Monthly Archives: March 2009

Writing & Illustrating for Children’s Books Class

30 March 2009

I am very fond of Dona Turner. I took a packaging class from her at UC Berkeley Extension many years ago and am very happy to say we still keep in touch. Very encouraging and positive, she’s an incredible artist and a really enjoyable person to be around. In the class I took from her, she helped me push my ideas further to create pieces that I enjoyed producing. If you’re interested in taking this class from her, I say “go for it!”

Writing and Illustrating for Children’s Books – bring your ideas to life!
Instructor: Dona Turner
Thursdays, April 23—June 11th   6:30-9:30pm
8 sessions. $200.00.
2501 8th Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
(at Dwight in the famous Sawtooth Artists Building)
Offered in the artist’s studio. There is plenty of safe free parking and the studio is accessible directly from the street. Café Trieste is nearby!

This workshop is designed to provide anyone interested in writing and illustrating children’s books with a supportive and stimulating environment to bring their ideas to life. Participants will work collaboratively in an informal setting to develop their works to their richest potential—with the goal of creating a professional presentation for editors or agents. This workshop will use constructive group critiques to further each student’s process; so, time will be dedicated during each class to review participant’s work.

We will:
• discuss illustration techniques
• examine character and setting development
• study page layout and pagination
• create beginnings and endings
• explore dos and don’ts for marketing and getting published

Materials: Bring ideas, manuscripts and sketches, plus painting or drawing materials, or your laptop.

Sign Up: Please email the instructor dona@donaturner.com to secure a space. Check or cash payment appreciated before or at first class. Make check payable to: Dona Turner and send to the studio address above.

Dona Turner has taught illustration at CCA, Extended Ed. and currently teaches Graphic Design at UC Berkeley Extension. She has illustrated numerous children’s books, including the popular, “What Makes a Rainbow” and “What Makes Music”.  McAdam/Gage Publishers in San Francisco brought out her own book, “My Cat Pearl”, this year. She recently completed a picture book in Korean for Yeowan Media. Dona is also a Life Coach specializing in Creativity and Goals.

Visit www.donaturner.com or www.childrensillustrators.com

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Love for Slings and Arrows

30 March 2009

“Theatre is about what happens right now in front of an audience. For me Richard, theatre’s very nature is ephemeral, it’s only reason for being is to tell the story that absolutely needs to be heard. People are so sick of being sold to, of being bombarded, they want a place to go where they can actually hear the truth.”

From Slings and Arrows, “The Promised End” Season 3, Episode 6

Tom  and I thoroughly enjoyed watching Slings and Arrows. It’s very difficult to go back to watching regular television (for as little as I watch). This Canadian television mini-series just doesn’t compare.

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Putting Yourself into Your Work

13 March 2009

Hearing David Carson speak at the HOW Design conference in 2001 was one of my highlights. His 2003 TED talk is very inspiring as well. These words stood out so strongly for me in his talk that I had to transcribe them:

“You have to utilize who you are in your work, nobody else can do that, nobody else can pull from your background, from your parents, your upbringing, your whole life experience. If you allow that to happen, it’s really the only way you can do some unique work and you’re going to enjoy the work a lot more as well.”

I read the quote to Tom and he recited Hamlet, “To thine own self be true.”

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  • Artist statement

    I’m hungry to learn and it’s through my process of creating that I’m ultimately satisfied. I’m curious about different materials and take on the challenge to incorporate what I’m most drawn to into my work. I’m intrigued to discover the resulting patterns and repetition. As I create, I explore my inner landscape. I’m attempting to uncover a stifled sound. It’s my challenge to express this internal voice through my art and ultimately, boldly, out loud.

    My quest to connect my voice with my work has led me to reexamine my personal history. The threads in my bookbinding and in my collage are entwined in my familial roots. Growing up, I remember a quilt frame my dad made, taking up our entire living room. His grandmother taught him to quilt using scraps of clothing. Years later, I began a quilt when a friend was teaching a class on patchwork. To my surprise, cutting up fabric and piecing it back together reminded me of my work with paper collage.

    As a child I would sew with my mom and what I most remember is the guilt I’d feel as I jammed up her machine. Now, when the threads and material bunch up they become useful fodder for my work. In some ways the threads act as a binding element, as in my books, and in other ways they are a reflection of my internal processes.