Life is Sweet

Illustration Friday # 28: SWEET, RISD CE graduation, and chickadees

Life is Sweet  ©Cheryl Kirk Noll

You can see the passage of time... here the snowbell flowers are budding.

Spring is my favorite time of year. Classes finish up. Students graduate. Flowers bloom and babies hatch.

This year has been particularly productive for my garden. A cute little birdhouse that my dad gave us at least ten years ago has it's first tenants this year.

The flowers have blossomed. Breath in the fragrance!

A black-capped chickadee couple made Songbird Hollow their home. The birdhouse hangs from a styrax obessia (Fragrant snowbell tree) right outside our back window, so we were thrilled to watch the pair nest-building. On Tuesday, I heard the babies peeping for the first time when their parents arrived with food. Within two weeks, they should be flying away.

It's a life-affirming process to watch.

After the 4 day heat wave, the snowbells are gone, but roses are out!

My job as the adviser for the Children's Book Illustration certificate program at RISD-ce is a thrill for me too. I often meet students when they start the program, and I always have them for at least one class, meet with them for the final portfolio critique, and have the honor of handing out their certificates.

 I'm thankful to my brilliant program coordinator, Francoise McAree, to the CE staff, and to the fine teachers in the program who have led these students along the way.

I'm so proud of this year's 11 graduates. I'm as proud as a mama chickadee, and I can't wait to see where they fly, now that they've left the nest.

l-r sitting: Roya Ma, teacher assistant Susan Novich, Sherry Brodeur, Sarah Luz, l-r standing: Laura Foltz, Jeanette Bradley, Instructor Judith Moffatt, Mary Jackson, Emily Laramee, Meg Sodano, Peter Sentkowski, Anne Wert (missing: Karen Sculos)

To see more about the graduating students and the program, go to the programs informal blog,  Drawing Together .

The Joys of Gardening and Teaching

Lily-blooming tulip, Ballerina

This spring, I am once again enjoying my tiny postage stamp garden. I was especially enthralled with a few tulips I grew, and the way they changed over their bloom time.

The first is a lily-blooming tulip, Ballerina.  When it was new, on cool days, it had gorgeous tones of purple that picked up on the grape hyacinth behind it. As it matured, it mellowed into a pumpkin-y orange, and it's pointed petals looked nice with my lacy japanese maple.

Lily-blooming Ballerina tulips against a dwarf japanese maple.

The second is un-named. I don't remember buying or planting it. However, I was thrilled to watch it change, from a pale lemony yellow in the early days to a stunning sunrise array as it matured.

unnamed tulip with ajuga and euphorbia

the same tulip as it matured

Children's Book Illustration 2 students, 2013- Corey, Jeff, Claire, Sarita, Rebecca, Bob and Chie.

     Watching these flowers grow and change reminded me of teaching. I feel the same thrill when I watch my Children's book Illustration students at RISD-ce. Their hard work is beautiful at every stage, and it's so satisfying to see their art grow and mature.

Illustration Friday # 27: TRIBUTE

cover to Rochel Coleman's Tuskegee Airmen album, art by Cheryl Kirk Noll

This week, I'm posting an older piece for the Illustration Friday "Tribute" prompt word.

This is a CD cover I did for Rochel Coleman, a professional storyteller who has lived in Providence. His uncle was one of the historic Tuskegee Airmen, black pilots who flew combat missions over Africa and Europe in WWII, and one of the stories that it tells is a tribute to these men, who broke racial barriers.

On a related note, I recently read an interesting YA book by Sherri L. Smith titled "Flygirl." It was about a young black woman who "passed" (as white) in order to serve in the Women's Airforce Service Pilots during WWII.

ILlustration Friday # 26: FAREWELL

Finished this by the skin of my teeth. Worked on it most of the week. From a Japanese folktale I rewrote.

© Cheryl Kirk Noll

IF # 25: TRAIN

I didn't manage to post the piece I worked on for this weeks Illustration Friday on time, but here it is. My thinking... you must TRAIN your eye to become an artist.

© Cheryl Kirk Noll, watercolor and colored pencil

I had started this some time ago, but I reformatted it, reworked the main character and added some details. It is for a project I'm working on with my friend Linda.

My friend Linda's new Book: When Rivers Burned

Linda and Lisa signing their book, When Rivers Burned: The Earth Day Story

Last weekend, I attended a book launch for my friend and writing buddy's new book, "When River's Burned: The Earth Day Story."

Linda Crotta Brennan gave a fascinating presentation at the Audubon Society in Bristol, RI, and signed books with the illustrator and designer, Lisa Greenleaf.

While telling the story of how Earth Day began, this book reminds us that pollution had become a serious issue, and that we should remain vigilant about caring for the earth we inhabit. It is written for 8-12 year olds, although it's a fascinating read for adults as well.

Publisher Muriel Dubois was on hand for the event as well.

I had a surprise treat when I saw that the book that I contributed to, "Women of the Ocean State: 25 Rhode Island Women You Should Know," had just been shipped, and I got my advance copies. Hooray!

Illustration Friday #24: WILD

This week I was doing what turned out to be a color study for a story about my "wild" hedgehog, Henry, who just does NOT want to go to bed! I don't know why, in a cozy bedroom like this one.

I haven't gotten it quite the way I want it yet, but, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

© Cheryl Kirk Noll, 2013

Illustration Friday # 23: URBAN

I was determined to do the Illustration Friday prompt again this week. I pulled out an assignment I did for the class I took last semester at RISD in Adobe Illustrator. We were asked to do a copy of a travel poster, which was lots of fun. After I finished it, I worked on a travel poster for Providence, RI, where I live. This one isn't a copy, but designed using several photos I took of the obelisk and Courthouse  downtown. After finishing it up today, I lost the new work, so I did a quick Photoshop touch up for some of the final details. (sigh).

Providence ©Cheryl Kirk Noll

Illustration Friday # 22: Egg

Happy Easter/ Passover/ Spring to all! Boy, am I ready for Spring! 

Here is a robin hatching from an EGG. 

©Cheryl Kirk Noll

Illustration Friday # 21: SWIM

copyrighted art, not to be reproduced, painted by Cheryl Kirk Noll

Illustration Friday is a weekly creative outlet/participatory art exhibit for illustrators & artists of all skill levels. A new topic is posted each Friday and you have one week to draw, paint or doodle your interpretation.

I haven't done Illustration Friday in a blue moon, (almost a year, actually), but their prompt word for this week was "swim." I have a number of finishes that fit the bill, so I decided to try to get my feet wet again.  

I did this illustration a few years ago for a story about a woman who "swam with sharks." I was just starting to play with the textured style I've been adding to my traditional watercolor, which you can see in the coral.



The second piece is an exercise I did for an Adobe Illustrator class last year at RISD-CE with Bryan Rodriguez (great teacher), where I learned about vector vs. pixel, how to "live trace" my art, how to push and pull with that durn pen tool, manipulate with layers, and on and on. I can see why people like Illustrator for it's precision and flexibility.

Octopus, done in Adobe Illustrator, © Cheryl Kirk Noll