Lilla Rogers and A Snail Tale

This past week in Lilla Rogers' online course, Make Art That Sells, Lilla scheduled children's book illustration as the lesson.  Bright and early on Monday morning, she gave us a subject to warm up on:

 Snails.

Obviously, if you've been given a teaser regarding an upcoming Children's Book Brief with a snail as the central character, you are going to hit the internet, 

looking for snail images and expressions.  

That is what children do - they look at body language and expressions, right?  

What I found at first was enchanting and then...ever more disquieting.

Snails kiss. 

They are curious about things.

They will look directly at you, apparently with all four eyes.

All of these wonderful images and thousands more are on the internet, and when I tried to quickly find them again to pay credit to the photographers, I did not have much luck.  I'm sorry about that, because I cannot imagine the work and expertise it took to have these intriguing characters sit for their portraits.

As I studied these faces and postures, I was continuously thrilled with how very human snails look - and took pains to create Happy Snails, Chipper Snails, Upbeat and 

Ready For The World Snails. 

 I was cruising.

                                 I had perky Bookworm snails,

                Wise old snails who used their shells as a recliner. 

And Madcap snails who loved hats.

At 5:00 A.M. Eastern Standard Time on Wednesday, Lilla posted the full Brief.

Disaster.

We were to illustrate the Hans Christian Andersen tale of The Snail and The Rose Tree.

If you've never read it (and I hadn't) it is a moody story of a snail who has no interaction with the World as we know it; who spits at the World, stomping off repeatedly for long ruminative periods to his snail den beneath The Rose Tree.

For whom he has nothing but disdain.

I was speechless.

Well, almost.  I decried the subject matter to Lilla, then stomped off to ruminate on my own.

Whilst ruminating, I re-read the teaser............which included a suggestion to practice

lettering the words: The Snail and The Rose Tree.

Heh.

So, there you have it. Never, ever, sail off to create the world unless you know which world

 in the Universe you are to create.

Thankfully, Lilla allowed us to interpret the story in any fashion we chose.

She already knew we were going to squawk.

Jolly Mon Rocks The Dock at Ocean Isle Fishing Center

It's Jolly Mon Tournament Time, and this year Capt. Brant added a new 

Fishing Tournament category for the youngest ones.  

Thanks to Rickey Beck and Chris Campbell, we have candid photos 

...and Grandson Brayden 

can show you what a Big Time he had 

at the 

"Rock The Dock" Tournament! 

He caught a Flounder within the first few minutes  - the competition was keen!

Capt. Brant weighed the many fish caught by excited and Very Serious youngsters, just like in an adult SKA Fishing Tournament.  

The young anglers had to walk the length of the dock and present their fish to the Weighmaster - and then hear the news and go back to fishing.  

They had one hour to fish, and every child fished every minute of that hour in 95 degree heat and blazing sun.  

There were No Quitters!

At the Jolly Mon Captain's Meeting on Friday night, all the little anglers received their awards - 

 along with the thundering applause of the crowd.

Champs!

Are you ready for THIS?

Catch a Poagie out of a tank without using your hands. 

Brayden didn't catch the Poagie with his teeth, but did the next best thing:

Is this kid  a winner, or what?

Mushrooms, Vintage Pyrex, and Drawing Mania

My eyes are burning, but my drawing heart is happy!  Lilla Rogers, my instructor for the online course I am taking, has us drawing these two subjects over and over and over.  Meantime, she is simply pouring information about the surface design business into our heads.

Yesterday, I drew about a million Mushrooms.  Well, almost a million.

Tomorrow morning at 4:00 AM, she will give us our REAL assignment.  That's when serious Boot Camp begins, and I can't wait to find out what the challenge is!

Going for a glass of wine and some fresh air.  

I'll keep you posted!

Back To School!

I am FLABBERGASTED and humbled by the amazing talent represented by the artists who will be in my class at Lilla Rogers' Studio School.  I've met most of them in a private group on Facebook, and now I am running to sharpen my pencils and clear my work spaces and get

 In The Zone 

for the start of this online class tomorrow.  

My work tables in Ocean Isle Beach, where I will be taking part of this course.

My graphics work desk in Atlanta, Georgia, where I will also be  working.

As a participant in the class, we will not only be getting invaluable input from Lilla Rogers and her staff for five intensive weeks, but we will also be entered in a Global Talent search sponsored by Lilla Rogers Studio for the Next Big Thing.  The entrants will have their work judged by industry experts and art directors.  Shivers!

Class starts tomorrow, and I can hardly wait.