New Smek City

Postcards to Kids

When kids mail me actual letters, I try my best to actually mail something back (emails get emails).

Here are a handful of postcards I sent back to readers during 2012.

This girl sent me a picture of her own fantasy land, which included animals called bublis.  So I drew my own.

This kid told me he got in trouble for reading in class.

This guy told me about his own story he was writing, titled "Bug World War: Spiders Vs. Ants."  Which rules.

Kahlo and Rivera

I just got back from a trip to Mexico City, and while there my wife and I visited the studios of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Frida's first:

Note Kahlo's actual wheelchair (from late in life) in front of the easel.

The wall-plaque said:

In this part of the house–designed by Juan O'Gorman in 1944–the artistic essence of Frida Kahlo is distilled: her brushes, her easel (a gift from Nelson Rockefeller), the mirror she used for her self-portraits, and her books...There are also perfume flasks and varnish jars which the artist used to hold her paint.  All of the materials remain exactly as she left them.  One striking feature of the studio is the painting which depicts the evolution of the human fetus, a reminder of Frida's obsession with the maternity she was never able to achieve.

Yeah, so here's that fetus poster they mentioned:

I was also captivated by whatever this was:

Besides awesome.

Next, Diego's set-up:

Didn't even understand what these were.  Pigment manufacturer's samples?

And there are boxes of powdered pigment, I guess?  I'd love to read opinions in the comments.

For those who keep asking...

...here's what it'd look like if the Wall Street Journal ran a feature on Mac Barnett as the star of an 80's cop show.

My Tucson Festival of Books Schedule

Schedule: Saturday, March 9

1:00 – 2:00 College of Education Room 353   Panel Discussion: No Animals Were Harmed in the Making of this Picture(book)  Adam Rex, Peter Brown, Lester Laminack

2:00 – 2:30 Autographing right outside the south entrance of the COE and to the east. 

4:00 Autographing at the Tucson Weekly booth

Schedule, Sunday, March 10 1:00 – 2:00 – College of Education Kiva.  Fear, Intrigue and Humor:  Engaging Kids as Readers. Stephan Pastis, R.L. Stine, Adam Rex. Jennifer J. Stewart is the moderator -Jennifer@jenniferjstewart.com

2:00 – 2:30 Autographing out the south doors of the COE and directly east.

3:00-3:30 – Storyblanket (Chu’s Day)