Notes from Regina Lee Blaszczyk's lecture "Our Gadgets, Our Identities"

In our modern age of digital dependency, I had one of the worst things happen to me this week: I lost all of the content in my iPhone. I'm talking about everything. My contacts, text messages, journal entries, photos, etc. Don't ask--I don't want to get into details. And, no, I had nothing backed up (I know, I know... And now I really do know!).

This event came curiously a week after I attended a lecture by Regina Lee Blaszczyk called "Our Gadgets, Our Identities." She talked about how our current day society is similar to that of the Victorians. Their living rooms were the center of their living and entertaining. An abundance of paintings, furniture, and decorations filled the room from floor to ceiling. And almost always a piano was at the center of it. The home was the hub of expressing identity. At the end of her lecture she brought it full circle and made the point that our current day electronic space (and devices) are not that different from the historic-Victorian living room and stuffed China cabinet. Think about it--how much are you housing in your device and digital space?

I can't think about mine without wanting to cry, but I'm rebuilding and have made adjustments to (1.) back-up (2.) not be so attached digitally and (3.) go back to analog journaling (pen + paper).

When was the last time you had to rebuild from something and what did you learn?

When I was in art school, I was working on an artist book called Missing Buttons.  The process involved a lot of scanning of old black-and-white photos and a lot of layering those images with ephemera in Photoshop. I made a lot of classic design mistakes, like forgetting to save and then something mysteriously crashing/freezing. But I made it through. It was my first time doing anything like that, so when I was almost complete with my files I was somewhat proud... Until my teacher told me that all of my images were at the wrong resolution. And I would have to start. All. Over. From scratch. I remember the day vividly because I had never felt my heart drop that much at the daunting thought of having to rebuild something I had put countless hours of my life into. But I picked myself up, plugged in my headphones, and recreated the book better the second time around.

Lessons learned from that project that I've carried foreverever? (1.) Save working files compulsively. (2.) Always be conscious of image resolution. (3.) Sometimes rebuilding isn't so bad...once you get over the initial shock of loss.

Speaking of initial shock of loss... Have any of you seen the latest episode of Once Upon a Time? I did not see that teacup coming.

In honor of Valentine's Day, which is right around the corner, I dedicate this post to some of my little crushes in life. Those things that make every day a little bit better, just because they exist. And for whatever reason they make you feel this amazing thing that is so rare and hard to cage permanently: happiness.

And for that reason I love them so.

(From top to bottom, left to right)

1. Things that glow.

2. Smiles in surprising places.

3. Lilies of the Valley.

4. Seeing books I've "mothered" displayed in bookstores.

5. Flavored lattés. Hearts in surprising places. Things that taste and smell like roasted marshmallows.

6. Trees and the outdoors. <3

7. Family & friends. And feet pics.

8. Messages in surprising places, like walking up the steps of a library.

9. Sinful indulgences. For the record: I have not tried the Red Velvet Cake Doughnut, but oh my gosh I hope it still exists.

In that list above I didn't mention a cafe. That's because I actually tried a new one in my hometown. Although I enjoyed it, I felt like I was an iPad in an analog world--too shiny, too young, too work-oriented. There was an old man at the bar counter with me who reminded me of my grandfather, wanting to hear stories and what was new. There was a girl sitting next to me reading a newspaper. There were vintage potato chip cans as decor, ones like my grandmother used to have. I loved it all--I will surely go back and sit with a friend or a book--and yet I was like Dorothy visiting Oz.

From there I went to a park. I'm normally surrounded by books and words and images and buildings, so whenever I get an opportunity to hike, even in dress boots & a long coat, I do it. If heart is a home, mine is full of fresh air and mountains and valleys and rivers and trees. The older I get the more I want to be near that physically (at least within close driving distance). To explore. To run and jump and feel humbled.

If home is an apartment or a house, I've lived in a few. Each was a chapter, and my current one is coming to an end. It's exciting and scary at the same time, because nothing ever stays the same. The idea we have for our lives, where we will be, what we will be doing, and who will be in our lives... My twenties have been a little transient. And with the shift into my thirties, I find myself wanting to establish a solid sense of home, to grow roots in what it is that I will do and where I will be and who I will associate with. That seems to be a trifecta.

If I had to give my younger self advice about home it would be: there's no place like it, and like our purpose in life, it's our job to find it. And if you follow your heart, you likely will.

Rainy night in Montreal, taken in October 2011.

Monday I sat in a coffeehouse to work on a book proposal and watch the 2012 ALA Youth Media Awards via webcast. I love this time of year when we hear whose book jackets are going to get slapped with those shiny stickers. Newbery and Caldecott and Printz, oh my! People seem to be in an uproar again that the Today Show and other morning shows no longer have coverage about the winners. This year at least we had one (no, two) great video interviews from one of the most influential children's book Caldecott winners from the past: Maurice Sendak. I have never. Laughed. So. Much. Even if you're thinking to yourself "I hate children and I hate children's books," please watch. You won't regret it.

There are a lot of terrible, horrible, no good, very bad children's books written and published every week. If you don't want to take Sendak & Colbert's word for it, take mine. I've seen them in the editorial slush pile with my very own eyes. So, with that being said, I'm afraid to say that I've also been working on a picture book this week. A "good" one, I swear. I've written some very bad manuscripts and come up with some very bad ideas in my career. Time will tell if this one's a keeper.

The last thing in book news this week: I had a really productive meeting with one of my editors today about one of my books. Hopefully I'll have some news to share later this year. Until then, I remain secretive. Oooo, I know.

Tell me something good that's going on with you. No, really, I want to know...

Happy Friday!

Image of Augustus Saint-Gaudens' sculpture of Diana in the Great Stair Hall Balcony at the PMA, taken at night with my iPhone.

In a place like the PMA it's easy to feel small and insignificant standing in front of art and objects created by masters of their form. But I always like to think that behind every great piece there were 20 horrible pieces, full of mistakes and flaws and maybe even spit. I feel like we live in a world now that doesn't like to exhibit the messy processes behind great work (and I'm not just talking art--it can apply to ANY work). Take for example the iPhone. I would love to see how many design sketches they went through before one was deemed "FINAL." I'd like to know if at any point any of them thought that they were wasting their time. That's such an internal/external battle of the critics, I think. As much as I'm a perfectionist at heart, I like seeing and generating process. It reminds me that we're not robots, that we need to make mistakes along the way and adjust to make things better. This probably isn't the first time I've said this here, and it probably won't be the last.

To bring it down to a home level a little bit, the first batch of chocolate chip cookies I ever made when I was a teenager were ridiculously bad. My mom was there trying to guard me from making mistakes, but they still turned out less than stellar. Baking and cooking disasters are a prime leveler. Now (not to brag), but I make a pretty kickin' badass chocolate chip cookie. Just sayin'.

Nothing is ever a waste of time. (Okay, I'm sure some things are some times, but if you learn from them they're not.)

I came across this Neil Gaiman quote this week that seems to put it all in perspective:

I hope that this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.

Photograph of Women Working at a Bell System Telephone Switchboard

It's been a challenging week, folks. I often live by the motto that "everyday offers a new opportunity for change," and this week I tried my mightiest to remember that saying...and that there is a "transition" or "learning period" that goes with it. If I could have taken a snapshot of the inside of my head it may have resembled something like this picture above.

The early portion of the week I spent organizing my book ideas into some place that would allow me to tap into them easily, without having to flip pages and scan lists or random assortments. So I began to utilize Evernote, which I can access from any of my three devices and which also syncs to the cloud. It took me a little brainstorming to figure out how I wanted to organize tags and "notebooks" in there, but once I did I felt enlightened.

I also started to use the most amazing word processing program: Scrivener. I'm going to use this most of all for what it was intended to be used for...the dreaded DRAFT. What I love about the program so far is that it offers a variety of different ways to get your ideas out and then label and reorganize them over and over again. Right now I have a lot of notes that I'm trying to piece together for one project, so for me this is perfect!

I never have a problem filling in the blank page. My challenge is piecing together multitudes of ideas and words in ways that *click*. I strive for it to be perfect the first time out...and I know (I know!) and I continue to be reminded that that rarely happens. So I'm happy that I now created new places for myself to get messy. I still have a learning-curve with the programs themselves, but patience goes a long way.

Patience, persistence, passion--three wonderful P's needed to get good ideas out. Never mind "brilliant."

A dear family friend gave me the first two and my parents the one on the right. In case it's not obvious, I used to be obsessed with The Wizard of Oz (in all forms book & movie)...and still am at heart, really. As such a book-lover, I'm genuinely surprised that not more people gift me books. I look forward to enjoying these ones!

While I'm on the topic of books, I came across the three below here on a recent perusal of the book shelves at a store and am completely smitten with the covers. I don't even care what the stories are about...okay, no, I really do...but look at them!

I'm glad I've created this area to share things like my dorkable love of book covers and important and non-important things I'm up to for you. The past few months I've been posting three times a week here, but I've decided that for the time being going forward I'll be doing one quality post on Fridays. I don't know about you, but prior to the holidays I was maxing out on info-overload. I'm a sensitive creative type--it happens a lot. It's the equivalent of noticing that you're eating too much candy and need to reel back your eating habits, or suffer. So I'm becoming more and more aware of the quantity and quality of things thrown into the digital universe. Really, think about how many "streams" and "feeds" you consume on a daily basis--Facebook, blogs, etc. What are you putting into them? What are you getting from them?

I've made it one of my goals for this year to cut & streamline the digital information I'm not only being fed, but also feeding into, in order to mark a boundary and sanctuary of sort to make and experience stuff of quality. The great "Why?" was haunting me. Why am I checking Facebook...again? Why am I following more than 50 blogs...via GoogleRead and Tumblr? Why am I checking my e-mail...for the sixth time today when I'm not expecting anything from anyone? Knowledge, inspiration, and connection is addicting, and it's now and forever instantly at our fingertips. I'm totally not knocking those three things, but I knew that for me personally, if I didn't start to check myself again and limit my habits, I would turn into a digital hoarder or rewired robot that got nothing done but reading and regurgitating what I was consuming.

So I took time to organize things and let go:

*I organized my Facebook into groups--"Close Friends," "Family," "Artsies"...etc.--that way I cannot only read selectively, but also post selectively.

*Trimmed the fat on the number of blogs I was reading. So many beautiful images, so many things thought...! Ugh, but they had to go.

*Downloaded GoogleCurrent for my iPad, so I can streamline my GoogleReader to it. One of my friends just told me about it, and it's a life changer. I can now skim multiple posts on one page, like a magazine. Brilliant!

*Unsubscribed from unnecessary e-mails. This is a no brainer.

*Decided to consciously spend less time with all of that stuff and more time doing the work.

For me a lot of being wired is to professionally stay on top of trends and news, specifically in the design and publishing worlds. But you have to know when to shut it off and on, how to observe it and not let it subconsciously influence what you do in your own work. I think Einstein said it best: "The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."

I'm working on one special project the next few months, while I play the waiting game with something else really special. I look forward to spending time with you here on Fridays.

Now get to work...!

I'm going to be absent on here for the next week or so, and then posting irregularly for the rest of the year. As 2011 comes to a close I'm focusing on crossing things off of lists. This time of year is overwhelming for everyone. (Thank goodness for peaceful, glowy lights.) So I'm doing the sane thing of spending time on everything that needs attention--family, friends, deadlines in real life--and pushing the rest to the side. Old doors are closing and I'm working hard to see to it that new doors open. 2012 will be the year of opportunity. I can feel it. I just need to get through all of the deadlines this month! Deep breaths. Love and light to you all.

2012, Dutton Juvenile

Cover Crush Friday #10: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

I know, I know...I posted a John Green cover not too long ago. But I just love this one so much. And it comes out in January. I hope the interior design doesn't disappoint.

"The Place of Nests" from Tan's book THE ARRIVAL

I have been a fan of Shaun Tan's work for some time now, but if I had to pinpoint a moment I was introduced to it I draw a  _ _ _ _ _ . There's an intriguing mystery to his illustrations reminiscent of Chris Van Allsburg, who I've posted about on Illustration Wednesday in the past. Without even reading a word of his stories, his illustrations present great opportunities to imagine my own. As he stated in this great essay: Often the most interesting stories are ones which tell us things that we already know but haven’t yet articulated in our minds. Or more precisely, they encourage us to look at familiar things in different ways, as if to remind us of their true meaning; the way we live, the things we encounter, way we think and so on.

As someone in the publishing industry, I appreciate his analysis of his process and his FAQs on his website. And if you're interested in children's books and being published, I highly recommend checking them out and reading his essays.

Side note: For more on The Arrival: Click here for an interview from Publisher's Weekly.