Tuesday, April 28, 2009

San Fernando Valley, Montrose Area - Illustrators Schmoozin!


April 16: “All kinds of Focus and Hocus Pocus”

We got out our brooms and swept the cobwebs off our Illustration/writing Goals for 2009!
We took a look at our individual direction and focus, making plans so we knew where we would be in months, years down the road.
Goals like - Do more life drawing, website design goals, goals to do a more consistent blogging, getting an agent, set dates for our first book contract, and book signing appearances.. this was some and there were lots more. Don't forget to review your goals daily and set new ones! We will catch up next month to see how our set of goals are all going.


We discussed what we want to get out of our Schmooze and new topics that consisted of:
An Agent day
An outing of life drawing at the zoo
Illustration web Blogging
Analyzing your favorite illustrator's style
Illustration History (Our Bingo night)
Illustrator special speaker

Also Viewed our Assignments for our Show– had Crits and suggestions for improvements.
Great going! Keep painting!

See you all in May!

Monday, April 27, 2009

Many THANKS to our Speaker... Kathryn Hewitt!

On Monday night,
April 20th,

in our luxurious Pico salon,
the Westside Illustrators

enjoyed a
splendiferous evening
with our engaging
guest speaker...
writer and illustrator,
Kathryn Hewitt
Surrounded by a collection of her published books
and original paintings, Kathryn generously shared her life and work.
We were treated to an informative and humorous slide presentation,
full of photos & stories & artwork &
fun. We examined her dummies and storyboards and sketches up close, asked a ton of questions,
got books signed, ate goodies & laughed a lot!


Many, many thanks to Kathryn for educating,
entertaining and most of all...inspiring us!!

To see more of Kathryn's work, visit her website
http://www.KathrynHewitt.com

The Westside Illustrator's next meeting will be May 18th. Come join us!
For info contact Suzy Engelman Block...soozyeb@aol.com
http://www.SuzyEngelmanBlock.com

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Westside Illustrator Schmoozin'... with a Guest Speaker!


You are cordially invited to our next
L.A. Westside Illustrators Schmooze!
Please join us Monday Eve, April 20, 7-9pm
for our SPRING SPEAKER NIGHT
In the 'HOTSEAT'...
our special guest speaker is

award winning author/illustrator
Kathryn Hewitt

Kathryn has illustrated over 20 books,
4 of which she also wrote.
You may know her from her illustrations
for the series by Kathleen Krull.
"Lives of...the Artists, the Musicians, the Presidents", etc..!

Kathryn will share with us her many years
of professional experience,
and her many trials and tribulations along the way!
Check out her website...


http://www.KathrynHewitt.com

(For this particular meeting, a $5 donation per person will go to the speaker)

This is a wonderful opportunity to get up close and personal
with Kathryn and her work
.
What words of wisdom can she share with us?
How can she inspire u s to work towards our goals?
Does she have any secrets of the trade to bestow on us?


Come prepared to participate, ask questions and be inspired!
Let's enjoy a fun creative evening together & move forward in our common pursuit
of making a contribution to the world of children's illustration and literature!



WHEN???...Monday evening, April 20, 2009, 7:00 - 9:00pm
WHERE???... 11624 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064
This is a large gray building with ivy & bamboo on the facade.
The sign near the door reads - "Alliance Francaise."

DIRECTIONS???... http://maps.google.com/maps?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLR,GGLR:2006-05,GGLR:en&q=11624+W.+Pico+BLvd,+Los+Angeles,+CA+90064&um=1&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&resnum=1&ct=title

PARKING???
... Street parking only. You don't have to feed meters after 6pm. Do NOT park in the electrical warehouse parking lot next door OR the parking lot behind the building on the corner of Federal Ave. You will be towed...FAST!

RSVP???... YES...
We need to provide adequate seating, handouts... and goodies!
BUT...last minute guests are always welcome!

RSVP to..... soozyeb@aol.com

Looking forward to seeing you all!
xoxo...suzy
:-D
cell... 818 389 1950
come visit me at.. .. http://www.SuzyEngelmanBlock.com

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Schmoozing in the South Bay...


On Saturday, March 30th.... a group of writers and illustrators assembled at Bristol Farms in Redondo Beach for a Saturday Morning Schmooze.

  • We discussed the various aspects of our own projects, ranging from picture book layout and pitching our story ideas, to how to put together a writing sample to send to various publishers.

  • One of our newer schmoozers , Angie, shared with us her amazing organization skills with a multicolored tabbed binder with various chapters of her YA novel. Some sections were original, some were in re-write phase... and the whole thing was impressive. I can see a future workshop or schmooze based on what we learned in the future...

  • As a group we discussed the process of submitting work (both manuscripts and illustrations) and ideas on how to keep working while we have completed works sent out. We also brainstormed about future Schmooze topics, including quick draw and creative writing sessions, acquiring agents, publicists, and networking opportunities.

  • We also have decided to put together a South Bay Resource Library - at our schmoozes we will bring together our collective resources, a kind of book lending program of the professional trade books (AIGA Ethics and Guidelines, Artist's and Writer's Markets, etc)... as we all agree that each of us purchasing the same books is sometimes discourageing... why not share what we have, and help each other...

  • Our Writing and Illustration Exchange will continue, allowing everyone the option to participate....

Mark your calendar with these upcoming South Bay Schmooze Dates:

Tuesday, April 17th. "Coffee Talk" 7- 9 p.m.
Bring your current project (manuscript, sketches, dummy)... we will talk shop
Bobaloca
210 North Aviation Boulevard
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Bobaloca's Located between Artesia Blvd & Manhattan Beach Blvd, at 2nd Street Londoner Hair Salon, is in the same strip of little businesses. Bobaloca's is right in the middle.

Saturday, April 25th. - Morning Schmooze - 10:00 - 12 noon.
Writer's = Writer's Day - Review and Hear from those who attended
Illustrator’s = Introducing a new idea: Trading Cards
Bristol Farms
1700-A South Pacific Coast Highway
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
(310) 303-3922