http://johannawright.com/ en http://johannawright.com/fileadmin/tt_news_article.gif http://johannawright.com/ TYPO3 - get.content.right http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:31:00 -0600 http://johannawright.com/nc/blog/articles/article/buckman-and-bethel-street-gallery/ I'm going to be selling prints, originals and books at the Buckman Art Show and Sell on Friday... Buckman Art Show and Sell on Friday and Saturday, this weekend. A portion of my sales will benefit Buckman, an arts focused grade school, one of my favorite places of all time! I'm excited to be a part of this again this year, and hope you'll join me there. It is a really fun time, with lots of student performances, yummy foods, and of course, lots of super cool art! In other arty news, thanks to Marc at the Bethel Street Gallery in Honolulu, for hosting my paintings! I am so thrilled that they were so well received last week. More paintings are in the works,  stay tuned! ]]> Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:31:00 -0600 http://johannawright.com/nc/blog/articles/article/fin/ Man oh man, it doesn't get much better than this. The artwork for Bandits, (my book that's... Bandits, (my book that's due out with Roaring Brook in Spring 2011) has been shipped off to New York! Oh, happiness. Oh, sweet, sweet pillow...how I've missed thee. The little photo montage here, is of the last push to get Bandits finished. I apparently picked a picture of myself at my most weary and disheveled. Though, to be honest, that's pretty much my natural state when I'm working on a big project. I'm learning that for me, making a book is a super rewarding and thrilling experience that mostly takes place with ratty hair and the same painty sweatshirt. (Worn fourteen days in a row. Gross, but true.)
Off to do some marathon napping and tv watching...

]]> Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:18:00 -0600 http://johannawright.com/nc/blog/articles/article/raccoons-interview-and-dry-basements/ Bandits! Go, raccoons! I'm deep in a midnight world of furry creatures, and... Bandits! Go, raccoons!  I'm deep in a midnight world of furry creatures, and hilltop picnics.  I've temporarily given up on time wasting activities, like taking showers, and washing dishes, and cleaning up after myself. There will be time for all of that stuff in a couple of days...for now, I'm painting fur. Lots and lots of raccoon fur! In other news, Amy Baskin was kind enough to post an interview about me on her blog! I spent a great afternoon with Amy recently, in her adorable NE house, where she fed me apple bread and we talked about everything from audio books to puppets. You can check out the interview, right here. Also, in very exciting home news..Gabe figured out how to make our basement stop leaking! This is really, the greatest thing in the world. Some kind of wintery miracle. The lake in the basement has completely dried up! We're hoping we can set up our music zone one day soon, and get all of the band equipment out of the living room. Oh happy day! ]]> Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:02:00 -0600 http://johannawright.com/nc/blog/articles/article/bandits-bandits-bandits/ I'm hard at work over here, on my new book, Bandits (coming, Spring 2011)! Here is a little... Bandits (coming, Spring 2011)! Here is a little sketch-a-roni of one of the pages, though I'm definitely knee deep in the painting stage these days. I feel a lot more at ease working on this one, than I did with The Secret Circus. The second time around, could be a bit easier? Fingers crossed that this is true. Now, working on The Secret Circus was a real joy, don't get me wrong. But I was racked with nervousness about it all, before, during and after. So I'm happy to leave that anxiety at the door, and just focus on doing what I like to do. Paint!  I think I understand the process a tiny bit better than I did back then. Both the way that I tend to work, and the way the whole publishing end works. Or..do I? Watch me eat my words here, as the deadlines loom closer, but at the moment, me and these sneaky raccoons seem to be getting along just fine.....]]> Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:55:00 -0600 http://johannawright.com/nc/blog/articles/article/adios-january/ January was a weird. I'm just going to go ahead and say it. It was WEIRD. And it felt really...
The Great
-----
1. Moved into beautiful, fabulous, new house, at last!
2. Incredibly busy with work projects (two book projects due in the next six months, and a mountain of half baked ideas to pitch, lots of stores and galleries to ship stuff to.....)
3. VERY relaxing mountain weekend with two friends from my younger years.
4. Experiencing our new neighborhood (ahhh, to be in walking distance of pizza, and good coffee shops and restaurants. Heaven. Also, we now live within walking distance of many, many good friends. So fun to just pop in on people, and be popped in on, too. Is that a real term? 'Popped in on' ? Sounds gross.)
5. Swimming at neighborhood public pool that is only FIVE blocks from our house.  I love to swim, but really, the best part about this is that I get to stumble down there in my pajamas.
6. Lots of readings at  book events, and fun times with kids book people and kids of all ages. (Thanks Aimee, Jennifer from Green Bean, and Vicki, for the pictures, above!) Fun times.
7. Handyman Gabe! He's a champ. Same goes for the great folks who have loaned us their skills, and tools and time to help us out these last few weeks. Our kitchen is now the color of butter, with a little curry colored breakfast nook. Perfecto. The bathroom is on its way to becoming a tiled masterpiece.
8. Avatar.
9. Our friends just had a new little baby, and we got to visit her in the hospital! Teeny tiny goodness.
10. Recorded some tunes with friends and played a really fun show.

Not So Great
-----------
1. Struggling with middle grade novel I've been working on forever. And thinking that maybe I need to throw out the first hundred pages and start again. THE FIRST HUNDRED PAGES. That's a lot, considering that some middle grade novels are only 100 pages, TOTAL.
2. Read an article about a giant massive earthquake that is supposed to hit Portland in the near future. This, coupled with the horror of what happened in Haiti (which, of course, deserves to be on a list that is a million miles from my measly and whiny not-so-great list...) has sparked some serious 'natural disaster related insomnia' in my brain.
3. Major water basement leakage that had Gabe and I scooping water with garbage cans with the fervor of  Olympic athletes. It SHOULD be an Olympic event. We would rule.
4. Hot water heater on the fritz. Showering in general, at a minimum while tiles are being put in. The sting of this has lessened, now that I have the to-the-pool-in-my-pajamas thing figured out.
5. My back went out. Not terribly, but painfully, like it used to long ago when I first moved to Brooklyn. I know that it is pretty much ENTIRELY stress related, but still not fun to have an ice pack down your pants most of the day. Or is it? For some, perhaps.

Ok, that's it. My whole brain dump. February is here!.]]> Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:43:00 -0600 http://johannawright.com/nc/blog/articles/article/green-bean-books/ I'll be reading at the wonderful and amazing children's book store, Green Bean Books on Alberta... Green Bean Books on Alberta St, this Saturday, January 30th, at 4pm. This is a really cozy place, so space is limited. It would be great to see you there!]]> Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:01:00 -0600 http://johannawright.com/nc/blog/articles/article/belmont-library/ If you have ever wanted to shake the tiny hand of a feisty French mouse puppet, this is your... DETAILS.]]> Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:45:00 -0600 http://johannawright.com/nc/blog/articles/article/-05b2438abf/ Here are a few pictures of the new house! As you can see, Gabe ripped up a bunch of old, icky,... Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:56:00 -0600 http://johannawright.com/nc/blog/articles/article/movin-on-upto-the-north-side/ Hello Friends!Happy holidays to you all! There is a lot to catch up on, and a lot to be...
Happy holidays to you all!  There is a lot to catch up on, and a lot to be thankful for in my little world this year. So many things, mountains of things! And so much to look forward to in 2010.

As some of you may know, Gabe and I bought a house a few weeks ago, and now we are actually moving in. Or, more like.. moving, packing, cleaning, moving, packing, cleaning, moving, packing, cleaning...a very exciting (and exhausting) time, that's for sure. I've been doing a lot in the old homestead (cleaning and packing) and Gabe has been a true hero, coordinating all kinds of awesome tasks in the new house...(a new sewer, new water line, new toilet and sink, and super, pretty, refinished floors!) I'll post some pictures as soon as I find that cord thingy.]]> Mon, 28 Dec 2009 20:11:00 -0600 http://johannawright.com/nc/blog/articles/article/happy-hoiidays/ Sat, 19 Dec 2009 14:26:00 -0600 http://johannawright.com/nc/blog/articles/article/crafty-wonderland-on-sunday/ I'm going to be at the Crafty Wonderland Super Colossal Holiday Sale on Sunday! Come on by and... Crafty Wonderland Super Colossal Holiday Sale on Sunday! Come on by and take a peek at all of the wonderful vendors! I'll be in booth 24. Gabe and I are in the middle of packing right now, so there will be no studio visits this month for friendly folks (sorry!). I really recommend coming to the Crafty Wonderland event if you have emailed me about seeing artwork in person. I will have a big stack of books that I'll be signing and selling, so if you want to get one directly from me, this would be the place to do it. And of course I'll also have minis and prints for sale, and some bigger pieces too! This sale is BIG, and it takes place in the Oregon Convention Center, NOT the Doug Fir so it can comfortably hold everyone. Last year was super fun, and there was plenty of room to walk around. Hope to see you there!]]> Thu, 10 Dec 2009 09:56:00 -0600 http://johannawright.com/nc/blog/articles/article/the-new-york-times/ The Secret Circus was reviewed in the New York Times Sunday Book Review!!! I don't even know... The Secret Circus was reviewed in the New York Times Sunday Book Review!!! I don't even know what to say. Let me just begin by telling you all, that I was so shocked when I found out about this on Saturday, that I spent a long time just staring at the words of the review without being able to make sense of them. Luckily, I have since regained my ability to read, but my giddy and surreal happiness, remains...

New York Times/The Secret Circus]]> Sun, 06 Dec 2009 23:38:00 -0600 http://johannawright.com/nc/blog/articles/article/holiday-stuff/ "Bikes, Bikes, Bikes" available on etsy. A bit later than I had hoped, but the new... etsy. A bit later than I had hoped, but the new stuff is up in my etsy store. Happy holidays!]]> Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:26:00 -0600 http://johannawright.com/nc/blog/articles/article/drumroll-please/ Ok, here is the big exciting news! We bought a house! We bought house! I can't believe it, but...
We bought a house! We bought house! I can't believe it, but Gabe and I are very nearly, home owners. I've been bursting to tell the world about this for weeks and weeks and weeks, but there have been so many hurdles and unknowns along the way. I just wasn't sure if it was all going to work out or not, right up to the end.  I think we are close enough now, that it's safe for me to finally spill the beans. Hurrah! We are so happy and  extremely grateful and excited about it. (A wee bit scared, too...)

If all goes well, we will be signing stacks of papers tomorrow to make it official. I'll be sure to post some real pictures as soon as we get the keys...(!!!)

In other news, I'm going to be uploading a bunch of new mini paintings and such to my etsy store, on Wednesday. I'll be sending out a mass email when I do. So for anyone who hasn't signed up for my mailing list and would like to receive (sporadic) art and book updates,  please do! 

]]> Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:39:00 -0600 http://johannawright.com/nc/blog/articles/article/gobble-gobble/ Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Gabe and I are going to be celebrating close to Portland this...
Gabe and I are going to be celebrating close to Portland this season. We are about to do something very big and exciting that I hope I get to share with you, (finally!) next Monday.

Have a wonderful holiday!]]> Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:16:00 -0600 http://johannawright.com/nc/blog/articles/article/three-cheers-and-crossed-fingers/ Thanks again for making this such a special week. I really appreciate all of your emails and kind...
There are a lot of well deserved awards that seem to be floating around in the children's book world this week, and I want to share some of the love.

Congratulations to Brian Floca! His fantastico book, Moonshot was one of ten books that recently appeared on the NY Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2009! I was so thrilled to see this great news. I took a really fabulous children's book writing and illustrating class with Brian at SVA, many years ago. He is such a talented, hard working author and illustrator, and Moonshot is one heck of a book! Go! Purchase!

Also, Portland friends Jim Di Bortolo and Laini Taylor's new book, Lips Touch Three Times, is a National Book Award finalist! This is such a stunning book all around. Both the writing and the illustrations, are amazing. There was a recent article about Jim and Laini in the Oregonian, that you can read right here.  Jim and Laini and baby Clementine are off eating pizza and cupcakes in New York at the moment (and doing lots of National Book Award events too, and important work related things, I'd imagine..)  All of my fingers and toes are crossed for the NBA announcement tomorrow night.

And lastly, you might be wondering what the heck these pictures (posted above ) are all about. A former teacher of mine, kindly sent these to me the other day, after watching the OPB broadcast. I think I was in, 4th grade? This particular class only met once a week, and it was so special to me.  But I'm not totally sure why I have my shoe on my desk, and seem to be writing with extreme fervor in one of the photos. Also, if you lean in close, you can check out the awesome bowl hairdo and ginormous 80's glasses that I'm sporting!  And the Cosby sweater. Boy did I love those Cosby sweaters back then. Still do, come to think of it... Congratulations again, children's book peeps!]]> Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:20:00 -0600 http://johannawright.com/nc/blog/articles/article/-cf9589e39c/ The Art Beat segment is online! Thank you to everyone who saw it last night, and for all of your... Art Beat segment is online! Thank you to everyone who saw it last night, and for all of your kind emails! Wow. I feel like such a super lucky lady!
You can watch the segment RIGHT HERE. It will also be repeating on Sunday at 6pm on OPB. ]]> Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:57:00 -0600 http://johannawright.com/nc/blog/articles/article/oregon-art-beat/ For those of you in Oregon and Western Washington, you can see me in an episode of Art Beat on... For those of you in Oregon and Western Washington, you can see me in an episode of Art Beat on Thursday, November 5th, at 8pm on OPB. It will be repeating on Sunday, November 8th, at 6pm. Yahoo! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Last spring, a fantabulous crew from OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting) followed me around, and filmed me doing all kinds of arty and children's book type things.

On the day of the filming, we spent some time at the Hawthorne Family Playschool, where I read from The Secret Circus and talked with the preschoolers about the illustration process for the book. My sister loaned me a tiny mouse puppet who did most of the talking (in a French accent, being a French mouse and all...) Thank you HFP for hosting us, and for being so welcoming!

After the Hawthorne Family Playschool, the OPB crew and myself, caravanned to my writer's group, where we were met by children's book writer, Sharee Chapman, and children's book writer, Rick Huddle. OPB filmed us having our regular bi-weekly group meeting, where we talked about new work, and gave each other feedback. Writing and illustrating can be such a solitary thing, and I feel so lucky to have Rick and Sharee on my team.

The last stop for the OPB crew, was my studio. I spent some time working on some new projects and paintings, and chatting with the Art Beat folks about it all. It was a pretty remarkable day, and I felt really lucky to be in such great company.

That day of filming feels like a long time ago, so  I can't really describe how surreal it was last night to be flipping channels and to see myself on a tv commercial for the show! OPB has been airing promos this week for Thursday's episode. You can read more about the show (and see the other fabulous folks whose segments will be airing as well), right here.

I'll post a link of the episode when it appears online, so folks that aren't in the area that would like to see it, can! Hurrah!]]> Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:53:00 -0600 http://johannawright.com/nc/blog/articles/article/country-pleasures/ Well, I have the pleasure of having my artwork on the anniversary issue of Country Pleasures,... pleasure of having my artwork on the anniversary issue of Country Pleasures, this month. Hurrah!  Pick one up when you're out and about. It will inspire you to do all kinds of crafty and cozy things...from quilting to apple bobbing. Well, I can't guarantee that it will make you feel like apple bobbing. But one can hope... ]]> Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:43:00 -0600 http://johannawright.com/nc/blog/articles/article/new-york-stores/ I have paintings for sale in two New York stores at the moment. Two lovely stores that I like... lovely stores that I like very very much. Stop by if you get a chance! Dig Og Mig (Manhattan) Fuego 718 (Williamsburg, Brooklyn) ]]> Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:49:00 -0500 http://johannawright.com/nc/blog/articles/article/monster-march-09/ Quite a lovely, pink experience this year. I adore these fancy creatures! pink experience this year. I adore these fancy creatures!]]> Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:44:00 -0500 http://johannawright.com/nc/blog/articles/article/sneaky-bandits/ More and more work and life happenings seem to be piling up around me, like the brightly colored... Two book projects are converging at once, along with new holiday projects that I'll post about here, soon. This drawing is from the Bandits dummy. I can't wait to start painting for the book projects. Definitely my favorite part of the process. I think it will start happening pretty soon...]]> Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:45:00 -0500