fairies have found their way into the art. Some are fishing for pearls, or dancing on a spider’s thread, or escorting the Queen over the River bridge. This little fairy seemed to fit pretty well in the snowflake, which is actually a flower. “Mother’s Song,” which was adapted by Ellin Green, will be published in Spring ‘08 by Clarion Books.
The fairy, somehow wound up looking an awful lot like my daughter, Jessica. I see it now when I look at it, but was not aware of it when I was painting it.
I usually work in pastel… but I have been incorporating acrylic paints in my work lately and this snowflake was mostly painted using acrylics.
In the summer of 2005 Grace had asked me to do a snowflake for the first Robert’s Snow auction. I was so impressed by her, and her concept and energy. Most of us are paralyzed when someone we love is sick, at least I am. I can only think of how to get through the day, but Grace put all that anxiety into hopeful action. So I was happy to do it. Last year I was too busy, so I was more than happy to do it again this year, especially in light of the fact that Grace lost her husband in August.
One of my favorite books is “Five Little Kittens” (a New Public Library 100 Books for Reading and Sharing Selection) My artwork has been on display at the Society of Illustrators in NYC, The New York Public Library, The Columbus Museum of Art in Ohio, Every Picture Tells a Story gallery in Los Angeles and Chemers Gallery in Orange County, CA. I am an adjunct professor of Illustration at the School of Visual Arts in NYC.”
Liz Sayles is one busy woman! Along with all her work, she has a website and a blog that feature her delectable art. snowflake and others at the Robert’s Snow online auction. . I fell in love with her work and it’s dreamy, soft feel.
Getting to know about artists like Liz and discovering their art has made this experience a joyful and fulfilling one. Please visit the Robert’s Snow Online Auction and bid often for these selfless and thoughtful pieces of themselves the artists share. Each snowflake, the work creating them and the stories behind them are worth far more than will ever be fetched at auction.
Poetry Friday’s round-up is at the place it began, Big A, little a.
Joyful is the word that comes to mind when I look at Akemi Guitierrez’ work. Her sketches and paintings are filled with joy and such an amazing exuberance. I start smiling and keep smiling for a long while after visiting her colorful and happy website which is filled with fun things like The Curio Corner which features a monthly quiz, a Book Nook, her gallery, Animal Crackers and more. If you’re having a down day, swing by Akemi’s site – it’s sure to put a smile on your face.
Akemi is the illustrator of such fun books as The Pirate And Other Adventures of Sam & Alice and The Mummy And Other Adventures of Sam & Alice which are both published by Houghton Mifflin Co.; What the Elephant Told and A Nap in a Lap are published by Henry Holt & Co.; and Three Little Bears published by Candlewick Press. She has a new book coming in 2008 entitled I’m Just Like My Mom/ I’m Just Like My Dad to be published by HarperCollins.
Akemi Gutierrez has been illustrating and writing children’s books for seven years, and is currently working on her seventh book. Akemi lives in northern California with her husband Ed. She has won the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award for two of her book illustrations: “Three Little Bears” and “What the Elephant Told.”s: “Three Little Bears” and “What the Elephant Told.”
Her story about what brought her to Robert’s Snow is a touching one and her snowflake is filled with that joy and exuberance that he brings to his paintings. I love the idea of an ice skating pirate named Dead-Eye Dirk, don’t you?
Here are Akemi’s words about her involvement with Robert’s Snow and a bit about her snowflake.
Dear Gina,
Thanks so much for writing & thinking of me for your blog!
I first heard about the Robert’s Snow event from my editor at Houghton Mifflin in 2004. It sounded like such a great idea and a wonderful cause, I really wanted to get involved. My brother passed away in 2000 from cancer so this charity felt especially close to my heart. After contacting Grace, I painted a snowflake for the first auction and the following two. I strongly believe in all the good that can come from people working together, such as the artists & coordinators of Robert’s Snow and plan to participate in this charity as long as they’ll have me.
When I was designing this year’s snowflake, I thought back to my first (and only) attempt at ice skating. There’s just 2 kinds of people that shouldn’t be on ice skates: pirates & me. So it seemed like a good chuckle to put my pirate “Dead Eye Dirk” on the same slippery skates that I once wore. I think he’s better at skating than I was, and it helps that he’s properly distracted from the icy peril by the sweets at hand.
I hope this was helpful to you! Thanks again for writing & I hope this year’s auction is another big success!
Happy Autumn, Akemi
Isn’t she nice? I just want to give her a big hug! Akemi’s snowflake is adorable and like each of the snowflakes I see, I want it. It’s not every day you can have a pirate skating on a snowflake.
So bid, bid, bid! Let’s help to make this the most successful Robert’s Snow ever. Many, many thanks to all the wonderful illustrators that gave of their time to create these beautiful works of art.
On My Block: Stories and Paintings by Fifteen Artists Editor: Dana Goldberg
Artists: Cecilia Alvarez, Carl Angel, Cbabi Bayoc, Kim Cogan, Maya Christina Gonzalez, Yasmin Hernandez, Felicia Hoshino, Sara Kahn, Conan Low, Joseph Pearson, Elaine Pedlar, Ann Phong, Jose Ramirez, Tonel, Jonathan Warm Day
Publisher: Children’s Book Press ISBN-10: 0892392207 ISBN-13: 978-0892392209
On My Block is an incredible homage to neighborhoods, those childhood neighborhoods that were filled with enchantment and the wonder of young eyes and minds. Each sumptuous and very different page features a different artist talking about the neighborhoods of their childhood and what made them wonderful. Some pages are the stuff of dreams, others are filled with magic while some are grounded in reality, yet others contain the wispy quality of memory.
The fifteen artists are each completely wonderful in their own right and there is a small bio and photo of each at the bottom corner of each page, giving children and parents the opportunity to learn more about them. Each page is a journey of discovery.
Travel to Cuba with the artist known as Tonel and let his bright colors liven up your day.
Take a walk with Cecilia Alarez through her grandmother’s garden in Tijuana and feel the power of Mother Earth and view nature as a Goddess.
Visit with Los Angeles artist and teacher, Jose Ramirez in his East L.A. neighborhood on Ithaca Street (I lived there too!). His lush earth tones and warm brown faces will make you smile.
Yasmin Hernandez takes you through a gritty city dressed as Wonder Woman on her magical tour.
Maya Christina Gonzalez sweeps you away with her gorgeous use of color and sweeping dreamlike style.
Felicia Hoshino takes you to San Francisco where you have the fun of working at making tofu. Her soft colors made me think of the delicate, pale nature of tofu.
Cbabi Bayoc takes us to the park and that joy of just hanging on monkey bars. His wonderful illustrations of children’s faces smiling with the simple joy will bring back memories and make you smile long after you close the book.
I could go on and on about each artist and find more and more to ooh and ahh over. I open this book after a long day and I can’t help but be transported to that magical place of childhood where everything has magical potential. This is a book for both children and adults and is highly recommended. Each of the artists is well worth learning about and their websites or websites about them are easily found. On My Block is a wonderful way to teach children about art and artists, styles and diversity.
Guadlupe “Pita” Amor was one of Mexico’s greatest poets. I couldn’t find anything in translation, but here’s a bit in Spanish.
“Sola yo estoy y llena de inquietudes; cada día me interno más adentro; mis defectos atraen a las virtudes; de un misterioso círculo soy centro. El cansancio que tengo es infinito; todo el dolor del mundo lo he probado; un laberinto de ansiedad habito y a tientas me revuelvo en lo intrincado”. (Círculo de angustia, 1948)
To find out more about Pita Amor in Spanish, click here. To find out more about Pita Amor in English, click here. The round-up is being held over at A Wrung Sponge. Thanks so much for hosting!
This week’s poetry Friday lands on All Saint’s Day, the day AFTER Dia de los Muertos. Two years ago I wrote a poem celebrating the birth of my grandson Aiden and honoring my grandfather – Salvador Medina Camarillo who passed away from complications of cancer in 1987. The poem is called Cien Años – 100 years because his favorite saying was that he was going to live 100 years. He didn’t quite make it but he was the strongest man I’ve ever known and battled cancer from the 1960s till the day he died. The year my grandmother died in 1984 – he had 7 major surgeries in one month and a few months later was out breaking concrete with a sledge hammer. You’d think that with such vitality and strength he’d be rough and gruff – but no, he was the gentlest, kindest man I’ve ever met. He believed in paying it forward, doing good just for the sake of doing it. He did the right thing simply because it was the right thing and never had an agenda. He and my grandmother Maria Guadalupe Gonzales Camarillo or Dona Lupe as she was known, would be proud of what all these bloggers are doing for Robert’s Snow and I honor their memory with each post for it.
My Poetry Friday post is a Day of the Dead altar of sorts. I hope you enjoy this little taste of my culture. I welcome you to leave a little candle of a comment on this altar for your loved ones who have passed.
I’ve attached my Papa Chava’s (that’s what we called him) picture along with pictures and video of the Day of the Dead ceremony last night in Lincoln Park. Please keep in mind I was dancing so the video isn’t very good.
Cien Años
“Cien años” You would say In that Raspy, gruff Yet curiously gentle Voice “Voy a vivir cien años”
“Naci en el 1900” You’d tell me As together we sat In the patio filled with my Grandmother’s plants Playing Canicas, marbles that Lived in the bright Green MJB Coffee can
“Cien años” Square, determined jaw Resolute cara de nopal Face of un indo Beloved grandfather Affectionately called Papa
“Deje Mexico durante el revolucion” Sadness and shadows Flittering through your warm Brown eyes That must have seen So much Loss and pain Brave, brown man Strong and honest A working man
“Cien años” As we hoed the neat Rows of Corn, chiles, cilantro, tomate Bright red strawberries Freckled like me
“Conoci al Al Capone en Cheecago” Proud, smiling lightly As we picked the lemons, membrillo and laurel Destined for Grandma’s kitchen To become intoxicating smells Of a distant land. Later I learned of The stockyards, the stench Backbreaking work Racism and hatred He never once spoke of
“Cien años” Rolling massive flour tortillas In three quick thumps Of the Rolling pin Sas! Sas! Sas! And hands a perfectly round White moon To Grandma standing At the comal
“Somos Aztecas, indios” Crinkly eyes flashing Big dimple showing In your left cheek Same as mine Only deeper, much deeper The “X” marks the spot In a treasure map of a smile As we watch Los Voladores perform
“Cien años” As you sat at the table With the ever present Playing cards Shuffling with all the Finesse of a Vegas dealer And told me Of the first time you worked With your father At age 3 And earned Tres centavos One you bought an olla with Gave it and the remaining Centavos To your mother
“No cobramos por ayuda” Every time someone tried to pay For the sobadas Given By the healing hands Of a sobador, a huesero Those same hands That carved a cherry stone or a porous rock into the face of a monkey
“Cien años” Body racked with nausea Losing your thick black hair Fighting That asbestos-caused evil Cancer From working in that place That manufactured dishes Gave you a turkey a year, Franciscanware The apple pattern Desert Rose And the “Big C”
“Dios te lo pague, hija” Each time I did something For you Or my Grandma Out of love For no other reason But to lighten your load Do something for those That gave me so much
“Cien años” As you kissed the Forehead of your bride Still in love After decades of marriage Dancing with her To a bolero reminiscent of Times past
“Tengo que trabajar” After seven major surgeries The month after My grandmother’s death As we tried to get You to stop Working The hard muscle Of your indio labor Tucked under the wrinkled Mask of frailty
“Cien años” When the hospital Sent you home to die A thin man hiding his Pain Looking like A woodcut By Guadalupe Posada
“No tengo hambre” As I parade your favorite foods Chicharones en chile verde Frijoles del olla Burnt blackened tortillas I never understood Why you liked them that way Almost 86 On that April Fools Sunny day I called to see how you were And found you had gone To Mictlan “Fitting”, I said As I held my children and cried Fitting for the practical joker You were
Today A great, great grandson Came backwards into this world Bearing your name – Salvador In the Aztec veintena of Tlaxochimaco The Offering of the Flowers
In his name Aidan Cesar Salvador Ehecatlpochtli I gift to you this Flower, this poem This bittersweet tear May you live on In our memories, our stories Our hearts and dreams Por much mas que “Cien años”
I began my Dia de los muertos early. I put in almost a full day of work at the office and then hopped a train to downtown L.A.’s Union Station. Once there, I walked through the train station at a fast clip carrying my bag of regalia. I crossed the street and walked through Placita Olvera – or Olvera Street. I took a few pictures of the altars there (more on that in another post). I ran across the street, swept through the inner plaza of La Placita – the oldest Catholic Church in Los Angeles, took pictures there and ran to catch a bus to Lincoln Park – Plaza de la Raza. I was lucky, the bus came within five minutes and I arrived at Parque de Mexico just in time to help set up the main altar.
This is some of the guys putting up a banner of Emiliano Zapata.
The main altar
The pungent smell of marigolds and copal perfumed the air as we worked together in harmony. I saw dear old friends, children who had played with my children now had children of their own. We worked hard and laughed a lot. We did the usual helping each other with headresses and regalia, admired each others handiwork and chatted away till the conch shells and drums called us to circle. Then we danced.
This is me in my regalia right before we entered the circle.
Dancing is praying for us. We dance in a circle. The main altar in the center belongs to our muertitos – that’s where they dance. We danced for hours, well into the the night. Some of us took breaks but most did not. We danced in the four directions, giving honor to each. We prayed to Father Sky and bent down to Mother Earth. Rattles shook, drums were beating, flutes were playing, costumes and feathers were swirling. We honored our ancestors, we prayed on this sacred and holy night. We prayed. We honored. We kept our culture alive.
Some of the drummers.
The Virgen de Guadalupe is special to us.
We are the Mexica, we are Azteca, we are indigenous, indios, we are the sacred corn. We are devout people, devout to the religions of our choice, devout to our traditions, devout in our love of patria (country) and of our homeland. There is a prayer we say at the end of each ceremony that talks about how we are the sacred corn.
When I’m standing there exhausted after dancing for hours in prayer, when my senses are filled with copal smoke, drum beats and that otherworldy sense of sacred space, when I’m there with my face pointing to the sky, hands and arms raised to the heavens, when I’m saying this prayer aloud with 100 other dancers – then I know that we have something precious, a treasure in our culture and that it will live on forever so please don’t ask me to assimilate and don’t think I’m un-American because I love who I am. I stand on the strong roots of my past, I dance with my ancestors and I am so proud to be a Mexica woman.
I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween. This is the 18th day of the Robert’s Snow Blogging for a Cure internet blizzard and I am so proud to be a part of it.
Tonight, us Aztec dancers and Latinos will be celebrating Dia de Los Muertos (see post below to find out where I’m dancing). Dia de los muertos is a very special day for us danzantes (the proper term for an Aztec dancer). On this night, we honor our ancestors, the people we loved who have died. We believe that they have moved on to another world and on this night, they come and visit the earth and the families they left behind. For danzantes, each dance is a prayer. The steps of the dance all tell stories and thank the Creator for what we have in this life.
Our costumes symbols show our family line of all who have come before us so we are literally dancing and praying with our ancestors. They are with us in the dance. The copal smoke that burns during the ceremony sends our prayers up to the sky. The night is filled with magic, we build altars of fruit and flowers, we make our departed ones favorites foods, sugar skulls are lovingly created and placed on altars along with the muertitos made of paper machier. I bake, like so many other women the traditional pan de muertos. Music and poetry and stories fills the air. I think that Victoria Jamieson’s whimsical and beautiful snowflake Jerry Performs Carmen fits right in with el dia de los muertos as does this whole battle against the cancer that has taken so many of our loved ones to Mictlan – the land of the dead.
Victoria’s snowflake shows an ice skating, ice dancing really pig performing Carmen. You all know we love pigs here at AmoXcalli and Cuentecitos. Carmen just happens to be one of my favorite operas. The fact that I’m featuring the night before Day of the Dead and Jerry is dancing on ice skates strikes me as uncannily coincidental. I think Jerry is dancing his own prayer for a cure.
I had the great pleasure of chatting with Victoria Jamieson via email and found out some really neat and interesting things about this very talented, gracious and lovely artist. I hope you find her snowflake as wonderful as I do.
Here’s a little bit about Victoria.
I was born in Havertown, Pennsylvania, and my family moved to Tampa, Floria when I was twelve. After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2000, I’m now settled in Brooklyn, New York, where I work as a freelance illustrator, as well as a designer at Greenwillow Books. My first published illustrations will be in bookstores in February, in “The Gollywhopper Games”, by Jody Feldman (Greenwillow Books).
It took me a little while after graduation to realize that I wanted to be a children’s book illustrator. I traveled around for a bit, working as a portrait artist onboard a Carnival Cruise ship. If you want to practice drawing facial expressions, drawing portraits for 8 hours a day is a good way to do it!
Later on, I went to Australia to study Museum Studies, but characters and story ideas kept following me! Actually, a trip to a “Sheep Fashion Show” in Sydney planted the seed for “Bea Rocks the Flock”, to be published by Bloomsbury in 2009.
Now I am happily pursuing other stories that have been nesting in my brain over the years. I absolutely love illustrating children’s books. It’s exciting for me to develop characters and their environments in my head, and then to create a tangible record of my imaginings in a painting.
Thank you so much for contacting me to be part of the Robert’s Snow blog-a-thon! It’s such a beautiful project, and I’m honored to participate along with so many of my heroes (ie, children’s book illustrators!) Like many others, I’m sure, I first heard about Robert’s Snow through the Blue Rose Girls blog, and Grace Lin’s blog. I’m not a scientist or a doctor, so this was a good way to use the skills I actually do have to help in the fight against cancer.
The inspiration for my snowflake mainly came from the fact that I L-O-V-E ice skating, to a degree that sometimes seems at odds with my daily life. After years of staring wistfully at the Olympic skaters on TV (not to mention such fine cinematic events as “Ice Princess” and “The Cutting Edge), I took my first ice skating lessons last winter. Like Jerry on my snowflake, I did not let my very evident lack of skill interfere with my excitement for each class. I can relate to someone like Jerry, who does not let something like “talent” stand in the way of his passion! I am proud to report, after 12 weeks of lessons, I am now able to spin & even do a little jump (although I think it is called, literally, the Bunny Hop).
My first self-authored children’s book will be published by Bloomsbury in 2009. It features a sheep, Bea, who is also not content with the hand life has dealt her. I enjoy creating characters who I can relate to– like Bea, I have had my share of sometimes scary adventures, bad haircuts, and questionable fashion advice. I look forward to creating many more characters throughout my career!
