One of the most interesting things about picture books is the story behind the books — where the seeds of ideas came from and how they grew. As promised, I am posting about how my new book, Same, Same but Different came to be. I hope it gives you some good book-energy and that hearing about my work-process is helpful.

Unlike some tales I’ve heard of children’s book authors who woke up from a dream in urgency to scribble down a story appearing to be a gift from the beyond, I had to travel to the other side of the world 3 times to find this book. The first time, I found only the title. The second time, I found the experience. And the third time, I found the content and research.

In 2000, eleven years ago, my friend Maria and I wandered around SE Asia for a month, and I jotted down a saying, “Same, Same but Different” that we heard in Thailand. My favorite part of the trip was playing with kids in a remote village in Northern Thailand  — which inspired me to return.

In 2002, I traveled to Nepal to volunteer at a school. I lived with a family of 14. Everything seemed SO so foreign to me, and I LOVED that. On the second day with my family, I was given a bucket of cold water and soap. Hmmm…did she want me to clean?

“Bucket shower,” she said. “Same, same but different.” There was that saying again…

I had been collecting M. Sasek’s “This is…” book series and had a secret daydream of picking up where he left off. I doodled ideas for “This is Nepal” in my sketchbook. I knew I wanted to make books from my travels.

I feel like it took me a while to find my way at the school — what did I have to share? I wasn’t an English teacher or a musician (like the amazing previous volunteer I heard so many stories of). So for awhile, we simply played and became friends with each other. We became a beautiful part of each other’s worlds.

After observing an art class with twenty 4th graders copying Mickey Mouse in their notebooks that the teacher had drawn on the blackboard, I decided to ‘play’ art with them every day, all day. The school building was dark. The rooms were small and cramped. There were even rats the size of obese American cats lurking in the playground corners. So we went on walks everyday to draw temples, people, chickens, cows, mountains, Buddhas, flowers, and more. We painted self-portraits and each other. We painted a 60 ft long mural in the playground. The school was buzzing with art. I emailed my friends back home and asked them to send postcards of their lives in America. Soon, photos and drawings of landscapes, families, pets, art, schools, food, gardens and cowboys showed up with messages to the kids. I thought Same, Same but Different could be a fun idea for a children’s book. When I was back in Kansas City, we had an art show of the students’ art sharing all about their country and culture.

Four years went by, and I kept in touch with my ‘new’ family in Nepal. Patrick and I decided to visit them and travel in India for several months on another book project. I also planned on writing a story to g

Tulsi, I never questioned whether we gave you the “right” name or not. I always knew it was perfect. You are a rare and beautiful spirit. I see the Divine every time I look into your eyes and heart! I have treasured every moment of your first 2 years with us, watching who you are today and who you are becoming. Thank you for taking my hand and showing me how to draw flowers (again) for the first time. For pointing out the fish swimming in the orange clouds at sunset. For giving me spontaneous love, always a hug AND a kiss, never just one. For looking me in the eyes. For asking to hold my hand. For insisting on long walks in the woods when I’ve been inside for too long. For inviting me lay down on the ground so close next to you to say, “HI BUG!” at the long-legged, glistened winged insect walking by. I am so excited for who I have become, and who I am becoming, too, because of this gift of being your Mama. I love you all the way up to your toes!

“I have this idea for a children’s book, but how do I get it published?” I have heard this so many times over the past few years — from dear friends and family, family members of childhood friends, girlfriends of ex-boyfriends :), blog friends, students, and strangers. I am no expert on this. My own entry into publishing is a bit fairytale-esque. But I do have a lot to share — from my experiences and what I’ve learned from working with my editor and publisher, and from friends who write and illustrate books. Still, I always wish I could share more.

When talking with some book friends last week about this, we all related. So we compiled links, advice, and thoughts that we’ve gathered along the way — so we could have it on hand to give to anyone who inquires. For any of you reading this who “have an idea for a book”, or who have a burning passion deep down to create children’s books in this life, we hope this provides you with answers to your questions and inspires you to make your books. Feel free to ask more questions in comments or share advice of your own!

Publishing FAQ: The Complex and Tricky Road to Getting Published:

Listed below are some very helpful websites, organizations, and tips that have been compiled by writers and artists working in the design, art, and children’s book world. This information will help you on your way to publishing your children’s book.

Writing, Illustrating, and Publishing Children’s Books: The Purple Crayon
This is written by an editor in the business and is very thorough and full of information!

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators / SCBWI
This link will take you directly to the FAQ list and covers so much information.

The Children’s Book Insider
http://write4kids.com/collect.html
http://cbiclubhouse.com

The Heartland Writers Group
(for those in the Kansas City area looking for a critique group)

“The Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market” is a book that should have all the information on what the different publishing houses are accepting these days, how they like to receive their inquiries, and who to address them to.  It should also be able to direct you toward writer and illustrator agents.

Some helpful websites for self-publishing:
http://www.ehow.com/how_107987_self-publish-book.html
lulu.com

THINGS TO CONSIDER:

*Don’t be too eager to “just get published”.  It’s important to learn your craft.  Write and draw a lot so you can figure out your style and get really good at it.  If a weaker story gets published but it doesn’t sell well, they won’t ask you for a second.  If you put out an exceptional manuscript and it sells great, the publisher starts asking you “what are you going to do for us next?”

An editor likes to nurture relationships with authors and illustrators and build a career.  Taking the time to finesse your manuscript at the beginning will really pay off because quality work always finds a good home.

*Take a writing or poetry class at your local University

*Take a field trip to your local library or bookstore and look for books that speak

How awesome every single “first” is. Side by side this morning drawing, Tulsi draws her way into her first “fun guy”, all by herself. She laughed out loud cause it was “fun” to make, too. Don’t you wish you could remember your own first “fun guy”?

I recently created this illustration to represent the Birth Center in Taos where Tulsi was born. The midwives wanted something that felt “nurturing, supportive, magical, compassionate, gentle, spirited, mother&baby centered…” and that read as “northern new mexico” — mesa, mountains, desert wildflowers, butterflies, hummingbirds. I think we succeeded! I had fun dreaming this image up with them and am excited to see how they use it (on printed material and product for fund-raising)! And, thanks to my friend Penny for the lettering help!

Our relationship with the midwives has been a pure blessing. They gave us so much love, respect, attention, support, time, information, and the BEST care I could imagine. I have endless respect for ALL they do.

The countdown has begun! :) My next book will be in bookstores in just FIVE months — September 13th. And I just got the go-ahead to share the cover art and 3 interior spreads. WoooHOOOOOO!

The two boys become friends thru the mail…with their drawings and musings…and discover beautiful surprises in their “same, same but different” worlds.

You can pre-order it thru your local, independent bookstore or here with Powell’s Books (soon, i hope), or now on Amazon.com here.

I’ve mentioned before that this book has been an epic journey for me. Beautiful in every way. And epic in the way that journeys can take you to wild places in the world and in your heart that gift you with priceless “aha!” moments over and over. The idea for this book first sprouted when I jumped out of my safe, comfy creative-corporate existence and into the unknown, to the other side of the world, facing nearly all my fears head-on. And, also to simply experience ’something else’ and to connect with little people. There’s a lot more to the story…wandering, love, another book, a baby, becoming a mother, and more…all nourishing food for the soul, and a book! Thanks to ALL my family and friends for their support with this one, and to you, for your patience. Hope you enjoy the visual glimpses…

OH! And with this countdown, I plan on posting all sorts of fun things about this book — PROCESS, Q&A on how to prepare and present your kid’s book for publishing, classroom skype visits, behind the scenes on the making of this book, a book trailer, and more — on the 13th of every month thru September 13th. I will be giving away 6 signed copies, one name chosen from comments on each of these posts. So stay tuned! And leave a comment below. Today’s comment question: WHERE in the world inspires you most, creatively, and how? (art, writing, cooking, music, fashion, etc.) Please share specifics … I’m working on a travel wish list and want to discover new lands!

This week was a tough one. We all have Spring colds and felt pretty miserable. On the positive side, Tulsi and I got 24-7 snuggle time for about 5 days straight. :) Today we all began to feel a wee bit more like our normal selves. This afternoon Tulsi and I sat side by side, drawing for a big deadline tomorrow. She sensed I felt a bit cloudy and stuck, maybe because she heard me say, “this is awful. Mama can’t draw.” And she replied, “See Mama?” and proceeded to take me on a ride through one of her magical drawings.

Thanks, Tulsi. It was JUST what I needed. No fear. Don’t think. Just play.

When she was finished, I said, “WOW! Your drawing makes me so happy.” And really, I was amazed and totally inspired. And she’s just turning 2. It’s only just begun.

I went back to drawing, and as I began, Tulsi said, “WOW, MAMA! Tulsi Happy!” Click here or on the drawing to watch her demo on my Facebook page.

what i’ve been doing besides blogging…

- discovering again how much i love doodling and drawing letters with odd things like icicles and food coloring, candles dipped in ink, henna, carved potato prints, lemon juice and fire, and stencils inked with ragged old ink pads

- goin’ with the energy of late nights and long naps and patrick’s super yummy chai and making major progress on the chai book…!…and holding an art raffle here.

- one, two or three fancy tea parties a day with my favorite little studiomate and fun mama-tulsi projects like sewing a kitty cat doll (see tea party pic below) when tulsi realizes no kitty cats live in our house and says we should make one

- super fun project development on two new alphabets for Oopsy Daisy

- frequent walks around the stuppa and “play” visits inside the stuppa with “Boo-daa”

- playing with our hens Frida, Frannie, Rosie and Posey (who are just so much more fun since the roosters left the scene…Roo-roo-Diego sadly gave up his life in a brave fight with a dog to save his ladies…and the second-fiddle rooster who we thought was a hen suffered from too many rooster-hormones so our neighbors cooked him up in a winter stew…we are vegetarians)

- gathering eggs daily, some still so warm, and baking quiches and fritadas and burritos and muffins and breads and cookies and french toast, and planning to paint eggs to hang from a tree in the Spring

- staring into my almost-two-year-old sweet girl’s magical eyes and following her lead — spontaneous yoga in the greenhouse, ring-around-the-rosie in the bath tub, and “fancy” band-aides from patterned fabric scraps and ribbons for countless booboo’s

- planting onion seeds and swimming thru countless seed catalogs and making garden lists in my head

- finding endless inspiration in friends like Rhett and mama bloggers like Maya

- embarking on a wild, dreamy and slightly scary ride of illustrating a tarot deck for a great publisher

- and constantly whispering “thank you” for this beautiful sweet family of mine

I can’t believe I’ve been illustrating for children this long, and this is the FIRST princess piece I’ve ever done. Hee. The commission was to create an “exotic princess” art with a Taj-like building. My client wanted it to have a wood-cut-print sort of feel, like on fabrics from India and the Middle East. As a suggestion, they like it with this beautiful bedding (the Marina Collection). I had a lot of fun carving linoleum stamps and layering the prints over textures and collage. It was such a nice balance between hands-on-playing and digital.

Oopsy Daisy also recently licensed these two pieces for canvas reproductions. So fun! All three canvases are available in my shop. Just click on the images or go to “shop: canvas reproductions”. I love that these canvases are all produced in the US, and they are AMAZING quality. So crisp, and the color is perfectly yummy. I hope you like them!

Above: Tracy McGuiness and her son Roy, at work on a mural at Roy’s school in the U.K.

Eight years ago when I was first in Nepal volunteering at Sunshine School, the students and I created a 60′ mural in their playground on a brick wall. I didn’t have any paint supplies and ALL that was available was big pales of white paint and teeny dyes of primary colors. Still, we did our best and had a really fun time. And it was the perfect activity to practice English. Sadly, the dyes were no better than food coloring, and the mural slowly washed away with the monsoon rains. :)

Kid art has always been a HUGE inspiration to me. They are so free spirited and see no rules or boundaries. When Tulsi started coloring, I gave her a 3′x4′ sheet of foam core and she would sit in the middle and twirl around, coloring with two crayons at once. She seemed to be sculpting her world as she felt it. It was amazing to watch.

Have you ever heard Picasso’s quote, “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” It’s such a huge responsibility to ‘let them be’ with their art, don’t you think? To inspire without drowning their spirits. They are such sacred years.

I’ll never forget when I first sat in on an “art class” in Nepal. The 4th graders were at their desks copying exactly what the teacher was ‘attempting’ to draw on the large black board: Mickey Mouse. My heart literally sunk. I had never “taught” art before then, so I looked to my favorite instructors for inspiration. The first thing I did with them was to leave the school grounds. The rooms were small, stuffy and dark and way too small to stretch out. We walked around their ancient village and just looked at the intricate, wood carvings on the temples and the old palace and all its sculptures. And we drew “on location” — my FAVORITE painting class in art school. I honestly don’t think the kids had ever drawn from their own eyes before because they stared blankly at their paper and pencils and asked, “How should we draw the temple?” I don’t remember what I said, but I’m thankful I didn’t say too much. And truly beautiful, unique interpretations came to life that were ALL different. I’ll never forget Bina’s temple that reminded me of an ornate wedding cake and Niraj’s very circus-like houses and temples patterned with jester-type clothing. Watching these kids discover how they saw and find joy in expressing themselves was just awesome. I’ll never forget it.

Whew. I didn’t know I was going to write about that when I started this post, but my friend Tracy’s mural photos brought up those memories. Tracy is a painter/illustrator/mother in the U.K. who I knew from way back at Hallmark. I liked her instantly, especially her free spirit and vision. She has sent me quite a few quirky photo shoots with her son in hand-made costumes and his drawings of robots and monsters that always get my own imagination going. Sometimes she sends her illustrations inspired by his drawings. She recently sent me these photos of a mural project she created at her son Roy’s school (which she and her own mum also went to as kids). The coolest thing about this mural is how she collaborated with the kids, collaging their art with her’s. Check out all the photos of the process and details on her site here. She explained how they “coated local ne

My Travelin’ Eye was recently reviewed by Donna Firgurski and her energetic and thoughtful posse, the Kiddle CRITers. Donna has a unique way of reviewing a book with the Kiddle CRITers — a manuscript of the students’ in-depth, uninterrupted conversation about the story. It seems they always get to the heart of the book. When reading their review of MTE, I giggled and sighed and even melted a bit. They “got” it. Following their review are some fun lesson plan ideas from Donna for use in the classroom. Check it out here (and their archive!). Thank you Donna and Kiddle CRITers! I really enjoy your blog!

This brings me to what I’ve been excited to write about for a long time –and PLEASE, I need YOUR help! I have received many emails from teachers over the past couple of years asking me if there are any lesson plans written for my book, My Travelin’ Eye. — specific ideas and activities. And since there are none that I am aware of, I thought it might be inspiring and helpful for teachers ‘out there’ to gather some ideas and make them available on my site. Donna’s ideas were the perfect motivation.

In the spirit of my mom — “Jenny Sue, we just have to get creative!”

So, even though I’m not a teacher, I have given it my best try (and maybe there is something there to use :) ), AND I also thought I’d send a request out into the blog world to see what YOU can (or already have) come up with. Teachers, HOW have you used it in your classroom? How do you/could you use it differently for different age students? Parents, what sort of discussions come up when you’ve read it with your little ones? Do any activities naturally follow?

Donna’s lesson plans focus on Jenny Sue’s eye challenge and for kids to put themselves into her shoes to get a better view, both what is positive and difficult — which is great, I think. Compassion and empathy, and simply trying on someone else’s shoes…or, um glasses. Often when I’ve read my book in schools, the kids naturally cover up one eye with their hand when Jenny Sue gets her patch. It’s fun to watch them discover how it’s a bit tricky to just have one eye.

This is another idea that I’ve used when I visit with classrooms, with the focus more on storytelling. This might be for older grades 2-3:

Writing a story from a memory in the first person. No rules. And, as authors, it’s OK to embellish your memories! Also, include real-life detail into the art. It could be as simple as a one paragraph story OR they could develop a longer story with multiple illustrations. Whenever I visit with students and read my book, I want mostly to inspire them to tell stories and create pictures. For me, my life and memories are where I find stories. (I’m not the author who makes up stories out of the blue.) I always tell them that I first got the idea to write about my eye from staring at my birth announcement photo and how I immediately noticed that my left eye was traveling from the get go. To help get them started, I share what some of the little ‘details’ in my book mean — like when Jenny Sue is kneeling in the sink looking into the mirror (which I specifically remember doing — I still remember how hard the sink was on my knees and shins). She is wearing the No. 83 football jersey which was my oldest brother Freddie’s and who I thought was the coolest. It&rs

Tulsi prefers to be either naked, or dressed in at least 10 layers. Her funny smile and excitement over everything is contagious.

After a whirlwind 2 1/2 week trip to the midwest for work+holiday, we are really happy to be back in the mountains. The night we got home I was outside in below 0 degree weather, climbing stacked strawbales to check on the chickens and tuck them in for the night. I had to laugh at how much fun this was. The city was ok, but I am such a mountain girl.

And happy new year! It’s always nice to have closure and fresh starts, even if sometimes nerves and uncertainty are mixed in. I have been feeling a little discouraged at my efforts and successes/struggles with my art lately and the lack of time for it. (You’ve heard that before — it’s a rollercoaster I’m sure I’ll continue to ride for some years as a mama+artist.) Patrick did an I ching reading for me and “retreat” is the theme for me this year. I think of a lot with that word. Quiet, reflection, letting go, soaking up, refueling, learning, growing, playing, praying, following my intuition, no expectations… Thinking about this helped me to let go into this new year and be excited about whatever it brings. It helped me drop any funny, unrealistic expectations of myself that come from a place of comparing myself to others and trying to “keep up” with them. What a relief. Hee. I feel so free.

My friend Maria has been blogging for almost a year at 52 Flowers, posting a poem+painting every week “exploring the nature in human nature”. It was a challenge she gave herself but also a retreat of sorts. Check it out. Her art is so fresh and heartFULL and really inspiring to me.

I hope to blog more soon. I have so much more inspiration to share from our trip and friends and home and art. :)

When we were in India the last time, we collected discarded matchboxes on the roads. There are so many, and it’s sorta like trading cards among travelers. These, along with the countless, amazing retro designs from India’s past (recorded in the beautiful book, LIGHT ON INDIA by Warren Dotz), inspired me to create chai spice icons for our chai book-in-the-making. These are most of them…Tulsi and maybe a couple others are still coming.

One of the best (and most challenging) parts for me with this journey in self-publishing is being my own art director and creating the illustration “jobs” throughout the book. I can’t wait to dive into the recipe section. I LOVE illustrating recipes, and perhaps even more, I LOVE being a taster for all of Patrick’s creative masala chai concoctions! It’s going to be a really yummy winter here…

December, warm, sunny and beautiful, and still no snow. I am confused what time of year it is! For the past several years, we have decorated one of our house plants for Christmas…a Northfolk Pine or our gigantic Ficus ‘tree’. There is no room in our house for a traditional Christmas tree, and it’s just fun to adorn a family plant. When thinking about this year, I remembered once when we had some friends housesit and coming home to one of our Aspen trees with dried fruit dangling from it’s naked branches. An edible holiday tree for our beloved bird friends! That idea just feels so perfect for us. We are bird lovers and watchers. We don’t own a tv and often sit in our window sills watching the birds and rabbits. So, we chose a very special tree outside my studio to give love to. We strung popcorn and cranberries, made molded birdseed ornaments and threaded dried apples, apricots, raisins, mangoes and papaya. We scattered seed around the trunk and hung lights. Then opened a bottle of wine and watched the birds discover it all. When the sun went down, we went in and decorated more. And can I just say the obvious? It’s so so fun celebrating holidays with a young child. Everything is new and extra exciting! Tulsi wakes up my kidself, bigtime.

We are taking advantage of the gorgeous weather and spending most of our days outside with the chickens and in the garden. And, it’s fun to nibble bites of fruit straight off the tree.

A couple months ago, I received this incredibly beautiful book, Nurturing Walls, from a, somewhat abstract, internet friend in India (hee. I love that we live in a time that we all have these ‘friends’ out there who we’ve never met but love that they exist in space and in our lives :) ) What an amazing parcel to be gifted, right? Actually, it was one of ten or eleven beautiful books, but this one on the Mandana art of the Meena women is my absolute love. These women are true artists and create in such a unique, collaborative way. The book is a work of art, too, with their designs silk-screened on brown craft paper. Any of them could be framed…if you could possibly part with extracting them from the book. Their art is painted on clay walls and floors during festivals and the change of seasons, and is cherished in its impermanence. I think I’d prefer to paint like this, too, and let the natural elements wash and wear it away in time. I just love everything about their art. The spirit is contagious, no? I have already asked Patrick if we can visit Rajasthan during our next trip to India with the hopes of meeting some of these women, and perhaps, the slim chance of learning from them. I wonder if they sing while they paint… (Anyone out there every tracked down tribal woman of another culture to study an art form from? If yes, can you share how it came about?) In the meantime…remember that bedroom and entrance/mudroom we started building in May? We finished and now have 8 new, bare mud walls pleading to be painted with white clay paint, Mandana-inspired!!…below is one of our bedroom walls after the first coat of mud. YUM! I’ll be sure to share when I get to painting it.

Also, check out the publisher of the book, Tara Books, in Chennai, India. They have so many inspiring books!

And Joy, thanks again!! I look forward to gifting my part of our trade :)

A friend found this sticker in a store in Boulder, CO. I don’t know who created it, but I had to share it. I’m pretty far from being enlightened, but I do feel enlightened about life in ways I never was before being a mother. Every path has something powerful to teach us, and I am grateful to be walking this one.

Not that I feel like I know what I’m doing all the time — I wonder whether I can do more or if my choices and instincts are ‘right’.  I was meditating on that recently, wondering if it’s ok that I don’t take Tulsi all the way to town for tumbling or music class or storytime like other cool moms I know. Is it ok that we spend our days tiptoeing thru the woods after coyotes or lying in the meadow watching clouds sail by and leaves fly? (A mother’s mind can question herself a lot if she lets it.) And after a few minutes of slight panic, I thought about how we all just have to walk our own walk and play in whatever way feels right for us. We can be inspired by each other, but it’s perfect for it all to look differently. These little years are our unique gift to our babes.

I’ve been trying to remember every day — especially when I’m tired, or when my mind wanders to a project I’ll work on when Tulsi falls asleep, or when she’s trying to tell me something that requires total stillness on my part to understand her, or when she doesn’t eat, or nurses a lot at night, or when she is watching me interact with others — that being her mother IS my practice right now. I’m not sitting in the mornings, and I don’t have my stellar home yoga practice that I used to, BUT mothering is a 24-7 meditation-heart-asana practice, so of course it will be the most challenging (and amazing) practice I could do. Especially if I keep this in view. Let thoughts float in and out without judgement…and soften. For now, being as present as I can, and following her lead, and sharing my loves with her, and answering her endless questions, and cuddling+smiling often, and being gentle and forgiving (to myself), and staying OPEN to learn from other mothers, and even giving her space when she walks away, I can do. Each day, each moment, is my chance to practice and grow. If I stutter or make a mistake, I have another chance with my very next inhale. We all do. And what a beautiful thing that is.

It’s easy for me to daydream, or sleepdream, of being in India again. As far away as it is, and as difficult traveling there can be, I feel so ‘at home’ there. I don’t know exactly what it is that makes me feel that way, nor do I want to water it down by trying to explain it. It is funny how a culture that is so different than mine can also feel so familiar and comfortable. If you’ve been there, you know — it either is or it isn’t. I think the time I’ve spent in India and Nepal has had a big effect on how we live here — what it looks like, how we spend our time and money, and what is important to us and what isn’t. I’m sure a lot of people who’ve spent time in other countries can say the same.

I feel so fortunate to have a temple/ashram in our community. It’s a golden thread that connects us to India and our teacher. Today was one of those special moments in the temple room. In an instant, we were back in India. Just like that. Tulsi and I clapped and drummed and rang bells with a roomful of Indian women singing traditional songs that reminded me so so much of the village songs the women sang during Holi (the festival of Spring and colors) in Vrindavin the last time Patrick and I were there at Neem Karoli Baba’s Ashram (pictured above). The vibrations, energy and even giggles from the women occasionally forgetting words — it was the same today as then. Oh, and the voices. So full of life. I imagine it coming from someplace deep within them and back to their childhood and to their mothers and grandmothers. It would make anyone wish they were a part of their tribe or fluent in their mother tongue. Or at least just know the words. At least, for me it did.

I haven’t posted any new projects in so long since they aren’t published yet, but here is one that was just released. It is a train growth chart commissioned by Land of Nod & Oopsy Daisy Fine Art for Kids. It is available for purchase here on Land of Nod’s website with or without personalization. I usually work 95% conventional and just tweak the art a bit on photoshop, but this piece was mostly digital. I scanned textures and drawings and pieces of collage and stitched it all together in photoshop. I can say I prefer working conventionally and getting my hands sticky and paint on my nose, but this was fun. Plus, it was the perfect solution to a tight deadline while getting Tulsi’s help. She’s one super assistant and a natural with collage and crayon! Enjoy!

This is my today.
And this is from one of my favorite poetry books, The Subject Tonight is Love: 60 Wild and Sweet Poems by Hafiz, versions by Daniel Ladinksy.

Out of the Mouths of a Thousand Birds

Listen –
Listen more carefully to what is around you
Right now.

In my world
There are the bells from the clanks
Of the morning milk drums,

And a wagon wheel outside my window
Just hit a bump

Which turned into an ecstatic chorus
Of the Beloved’s Name.

There is the Prayer Call
Rising up like the sun
Out of the mouths of a thousand birds.

There is an astonishing vastness
Of movement and Life

Emanating sound and light
From my folded hands

And my even quieter simple being and heart.

My dear,
Is it true that your mind
Is sometimes like a battering
Ram

Running all through the city,
Shouting so madly inside and out

About the ten thousand things
That do not matter?

Hafiz, too,
For many years beat his head in youth

And thought himself at a great distance,
Far from an armistice
With God.

But that is why this scarred old pilgrim
Has now become such a sweet rare vintage
Who weeps and sings for you.

That is why Hafiz will forever in his verse
Play his cymbal and call to you.

O listen –
Listen more carefully
To what is inside of you right now.

In my world
All that remains is the wondrous call to
Dance and prayer

Rising up like a thousand suns
Out of the mouth of a
Single bird.

It happened! For real. Five of us children’s book authors and illustrators gathered up at our homestead for our “first annual kid’s book retreat”. I originally got the idea for this last winter when hearing about a women’s creative workshop at a remote and inspiring lake-cabin location. Considering time, finances, Tulsi, and the idea that IF I could have a few days for a creative retreat, wouldn’t I rather spend it with friends and fellow illustrators/authors trekkin’ the same path as me? Well, of course…!

We rented “the Barn” next door for a long weekend. It is a funky+fun analog recording studio/creative space owned by our good friend. It was the perfect space. I can’t say I did much art or writing at all, nothing complete anyhow. More like energy fragments. (Tulsi wanted to be with her mama and new girlfriends!) But as soon as I let go, I mean really let go of any expectations I had of myself and this time — I moved thru a lot. Ideas I’ve been stewing over grew and expanded and my energy/inspiration cup got refilled. We spread out on the floor like artists do :), made a mess, played with words and rhyme and images, listened to great music, told stories, wrote 5-sentence stories, drew maps of memories, shared our current/recent book projects and brainstormed on each other’s new book ideas (SO helpful). We shared our art and writing process, our strengths and struggles, gave little demos, swapped inspiration and ate yummy garden meals. We talked about the business and marketing side of books, too: promotion and festivals and school visits. I also had a really great talk with my friend Jenny who is a mama of 2 girls (and who also stayed at home with them before they reached school age).

And throughout, we simply related to each other, which was incredibly supportive. Thanks gals!!

Here is a map of my backyard by Laura Huliska-Beith!

And below: L to R: Tulsi, me, Laura Huliska-Beith, Jenny Whitehead, Betsy Snyder, and Beth Haidle,. Wander thru their sites — they are all so inspiring! The garden was also a sweet source of food and colorful inspiration! I was so happy the ‘big’ frost hadn’t come yet!

Another inspiration highlight: our visit to the amazing Folk Art Museum in Santa Fe!

And below: a few doodles I made that weekend for a project I’m working on. As suggested by the crew, I’ve been creating a whole digital library of patterns for a design project I’m working on. (A GREAT suggestion, too!)

The retreat was JUST what I needed. I feel so lucky. We are already planning the next one. I hig

the temple had their biggest festival of the year. we harvested every flower in our garden for today. maybe a thousand marigolds all strung up hanging around the temple room. and bouquets of dahlias and daisies and gladiolas and more. it was so fun. the festival is called Bhandara. it’s Maharaj-ji’s Mahasamadhi (the day he left his body). i love that they celebrate that day. why don’t other cultures? death is a birth of sorts, too…depending on what you believe i guess. i had this strange dream the other night. i was dying and floating up like a balloon into the night sky. then, i was watching all these balloons floating up from below and popping, and as they popped, the sky lit up more and more with stars, and then i was flying, bodyless, thru galaxies of stars. guess we don’t know til it’s our turn, but it felt really exciting, like this energy escaping, rather than dissolving, while flying off into total expansiveness.

i will never forget my first visit to Benares, one of my favorite cities in India, and a very holy pilgrimage site for Hindus. it is situated on the Ganges River, also called Ganga Ma (Mother Ganga). many Hindus come to die there and/or be cremated there. Patrick and i were taking a morning boat ride along the Ganga, and our boat driver (or paddler) began talking in Hindi and pointing to the side. there was a young boy, maybe 14 (?), lying in and under a giant mound of giant gold and orange marigolds. his entire body was covered except for his face, like you would bury someone in the sand on a beach. as we watched in total silence, Indians were approaching him one-by-one with more marigolds. we learned that the boy had drowned in the river that morning, just hours before. there was no police, no yellow tape, no commotion. no disturbance at all. just complete respect and love from family and strangers, all caring for this boy and his body. i will never forget that moment. it was among the most beautiful i’ve known.

i haven’t thought of that time in awhile, but the marigolds reminded me today. i have thought a lot  about traveling lately, and how i miss it. how i know i want to do more of it with my family in the future. and how it can reveal things to you and grow you in ways that you just can’t otherwise.

I love that we live in a community where growing your own food is ‘normal’. And growing a homestead is contagious. It’s mid September, 10:30 at night, and I just finished braiding 60 onions to cure for the winter. And they are so pretty. (It reminded me of french braiding friends’ hair during Latin class in high school. Yup, that’s right, I studied Latin. I have no idea why, but I sorta liked it.) During all that braiding, I was thinking of how four years ago, our garden wasn’t a garden. That blows my mind! There was nothing there but sage bushes, cactus plants, a few trees, and a huge, ugly pile of construction dirt. There was no “soil”. It was all dry desert dirt.

A whole lotta heart and sweat went into starting our garden. We dug and hauled about 75 wheel barrels full of the construction dirt and barely made a dent in the mound. I was SO determined to do it by hand, but luckily Patrick had more sense and hired a man and his bobcat to clear the sage and a few trees, and create a burm (and windblock) along the south and west side of the future garden. Over a few years, we have added several enormous truckloads of manur+sandy soil and double-dug it into all our raised beds which are on drip (fed as much as possible by collected rain water). It started at roughly 3600 sq ft to grow into, and in such a short time we have, and even expanded with our greenhouse-dome. I have been going non-stop this summer, and especially lately, trying to preserve as much food as I can, and this morning was one of those “awe” moments for sure. Giving a lot of thanks and appreciating what we’ve created. Patrick, Tulsi, Oso and I make the bestest team ever.

One thing happens every garden season: some things work, and other things don’t, and we always learn a LOT. And at the beginning of every growing season, I announce that I’m going to keep a journal of everything — what we plant and harvest and preserve, what we sell, where we failed and what we were most excited about. But I never do. SO…this post is for me to remember next year, and for anyone who has any interest… :) And I would LOVE to hear what you are growing and preserving!

Without further ado, THE 2010 Garden Masala FARM REPORT:

I need to remember that the summer of 2010 was sorta crazy in the sense that we did more than what seems humanly possible for 2 people with a 16 month old. And although we always felt behind, and were hard on ourselves for having a sloppy summer greenhouse-turn-temporary-chicken-house or for abandoning our potato bags (an experiment this year to save space and time and therefore had a puny harvest (yet delicious)), I think it’s important to acknowledge how we had the biggest vegetable and flower garden yet. We started everything from seed in the greenhouse which was extremely exciting. And we took a huge step closer to our goal of feeding our family year round. That’s just awesome…

Here’s what we grew/did new this year:

NuMex Bolo Onions. Our stellar crop of the year! (and the first time we’ve EVER succeeded at growing onions.) They are HUGE and sweet! The most exciting part is that we started them from teeny seeds last

It’s been the running joke in our house that we are “almost” homesteaders. And that we will be officially someday, when we get chickens. I have been asking Patrick for chickens for 3 years now but none have come.

And this summer has been fuller than any to date. Two new add-ons : a bedroom and a mudroom/entry way, our biggest garden ever, a spot at the farmers’ market (that we have attended irregularly, yet fashionably), and my greatest (and most successful) attempt thus far at storing nuts for the winter (–my mom just visited for 5 days for a canning+freezing extravaganza! 18 pints of beets, 10 qts of veggie stew, 12 qts of salsa, 20 batches of basil and wild pestos, frozen broccoli soup, chutneys, berries, peaches, and more. And that was just in 5 days! A lot more before, and hopefully still…) SO, long story short. If you build it, they will come.

Or, if they come, you will build it.

Well, at least that was my reasoning. Patrick of course didn’t laugh as much when I brought home the 2-day old chickies, but when he saw Tulsi doing her lil’ chickie dance and saying “Baby!” over and over, he turned to a puddle of goo and agreed to help me build a coop. Because our “simple” life has been so busy lately (and admittedly, a wee stressful on occasion), I am especially excited about this joint project. I’m happy that it isn’t “a chore” for Patrick or we aren’t buying one from someone. We’re building it together, and we’ll end up loving it that much more — no matter how many mistakes we make or what it looks like.

So here is some of the gang…they are growing by the minute (in size and personality) and loving their temporary spot in the greenhouse. No names yet except for Roo-Roo the Rooster. Yes, I decided to get a rooster for my flock, to protect the flock from larger winged sky predators, and well, I’ll admit, I have always loved drawing roosters. The chicks are so fun, and they love Miss T. Oso still licks his chomps, but he loves eggs, so I told him to be patient and he’ll be happy. We are vegetarians, but we eat and bake with eggs. And now that Tulsi is nibbling on ‘real’ food more an more, I want to have our own chicken’s eggs to offer her.

So, here we go. I’m learning a lot, fast. Like, how it’s actually hard to find bugs when you are looking for them and that worms are ok to divide to share among the chicks but caterpillars aren’t. I’ll post some pictures of the coop when we get there! Until then, here is an old ink drawing I made of a rooster in Thailand.

you probably won’t believe me but everything about this was unplanned…and she not only looks and walks like a peacock, she talks like one, too. best impersonation i’ve ever heard!

A friend’s book was released last month. Carla Sonheim’s DRAWING LAB: 52 Creative Exercises to Make Drawing Fun. It is really fun, and I think it will inspire a lot of people! And I am honored to have contributed in a teeny way with an interview and art. In celebration for Carla, I am hosting a book-give-a-way. (Signed by the author, too!) But since I get to host the give-a-way, I’m gearing it to teachers K-12, because I think it would be such an inspiration for them and their students. Then, just one book can reach many.

SO…if you are a teacher, OR, if you are a parent of a student (or a student) who promises to gift it to a teacher, please leave a comment in this post and share your favorite drawing exercise of your own. I’ll choose a comment/receiver for the book in 2 weeks. Yay for Carla. I know how exciting it is to have your book out in the world!