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I shared the beginning stages of this project HERE - doing linocuts for relief prints. Here's the next phase. I scanned the relief prints and enlarged them to be printed onto trace, or tracing paper.

Sally walked us through the process of then burning our images into the screens, which is similar to photography. You're burning the image through the emulsion and you do that in a dark room, so, no pictures of that. Sometimes have wee spots that need covering up. Anywhere light gets through, paint gets through. So you do a stage of touch-up.Then you mix your inks. There's a white base, which looks a lot like pudding. And then you drip the pigments in, literally drop by drop. You can see my color palette here. I chose to go with one of my fave colors first - orange. Sally did a demo for us to show us how to afix our fabric to the printer table, weight our screen on top, apply enough ink, and drag it across our screen.It has been nearly 25 years since I worked at Buster Brown Apparel, where I did screen printing almost every day. But the memories flooded back. I actually recalled the correct pressure and ended up with a fabulous result - WOOHOO!It's not perfect to a trained eye, but I was absolutely thrilled. My fox will become a pillow soon - more on that later!

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We have so enjoyed all the friends who have come to visit us here in Edinburgh! Recently, we had our first couple stay in the guest room, Brad and Lisa Waggoner. Our wee flat with the two bedrooms and one bathroom worked FINE! Granted, Brad and Lisa are good friends and very easy.
     Sadly, they weren't here for very long. They had been giving a dog training week-long session in Sutton (?) beforehand, via their now international Cold Nose College (where we trained our doggie, Bernie), and were off to Ireland afterwards. Since I'm in the thick of studies, I didn't have much time to play during the day. Still, Brad and Lisa had time to wander during a day, and we had two nice dinners. This one was at one of our fave pubs, The Ox - just down the street. And they bought us a thank-you dinner the night before at our go-to for guests, just up the street, The Educated Flea. Twas lovely.
     Here's hoping they come to visit again, as they'll be back soon to teach more doggies!

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I told you about my first textiles class last week. This week I'm preparing some experimental pieces to work with on Thursday. Sally warned us that we won't be able to use most, if any of what we create (we're new to this!), and that we will only be working with one color. So I created some simple designs that I can use if they turn out, and trash if they don't. I began with sketches during a lecture...

     I wanted to work off a simple shape - mostly a circle. Although I liked the oval fox too. Next, I drew them larger for linocuts. I dyed the substrate with some cheap dye I had on hand to be able to see what I was doing.     Sadly, I committed a total rookie mistake and cut my finger. (No stitches necessary - just a plaster/bandaid.) I wanted to do linocuts because I wanted the happy accidents you get with that wood-cut look. Although, I didn't mean that kind of accident - PAH!
     Once I had those completed, I went to the print studio. I couldn't find the black ink, so created a dark hue with prussian blue and raw umber. It was lovely. Of course, the black ink was right in front of me the whole time. I just didn't see it. But the color I ended up with was so nice, I'm glad I missed it. I'll probably create my own black from now on!
     I tell you, so much of art is happy accidents or just working with what you have on hand! I rolled out the ink and here's the first round. I did these small so that they'd be quick to produce and create a nice chunky line effect. I really like the way they print up.     I did several runs because no two are ever alike. The ink density varies, the smoothness, texture, etc.
     The only down side with relief printing is you can't take your victory with you when you leave - it's still wet. So, I'll go back to the workshop tomorrow to get my prints for scanning. I'll keep some at the small size because I think they'd make great coasters. One of the print room techs recommended buying cork flooring - brilliant! Some pieces I'll blow up for potential change purses or pillows. (I bought some zippers when I went fabric hunting this weekend.) All said, I'll be curious to see how these turn out. More soon!

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I am so proud to be participating in Authors for Refugees - an auction to provide urgent aid to refugees held in camps around Europe. I'm offering a picture book critique. Want to bid? CLICK HERE! (or the image below). You have until midnight (UK time), Sunday, 2nd of October.

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Recently, the textiles department opened two spots for students from illustration to join in. Happily, I am one of them! So, every Thursday afternoon, I get to go hang out in this space with all these screens.

     The irony is that when I worked at Buster Brown Apparel early in my career, I was all about textiles. I was part of a stable of artists. We created the patterns, the artwork, and drew the designs for children's clothing. We also created the samples which salesmen took around to stores for consideration. That meant screen printing the designs onto the garments. Many, many days I was covered in paint up to my elbows and I loved it. Funny how my life keeps turning circles on itself!
     I'm already thinking about my exit show next May and realized I actually have quite a bit of textiles in my design. I didn't know how I was going to accomplish that part until this workshop came along. So, I am truly excited!
     This past Thursday we had our first induction. Sally is our fair leader.      She taught us how to strip and clean a screen to get it ready for our own use. We also got a walk through of the inks we'll be able to work with. Today, Saturday, I went shopping for fabrics to experiment on. Sally warned that we won't be able to use anything we create on the first day since we'll be so new to the process. So I didn't want to spend much money. Happily, I discovered the scrap bins at several fabric stores and ended up with this collection.      I've also got my Animal Alphabet project from last year in there. This is going going to be my color palette and inspiration. Several of the animal squares are going to become pillows and curtains for my final display.
     But for this first day, we'll only be using one color. So I created some simple images which I cut out of linocut to relief print on Monday as the artwork for my screens. I figure these can become coasters, change purses or round pillows if any are indeed usable. (I'll add a photo when I have them ready.)
     All said, this is going to be FUN, and I'm thrilled that we'll have this space available to us to use every Thursday afternoon through next May! Woohoo!

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On the last Tuesday of every month the Edinburgh City of Literature holds a Literary Salon at The Wash Bar. This is a pub at the top of the mound - above the National Museum of Scotland. Inside, the ceiling is low and it fills quickly with dozens of local writers, published and pre-published, as they gather to talk craft. Announcements are made about upcoming literary events (here was last night),

and wine is generously poured. Our friend and local photographer, Chris Scott, records the events, but this time I got his picture.       Most of the attendees are poets or writers of adult literature, so I love it when I find fellow children's book fans - which I do. They are quickly becoming friends.
      I have never lived somewhere so supportive of the creative arts. It is such a pleasure to participate in this event, hosted by the awesome Eleanor Pender, and others around town. Truly, being able to visit museums for free, meet up with various interest groups for free, and embrace the local writing community in this way is an amazing benefit of living in Edinburgh.

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I woke up a little early Saturday - or maybe the days are indeed getting shorter here. At any rate, I was so glad to capture this out our flat window:

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I am so excited to be back at the Uni! Fall semester - the third of four in my MFA in Illustration program here at the University of Edinburgh - has now begun. We have 26 students in the Illustration program this year - woosie! So, our desks have streamlined a bit. Here's mine:

However, out of those 26 students, only 4 of us are now MFA2 (2nd year) students. We are calling ourselves the Fabulous Four and we are definitely suffering from senioritis. Or maybe it's just a strong sense of solidarity. At any rate, we solidified our exalted status at our favorite Thai restaurant for lunch. Here we are - Boris, Nadee, Me, and Catherine. Wish us luck!

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This weekend I participated in the 2nd Picture Hooks Master Class for 2016. This time Sara Ogilvie taught us about picture books. I was often asked why I was there since I've already been published, but I never stop learning. And especially now, as a student, I am going through a complete reboot/rebirth/reinspiration time. Honestly, I should be like this all the time - eager to try new things and producing at remarkable rates. Being a student has turned me on! And this class was no exception. Here was our work area - a studio in the Edinburgh Portrait Gallery at the top of my hill.

     Sarah walked us through her path to publication, and working with art directors, and the journey through several of HER BOOKS. Since I'm not familiar with the UK market and how things work here - I learned A TON from her!!!!
     On Saturday, she had us do a really fun activity... She passed out slips of paper that had emotions on them. Each person had a turn at selecting an emotion and creating a pose for the rest of us to draw for one minute. Here were some of mine: Then we each chose a plastic animal to draw in those poses. I got the tiger. My fave was the Sleepy pose. This exercise prepared me wonderfully for the story boarding we did on Sunday. We could either work with our new characters, or on an existing project. I chose a project-in-progress with ducks. I truly believe her exercise helped me stretch how I handled the storyboard, and I hope to do a line of 'mood sketches' from now on before I start storyboards. Such a good idea!
     Sara was fantastic and amazingly generous. She encouraged us to bring in personal works to share on Sunday for feedback, which I did. Her gentle steering was so encouraging and so helpful. Truly, it was an amazing workshop.
     What's also wonderful is the sense of camaraderie that is developing between the students who have been attending these master classes. Many are working illustrators and art teachers. Many are trying to reboot careers. Needless to say, the talent is amazing and inspiring in itself to be around. I learn as much from my classmates as I did from Sara! For instance, Hazel did cut-paper bats. Here I am with Sara, Hazel, and Hazel's bats. Catherine worked with stencils, cut paper, and textured painting. Astrid, who is one of our Illustration tutors at the College of Art worked on multi-media awesomeness. As she said, she was eager to get messy! We're becoming a lovely tight group. Here I am with Hannah and Anka. And then, of course, there was Vivian, who has been an amazing mentor to me here at the Uni.
     I can't wait for the next event in December!

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We went to a Bespoke party hosted by the restaurant Angels With Bagpipes the other night. It was to kick off their new catering service and it was an absolute blast.
     The next day it occurred to me that their main restaurant was positioned perfectly to view the Riding of the Marches parade.

So, Sunday, Stan and I walked the 15 or so minutes from our flat to get to the Royal Mile. The road was already blocked off for the parade and crowds lined each side. Amazingly, there was a free table outside at the restaurant, just as I'd hoped, and we truly couldn't have asked for a better spot to enjoy this under-advertised event. Per the Edinburgh website, "The Riding of the Marches commemorates the tradition of inspecting the city’s boundaries and re-enacts the Captain of the Trained Band's return to the city with news of defeat at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. After the Union of Parliaments in 1707 the annual inspection ceased until 1946 when a ride was held to celebrate peace after the Second World War. It returned in 2009 and since then has become a popular family event in Edinburgh, attracting hundreds of riders each year. CLICK HERE to see more."It began with some very important looking people carrying flags. They were followed by the brass band.And behind them came the bagpipe players.Here's a quick video (click the image to watch on YouTube)...Finally, it was time for the horses - all 250 of them! Each district/territory had their own uniforms, like the riding hats with the pink pom-poms.Truly, it was an amazing view seeing horses all the way down the Royal Mile.I tried to get you a nice video of the parade and the view. Click the image to watch on YouTube.It continues to amaze me - the awesome things that happen here in Edinburgh. How lucky we feel to be a part of all this!

CLICK HERE to read more about the event.

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We have been so thrilled by the friends who have come through Edinburgh while we've been here. Some we just have drinks with as they pass through, some we spend the day with, and some have come to stay with us specifically, like Melissa Libby.
     Melissa is a restaurant promoter from Atlanta, so we knew her visit was going to be all about FOOD! The hardest part of her visit was figuring out the places we absolutely had to share with her. There are so many fabulous places to eat in Edinburgh including FIVE Michelin Star restaurants! I think we did a pretty good job though. Care to drool?
     We picked up Melissa from Waverly Station in the afternoon and decided to begin the binge-fest at the Educated Flea.
     This is the third restaurant in a series, the first being The Apiary (bees do it), the second is the Three Birds (birds do it), and the latest, the Educated Flea (even educated fleas do it). We've eaten at all of them and absolutely adore their creative cuisine. Our meals were inspired and a great kick-off. Melissa had the stuffed squid. (All food images © Melissa Libby.)

     The next day we began the morning as a local. We walked around Stockbrige...along the Water of Leith to Dean Village... and ended up at Hectors, where Melissa had her obligatory fish and chips.Happily, I had a meat pie!
     Side note... I'm to be tested for celiac soon. In the interim, my doc has asked me to come off my gluten free diet (which I've been on for about 5 to 6 years) for a month so that I can test correctly. Stomachaches aside, I am in heaven eating everything I don't usually get to eat - just in time for Melissa's visit!
     After lunch we did the more touristy side of things - a walking tour of Edinburgh. I've come up with a good path that hits the highlights: George Street, Rose Street, and Princes Street in New Town, then the Royal Mile, Grassmarket, the University, the Meadows, George Herriots (Hogwarts), and Greyfriar's Bobby in Old Towne. That evening we attended the Scran Salon - a meeting of foodies hosted by food critic, Blythe at Akva at the head of the canal. Melissa had a blast talking BBQ with a local chef - Toby.     Chris Scott took that photo and this one of me and Stan, which I adore.     All over town is a hike - we probably did about seven miles that day. The reward was a "fruit-de-mer" at Fisher's on Thistle Street. Melissa's face says it all. OMG.     It was a nice day of contrasts - exploring the locals paths, the tourist paths, the uni paths. She got a peek at an awful lot of life in Edinburgh.
     The next day we starved ourselves (ha!) in anticipation of lunch. Now, not all of our guests take us to Michelin-starred restaurants in thanks for staying with us, but that's what Melissa wanted to do, and we were so grateful! The one we chose? Martin Wisharts in Leith.     Where we ate things that looked like this:     It was AMAZING and we leisurely enjoyed our three-hour feast.
     Before and after that once-in-a-lifetime meal we walked around Leith. Please notice our shoes as we changed into them especially for the restaurant. We call these 'taxi shoes,' as in, 'if you wear these shoes, you have to take a taxi.' Otherwise, we were carrying a swap of cumfy loafers to wear for the long way home. First, we walked past the other Michelin-starred restaurant in Leith - Kitchin.      Then to Newhaven, the old fishing port. We dropped into the fishmongers...
And ogled over the lighthouse.     We walked home past the garden allotments, where we saw an enormous fox running through the gardens, gobbling up whatever he could find. No pictures of that, unfortunately.
     Back home, Stan made a gentle soup for dinner, which I couldn't eat. I fell over - completely shattered.
     But we had one more day for gastronomic delights. For her last morning, we took Melissa to Treacle for a true Scottish Breakfast, which consists of sausage, bacon, haggis, black pudding, flat mushroom, tomato, hash browns, beans, egg, tattie scone, and toast... with coffee or tea. INSERT SCOTTISH BREAKFAST PHOTO HERE. Here's Melissa before the haggis... INSERT PHOTO HERE and after... INSERT PHOTO HERE      Personally, I genuinely like haggis. It is the ultimate comfort food.
     We had such a great time with Melissa doing what we all love to do best - EAT. Now she's off to London for the next part of her adventure, and we are on a diet of lettuce leaves with lemon juice for the next month... *burp*

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After the Cathedral and the Castle, Stan and I wandered St. Andrews, and it is adorable!
     First thing I noticed is that you have to love a town who's bookstore is the gorgeous centerpiece,

and whose doorways are barely tall enough for a grown man to pass through.     After all that walking we were thirsty, so we had to stop at the local watering hole, The Keys. These wee pubs have so much character, but they really are small. The only way to get a decent photo of the place was in the mirror - can you see us?     Back outside, on the side of another church was a tribute to the Polish who fought in WWII.     Despite all this anti-immigration stuff you may have been reading about in the news lately, the Polish have had a major impact on Scottish history, and visa versa. The Scottish and Polish have moved back and forth for centuries. In fact, the Polish armada was housed in Scotland during WWII. There's a lot of love between the two countries and rightly so.
     Overall, the thing that most intrigued me about St. Andrews were all the alleyways, closes, and corner that hinted to something just around the bend, down the road, or through a tunnel... sites that were absolutely begging for a character or characters to be playing out some sort of drama or story. Like these:

Can't you just see the stories unfolding? And it's everywhere, even in the school yards. I mean, imagine growing up with that ancient cathedral looming over you. How would that affect your view of time and your place in the world? I imagine it would have quite an impact.     St. Andrews is definitely a golf town - signs of that were everywhere. But it also had wide sidewalks, sweet shops, cafes everywhere, and a laid back vibe befitting a college town. We have other friends in St. Andrews who we haven't visited yet, and I look forward to the opportunity to go back and see it through their eyes.

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There is just so much to share from this trip to St. Andrews - I have to go on! You saw Jane's house, the walk to town, and St. Mary's. Well, we grabbed a nice lunch in St. Andrews then Jane set us loose to walk around. The big showpiece in St. Andrews is the ruin of St. Andrews Cathedral. According to Wikipedia..."It was built in 1158 and became the centre of the Medieval Catholic Church in Scotland as the seat of the Archdiocese of St Andrews and the Bishops and Archbishops of St Andrews. It fell into disuse and ruin after Catholic mass was outlawed during the 16th-century Scottish Reformation." All I can say is, it's impressive.

     The building was about 391 feet long - longer than an American football field. Imagine walking down that aisle to get married, or if you were feeling guilty about something you did that week!
     Sadly, it's been a ruin for so long now, the rocks are smooth and rounded from centuries of weather and rain. But you can still get the idea of how grand it must have been.      Those are the ruins of St. Rule's Church behind Stan - on the same grounds.
     The best view the cathedral offers is for those who have already passed.
     They still bury people there - especially golf legends. This was a very modern looking shrine in the graveyard to "Tommy" - son of Thomas Morris.      I know nothing about golf, so apologize to those who do. There were a lot of people who obviously loved and respected Tommy. Today's visitors leave golf balls and tees on his memorial - they aren't an official part of the structure. Click the image to see it larger in a new window.
     Walking around the cathedral is free and probably one of the most impressive things we've seen since moving to Scotland.
     Down the road is the St. Andrews Castle.

     The castle was also built in the 1100s by Bishop Roger as his official residence. If we'd seen it first, we would have been impressed, but after the Cathedral, it looked so small. That said, a lot of the impressive parts of the castle are underground, like the Bottle dungeon and such. It wasn't free to see, and we're not so into old torture chambers, so we passed on that one. From there we wandered into town to just see what we could see...

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We finally made it to St. Andrews! The main entrance to town is the original medieval gate. Here are Jane and Stan in front.

And the other side once we'd walked through. It's truly impressive.First, we had lunch at a sweet little Italian restaurant downtown, then Jane showed us around a wee bit. We had to see St. Mary's College and we never would have found it on our own, the entrance was so tucked in and unassuming.Ironic considering the college was founded in 1413 and is the third-oldest university in the English speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. Can you see Mary walking these grounds, and how small the Holm Oak Tree would have been back then?Supposedly Mary herself planted this hawthorn bush, known as Mary's Thorn. It's propped up with crutches and lashed together, but it's still there and going strong!There was also the tribute (built in 2013) to Henry Wardlaw, Bishop of St. Andrews from 1403 to 1440. These dates just astound me, but they get even older. Follow us around St. Andrews for more...

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From Jane's house we walked down Lade Braes to St. Andrews.

Lade Brae is a park that runs right through the heart of St. Andrews and it is lovely. It begins with a small dip downhill which runs by the old cottage where the janitor for the school at the top of the hill used to live.
Yes, the date over the door says 1658.
The path winds through woods bordered by a creek.With lovely old trees. Real bridges cross the creek into open park areas and even the Botanic Gardens. They also wind through back alleys bordered by houses.Jane told us about the threshold to this one house, where a groom would have lifted his bride and carried her under this stone, which proudly shows their initials and the date - 1738.My sense of time here in Scotland is so different from the states. 200-years-old is significant there. Here, a thing isn't old until it's several thousand-years-old! St. Andrews was no exception. Truly - we're almost there...

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From the train station we took a taxi into St. Andrews proper and Jane Yolen's house. Jane is one of our best and most beloved writers for children and happily, she spends about four months out of the year in St. Andrews in this lovely home.

The house is called "Wayside" and was the first one built by renowned Scottish architect (Sir) Robert Stodart Lorimer in 1902. Jane and her husband ended up in St. Andrews for sabbatical and never left. And truly, I wouldn't have either. The house is divided into two halves. Jane lives in the side that used to have the public rooms (the left half in the photo above) - like the main salon.With its amazing two story, curved window.Stained glass is everywhere. My favorite was in the kitchen.David and Jane knew the house was for them when they saw the owl in the lower right hand corner of the window - for Jane's Caldecott-winning OWL MOON.As you might expect, Jane's house is full of writing/reading spots and treasures, like this mantel with the quote...And the inlaid ensignia of Mary Queen of Scots - the Fleur-de-lis with a thistle.It's a nice segue to the garden outside. Which also has spots to enjoy a good sit...Or just contemplate life...
It's a beautiful home properly befitting a beautiful writer. I was thrilled to see it.
     From there, we walked into St. Andrews...

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The other day Stan and I took a mini-adventure - we headed to St. Andrews to visit the amazing Jane Yolen, who lives in St. Andrews several months out of the year, and to wander this sweet city. The pictures are amazing and plentiful, so it will take several posts to get through this wonderful journey. We'll begin with the journey itself.
     I love the trains here in the UK. You can get just about anywhere in comfort and with amazing views. And the main train station in Edinburgh is a ten-minute walk away, which means the entire island is available to us fairly easily. And most train rides through this beautiful country offer amazing views.

We first went over the Fourth Rail Bridge. We went over an island and a jut-out with an interesting house that looks like it might have once been a light-house. See the turf roof next to the round part? Groovy. Of course, that meant we were crossing water and going along the coast for a ways. So lovely.We also went inland a bit where we saw windmills...and gorgeous hills oftentimes covered with sheep.After a lovely hour we arrived at the adorable wee Leuchars train station...
and St. Andrews.Next was to get to Jane's house...

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Fringe ended along with August. The crowds are already thinning out as the city dismantles all the pop-ups and signage (which is everywhere). FRINGE is a blast, but it's nice when it's over too. There are some things I won't miss, like the crowds which make a walk across town take twice as long.

There are also the things I will miss, like the pop-up food stands which are also everywhere.This is me at The Garden Cottage which popped up in George Square.Here's Stan enjoying the pop-up in front of the Royal Bank of Scotland.
And I'll miss the bizarre purple cows, right-side-up...and upside-down.There's the silver horse on George Street, which has been closed to traffic to make room for outdoor restaurant seating and put-put-golf.The festival ended with a fireworks show like nothing else I'd ever seen before. The explosions were choreographed to match the Scottish Symphony Orchestra as they played Romeo and Juliette and Westside Story. We watched the show from Connie Bailey's garden allotment in Inverleith Park. She had a small bonfire, we all brought wine and snacks, and the music was broadcast via radio. It was stunning. Pedro took this great fireworks photo. It's funny - there have been fireworks every night of Fringe, but locals really only pay attention to the big show on the last night. Sort of like Lucy from "A Charlie Brown Christmas" - "I only eat February snow!
     So now life goes back to normal. Restaurants will be easier to get into. Bridges easier to cross. And we'll stop being told to 'have a nice visit.' Now we get our home back, and what a lovely home it is!

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Is now over. Happily, I took advantage of a good bit of it. I told you about the SCBWI events the first week here. For the second week I attended three events. The first was Vivian French's discussion on The Hook of Visual Literacy.

Per the website, "Author and Picture Hooks founder Vivian French discusses how the format can be adapted for classroom use, and the resources available to develop visual communication in children. She is joined by Aurelie Norman from Wardie Primary, Edinburgh, who has worked with Picture Hooks." (Picture Hooks co-founder Lucy Juckes is to the left.) The good works Vivian is doing for illustrators and students here in the UK is truly remarkable. She's changing lives, and I'm so proud to call her a friend and mentor.
     The next event I attended was a panel of illustrators.Emily Gravett, Alex T. Smith, and Lydia Monks talked about their careers, breaking in, their methods, and their projects. It was moderated by the chair for the Kate Greenaway Award, Joy Court, and was truly enlightening. These are all award-winning illustrators at the top of their field here in the UK. The third event I attended was Judith Kerr, author of the Mog series and The Tiger Who Came to Tea, which is a classic here in the UK like Goodnight Moon or Where the Wild Things Are are in the US.She's 93-years-old and a beloved treasure. The theatre was packed! She also happened to be very funny and entertaining.
     What I've found so interesting about the book festival this year is how different the UK market is from the US market. Yes, there is crossover, but the UK is definitely its own sandbox. In fact, I'll be doing my dissertation this fall (in the US it would be called a thesis) on the topic: "Comparing and contrasting the Randolph Caldecott and Kate Greenaway Award winners to identify trends, similarities and differences between the US and UK picture book markets." The book festival was a wonderful addition to my research! There was also this - a twig-woven sculpture of the BFG.

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SCBWI British Isles is 20-years-old! To celebrate, our Southeast Scotland division had a picnic in the Princes Street Garden just below the statue of Wojtek the Bear.

Kelly and I were the first ones to arrive - here we are with the castle in the background.
We set out my blanket and it quickly expanded with fellow SCBWIers and more blankets all around. And the weather, which was supposed to be a little dicey, was perfect.Something nice happened this day. It was the first time I participated in an SCBWI even where I really felt like I was getting to know people - where I was surrounded by (albeit new) friends. SUCH a nice feeling. We all talked about books and art. Three of the 6 illustrators in the group found each other.We made plans for a future get-together at Waterstones. Our Regional Advisor, Sheila Averbuch was thrilled with that and the high attendance to report back to the main British Isles folks. (She's on the left.)I thought I'd have time to kill before the panel I was attending at the Book Festival. But no - we all chatted for hours! Truly, that's what SCBWI is all about - finding your peeps, a place to feel at home, you tribe. I love that I can find that anywhere in the world!

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Jane Yolen came in town the other day to participate in a reading of poems about Dazzle Ships. I mentioned Dazzle Ships in another blog post...

     Ships were painted like this during WWI (maybe also during WWII) to throw off locators trying to figure out which direction or how fast ships were going. This one was recently commissioned by artist Ciara Phillips for the Edinburgh Arts Festival, as was the poetry reading about Dazzle Ships hosted by Marjorie Lotfi Gill of Open Book at the Edinburgh Bookshop.
     Two wonderful things together, Jane and the Edinburgh Bookshop, we were so there! (And Jane got us guest tickets - yay!) Here was the program, a limited edition risograph printing by Out of the Blueprint:The poems took on several different angles and moods. I especially liked the one about the women who painted the ships (yes, they were all women), who were able to get out of the house and wear trousers for the first time! Jane's poem was also wonderful, of course.
     Factoid: Did you know that she shares a poem every day via email? You can sign up HERE.
      What a fun evening!

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So I told you about that piano on the beach? It foreshadowed the music we were about to stumble into... Up the boardwalk from our picnic is a pub in a grand old house called Dalriada.

We hadn't been yet, so today was the day. We popped in for some tea and stumbled across the Sunday ritual there.Two tables near the window said 'reserved for band' so we got the next free table over. Silly us, the band quickly grew around us on all sides.Turns out Sunday is jam session day for whoever wants to join in. We were in the way. But the only free seats left in the place were at an occupied table. Stan asked if we could join them. They said yes. Turned out to be the sister of the main guitarist. She and her husband were visiting from Manchester.We had a nice conversation about the music. A few of the musicians are regulars. Many play in other bands and get pretty regular work at caleighs, enough that they don't really advertise themselves, which is why I sadly can't share a website.
     I can, however, share the short video I made when they broke into an especially fun Scottish tune. Click the image to listen on Youtube.Ironically, the fiddle player in the video, Jo, showed up at a poetry reading we attended the next evening. (More on that soon.)
     I tell you, it's so easy to make friends here, and most of the friendships begin with the phrase, "I was in a pub..."

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Like I said, we've had some gorgeous weather of late here in Edinburgh. Stan got it into his head to have a picnic at the beach. He wanted to experiment on me before he chanced experimenting on friends, so the two of us hopped on the #26 bus for the 20-minute ride out to Portobello (Porty) beach the other day.

We nabbed a good spot on the sand and set up shop. This was our view...
Stan had prepped everything beforehand. These were the provisions.A bottle of wine went into a plastic Pellegrino bottle since glass isn't allowed on the beach.And Stan fired up the wee portable grill which he bought at the Tesco for £2.Twenty or thirty relaxing moments later, and shooing off a seagull or two, we had lunch. It was a total success! Next time we'll invite friends for sure - this worked! And OMG was it delicious. Home-made potato salad and garlic-marinated cheese-burgers on gluten free buns from Sugar Daddy's Gluten Free Bakery. YUM!
     After lunch, we cleaned up and headed down the boardwalk. We came across this bizarre sight.Yes, that is a piano on the beach. Crazy! And it ended up being a prelude to the second half of our afternoon. Coming soon...

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One of the best things about living in Edinburgh is the annual Edinburgh International Book Festival. It goes on for two weeks during FRINGE and it is an oasis of literary wonderfulness in Charlotte Square.

     For the first week of the Festival, I've been supporting friends and taking advantage of some free events. First was Sarah Broadley's reading in the Spiegletent. That's a new word to me, but it basically means a pop-up venue that looks like this.
     Sarah is the incoming regional advisor for the Southeast Scotland chapter of the SCBWI. She read an entertaining piece about her first pair of rollerskates, and the injury that ensued. I had a similar escapade involving a skateboard in my childhood, so I could relate.
     SCBWI also hosted a postcard wall inspired by the Illustrators' Walls at the Bologna Children's Book Fair (which I wrote about HERE).     It wasn't nearly as big as Bologna obviously (!), but it was a really nice showing of the amazingly talented illustrators here in Edinburgh.
This was the panel that showed off my wares.



     SCBWI also hosted an editor panel with Barry Cunningham (Chicken House and JK Rowling fame), Lauren Fortune (Scholastic), and Sally Poulson (Floris Books).     Louise Kelly and Sheila Averbuch (current RAs) asked some great questions, including illustrator-specific questions. My biggest take-away was that illustrators in the UK are mostly hired through agencies. HMMMMM!
     Mostly, it was lovely connecting with fellow children's book creators. I'm slowly getting to know folks here and am not as much the new kid as I was. That's nice.
     I purchased tickets for several more speakers next week. More on those soon...

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From Leith, our walk wound around to Newhaven. This is the old fishing warf overlooking the Firth of Forth. You know you're there when you come to the charming marina.

     A lovely sidewalk takes you along the old dock buildings.From there you can look back to the wee town of Newhaven. It's lovely and there's a great breakfast place we often choose as a destination, Porto & Fi. But, we'd already eaten in Leith and our tummies were full. So we walked out past the marina. The jut out offers an amazing view of the firth - we sat and soaked up the sun for a while.And enjoyed the view.That's the Kingdom of Fife on the far side.
     Finally, it was time to get back. I got this one last shot of Stan on our way.      We stopped for tea at The Starbank Inn, another fave, to fortify us for the 2-mile walk home. Yes, I was a wee bit sore by the end of it all, but gads, what a fabulous day!

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