My animal alphabet book Amazing, Beguiling, Curious just came out on Amazon.com. I had to reformat to a rectangular size that's a distribution standard before they would carry it, but you can see it here, now.
More shows, more new blocks, but no new writing except the blog. A piece from my blog was just featured in the Printsy blog of the printmakers of Etsy.
Yeah, it's just struck me that, what with one thing and another, I'm doing five shows and sales of various sorts in the next three months. Yikes! Being this busy was never the plan! Still, I'm excited about it, and three of the five are completely new to me. You can check out my schedule on the Where You Can See My Work page, and then check my blog for a report on things afterwards. If you're in the Greater Boston area, please come see me - after all, you'll have no lack of opportunities!
There hasn't been much news recently, but now the kids are back at school and the art work is gearing up. I've got three pieces in a show with a "Water" theme at the Morse Institute Library now, and three more pieces will go up in a group show at TCAN at the beginning of October. I've been hard at work all week on the largest piece I've ever carved, a "Tree Palace," and reorganizing the web site, and soon I'll be getting down to matting and framing for the upcoming Open Studios shows...
I really appreciated the enthusiasm from everyone who came to my Artist Talk at the Weston Public Library. It was a nice crowd and made it a lot of fun. I've been working on the phoenix block that I started as a demonstration there, and I plan to write up the entire process for my blog when it's finished.
In other news, check out my interview with Printsy, the printmakers group on Etsy.
Well, I've gone over to the dark side and started a blog. My every thought is still not that important, but I figured I could probably think two interesting thoughts a week. It's called "Black and White (Words and Pictures)" and will be about block prints and juvenile fantasy, of course. Please check it out and post some comments!
Which brings me to a special plea: please remember that we small-time artists rely on our fans to get out the word about our work. If you've enjoyed my artwork or my books, here are some ways you might consider helping me. Thank you for all your wonderful support!
* If you have a web site, Facebook page, or Twitter account, link to this website.
* Post a review of a book on amazon.com.
* If you use Etsy, mark my Etsy shop (NydamPrints) as a favorite.
* Lend my books, request them from your local library, recommend them to your friends.
* And, of course, if you know anyone who might like my art or books, let them know about me.
Thanks so much to everyone who came out to see me at Needham Open Studios. Despite 80-something degrees outside and a space heater running non-stop to keep us warm enough inside, it was an exciting weekend. Check back soon to see the "Joy Comes in the Morning" block I finished carving. (I just barely started the steam locomotive on Sunday afternoon, so I'm not sure when I'll get that one finished.)
Next up: a children's program at the Needham Public Library. I'll be reading from the Kate & Sam books and having kids imagine a fantasy adventure for themselves. If you're interested, please sign up at the children's room. (More information here.) It should be a lot of fun, what with all the dragons, pirates, fairies and who knows what else that are sure to be let loose in the room!
News Flash! Song Against Shadow was selected as a quarter-finalist in the 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards contest.
There were 5000 submissions in the young adult category, of which 250 made it to be quarter-finalists. (Alas, I did not make the cut for the 50 semi-finalists.)
I've finally finished carving and printing an animal for every letter of the alphabet. The last one was a vicuña for V. I learned all kinds of interesting things about some of the more obscure animals. My favorite discovery was the yapok. (Learn about the yapok on wikipedia.)
I'm working on putting together a poster showing them all, and maybe an animal alphabet book, too. I've got a list going of people who want to be notified when I get either or both of them finished, so if you want to be added to the list, e-mail me: anne@nydamprints.com.
Read the article about me that ran in our local Hometown Weekly.
I've opened a shop on Etsy. It's called "NydamPrints." If you use Etsy, please check out my storefront and mark me as a "favorite" or let others know about me. Etsy is a fascinating site, but frankly I'm not sure how anyone will ever find me, given how many amazing, crazy, bizarre, delightful and varied arts and crafts are already there. It's easy to get lost wandering among the feathered earrings, and the T-shirts with art deco skull motifs, and the needle-felted ladybugs...
Comments? Questions? Stories about where my art and books are ending up? Write to me! anne@nydamprints.com
Also, if you want to be on my email list to be notified about my shows and events, please send me your contact information (I won't share it or use it for anything else).