Michael Allen Austin's TEN RULES and COWPOKE CLYDE

Our 2012 Illustrators' Day is chocked full of amazing talent. Many of you know this first hand if you've been working with Michael Allen Austin on the mentorship project (open to the first 12 registrants).
     He'll also be speaking on a panel and helping critique portfolios during our portfolio review this year.
     Michael's latest book is called 10 RULES YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST NOT BREAK IF YOU WANT TO SURVIVE THE SCHOOL BUS written by John Grandits. You may recall seeing some illustrations from it at our 2012 Gallery Show. His forthcoming picture book is called COWPOKE CLYDE AND DIRTY DAWG written by Lori Mortensen (can't wait to see this one). Of course, you're probably already familiar with RAILROAD JOHN RED ROCK RUN written by Tony Crunk and MARTINA THE BEAUTIFUL COCKROACH written by Carmen Agra Deedy.
     Michael is an incredibly knowledgeable and generous guy and we're lucky to have him in our Southern Breeze region.

Studio Video Tour #1 - Elizabeth O. Dulemba

Welcome to the very first Southern Breeze Studio Video Tour. A peek into MY office - Elizabeth O. Dulemba (Southern Breeze Illustrator Coordinator). We hope to do these regularly to give you an idea of how some of our Illustrator members work. Mine is the guinea pig tour. So have a look and leave some feedback in the comments. Please let us know - is it too long, too short, what else would you have liked to see?


Next month's tour will be in children's book author/illustrator Sarah Frances Hardy's studio (Southern Breeze Assistant Illustrator Coordinator West). So subscribe to the blog to be alerted!

Thanks for the comments guys! I've added a photo of me to the post so you have an idea who's talking. And I'm hearing SHORTER!!! Good to know. ;-)

R. Gregory Christie's IT JES' HAPPENED

I had the pleasure of meeting R. Gregory Christie when Don Tate came in town to celebrate his first book as author (he's usually the illustrator): IT JES' HAPPENED: WHEN BILL TRAYLOR STARTED TO DRAW. There was a Bill Traylor exhibit at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, and Don and 'Greg' were doing a book signing. We all had dinner the night before and I have to say, I flipped over Greg.
     Not only is he a great guy - he's the real deal - an artist to the core. And I hope all those attending Illustrators' Day will get a peek at that when he talks.
     We're so lucky that he's moved to Atlanta and is trying to make a difference in our community with his bookstore Gas-Arts in the North DeKalb Mall. Not only does he sell only signed books there, he hopes to turn it into a creative hub for the Atlanta art community.

Peter Brown's CREEPY CARROTS

I'm thrilled to share that Peter Brown will be one of our speakers at this year's SCBWI Southern Breeze Illustrators' Day. I've been a fan since CHOWDER, although FLIGHT OF THE DODO was even before that. Then followed the brilliant YOU WILL BE MY FRIEND, THE CURIOUS GARDEN, and CHILDREN MAKE TERRIBLE PETS. His latest release is called CREEPY CARROTS.
     There's still time to register for Illustrators' Day if you haven't yet. For more information - CLICK HERE.
Wait, there's more!! Check out this great video of the making of CREEPY CARROTS!

The Creepy Carrots Zone from Peter Brown on Vimeo.

2012 Illustrators' Day

Hi All,
Registration for our 2012 Illustrators' Day is now open at http://sbillustrators.blogspot.com/p/illustrators-day.html. The date is Friday, August 31st at the Decatur Library from 10:00am to 4:00pm. Our fabulous speakers include: Kelly Barrales-Saylor, former editor/art buyer at Sourcebooks and current Editorial Director for Albert Whitman & Company; multiple award-winning illustrator R. Gregory Christie; best-selling author/illustrator Peter Brown; and illustrator Michael Austin. It should be a wonderful affair - I hope to see you there!
Elizabeth O. Dulemba
SCBWI Southern Breeze Illustrator Coordinator