Scribble Town (ST): With us on the Scribble Blog is Timothy Young! Timothy has a long, creative career as an illustrator, graphic designer, toy designer, animator, puppet builder and sculptor and continues to surprise us with his imagination.

Timothy Young (TY): Hi! I live in Maryland with my family on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay. My first book, I’m Looking For A Monster!, came out in 2008 and my 4th book, I Hate Picture Books!, has just come out from Schiffer Publishing.

ST: Where are you and what are you up to these days? I’m sure very excited about your book ‘I Hate Picture Books!’ reaching people everywhere! Please tell us a bit about your book. A little sneak peak please

TY: I Hate Picture Books! is about a boy named Max who is having a bit of a temper tantrum and is throwing away his picture books. Throughout the book Max describes how picture books have gotten him in trouble and all the while we see him either pictured in these books or showing what he is describing in the style of many classic children’s books that the reader will recognize. I really enjoyed poking fun at many of the books I have loved through the years.

ST: Throughout your years of experience have you found a favorite place to write and draw?

TY: I have a home office where I do most of my drawing. I write in many places, including when I’m mowing the lawn or driving in my car. That is, I think up a lot of ideas and write them down later on.

ST: I think writing while mowing the lawn is it’s own art form! What other kinds of art do you practice?

TY: I have done a lot of different types of art. I draw, I sculpt, I use the computer to design graphics and advertising. I use Photoshop to finish most of my illustrations.

I design toys and I have a new toy line coming out soon called HEDZZ™. I designed them and sculpted the prototypes. I’ll let you know more soon about where to get them. You can see more of my artwork at http://www.creaturesandcharacters.com.

ST: All of your characters whether they are in books or in the shape of a toy have such different personalities. What do you hope to communicate with your stories?

TY: I don’t start out with any specific message, I usually think of a character and a situation they find themselves in. If some kind of lesson sneaks in there, that’s a plus. Mostly I write books for myself and I hope other people like them too.

ST:What was your favorite storybook growing up? Or is there a character that you connected with especially?

TY: I loved Dr Seuss and P. D. Eastman’s books along with many others. Two of my favorites are no longer in print. I especially liked The Ice-Cream Cone Coot by Arnold Lobel and GWOT! Horribly Funny Hairticklers by Steven Kellogg.

ST: I can see your love for Dr. Seuss in your picture of Max eating green ham (look to your right). Dr. Seuss would have loved that! Your designs and inventions inspire us to go to adventure lands! Where do you get your inspiration from?

TY: Everywhere! I can’t stop these characters and ideas from running around in my brain.

Often times I just doodle things until they become a creature or a character who’s story needs to be told. These days I like drawing on really cheap tracing pads I buy at the supermarket. The paper is rough and I like the line quality I get with my drawing pencils. My favorite pencils are Creatacolor Nero extra soft #1s. Once I have a sketch I like I take another piece of paper and trace over my first to get cleaner lines. Then I scan it into my MacBook Pro and do all of my color work in Photoshop.

I wanted to let everyone know about my contest. If you can name 40 books of the over 250 that are referred to in I Hate Picture Books!, you can enter to win over a dozen autographed books by authors whose books are in my book. You can find all of the details at http://www.ihatepicturebooks.com/contest.html.

ST: Thanks Tim for the challenge! I’m up for it. On your mark, get set, go!

Scribble Town (ST): From across the Atlantic and all the up North I’d like you to meet Jaanika Peerna!  Jaanika moves with her art and her art moves her.  In any case, I think you will also feel the excitement and energy that her personality shines and her artwork shows.  Thank you Jaanika for taking the time and being with the Scribblers!

Jaanika Peerna (JP): I am an Estonian-born artist living in New York for many years now. I love to draw, make videos and installations that capture the processes in nature that are hard to see at times, whether it be evaporating mist, movement of wind or slowly changing light.

ST: What are you up to these days? Please tell us if there is a particular project you are working on.

JP: I have an exciting project at hand right now: I am preparing for a solo exhibition in a very special location : a castle on a hill overlooking the Hudson River in NY state. I have the liberty to make drawings, video and light installations that specially relate to the location of the show. And here I mean the architectural space of the show and the magnificent surroundings of the castle. For example there is a round room in the castle which is going to have a video projection on the curved wall . And therefore the projected video is going to look like embracing the viewer entering the space. Since the castle is higher up on a hill there is plenty of wind moving around the castle and many of my drawings are going to be traces of air movements. There will be a light installation that relates to the light of dawn in the Hudson Valley as well.

ST: Wow! A castle on a hill! You will have to let us know when the show will allow visitors. How has your art practice changed over time?  For example, with medium, concept, etc.

JP: My art practice changes and evolves as I do all the time. Although I have always been interested in working with various media at the same time and I still do. I started out as a painter who also photographed. Then I continued mostly drawing and photographing. The next step was to use digital technology to combine my drawings and photos together. Once working in computers video entered into my work since I was interested in viewing processes in nature slowed down or sped up.  For example I would videotape long footages of ice banks moving on Hudson river which is famous for being the river that flows both ways. The two-way movement is hard to see with the naked eye,  but once I had an hour long footage sped up to be a 20 minute video the various movements of ice occurring on the river were easy to follow and wonder about.

About 4 years ago a new medium entered my palette: working with light, which is an amazingly powerful material itself. It literally draws forms and textures out for us to see at every given moment of our lives. So why not to use it as a main material for making art? I have an installation where I use three strong directed lights programmed to dim and brighten very slowly. By brightening each light creates shadows of strips of paper attached the a wall ()

The latest addition is live drawing performances where I collaborate with dancers and musicians where a new drawing is born in front of audience just like here:

I am happiest when I can use all different media together in one exhibition. It seems like I have always been interested in subtle and sometimes more rapturous changes in nature but  the media I use to create my work have expanded. Drawing stays at the core of my practice though.

ST: I feel so many different things when I see your artwork.  I wonder what you hope to communicate with your art?

JP: I hope after experiencing my work people would perhaps start looking at nature with more attentiveness and curiosity. I hope to slow down people’s minds and eyes in order to see more and expand ones vision that way. Sometimes it is about the quality of seeing not about the quantity of objects we encounter. Small wonders are around us at every given moment!

ST: Now that I know more about you and your history with art making I’m curious to know about how you found this form for self-expression.  How old were you when you first started making art and who encouraged you to create?

JP: I must have been drawing a lot and with much interest because my parents who are not artists  put me into a special art school from the age of seven. I remember loving the fact that I could create whole worlds by drawing. It seemed so freeing and full of endless possibilities specially in the context of  the Soviet occupation my little country of Estonia was under at the time. Later on when I moved from Estonia to the USA and my English was about 5 % of what it is now, drawing turned out to be one of my survival tools in the new strange country I found myself in. My English could not even get close (and still does not) to expressing what I wanted to say whereas my abstract line drawings seemed to penetrate deep into people’s hearts and minds and cross all political and geographical borders. Once again drawing was freedom and my most innate language for me.

ST: Your artwork looks very energetic and active to me.  Can you tell us something about how you get yourself into a creative mindset- where to find that inspiration.  Is there a special place where you like to make your art?

JP: As my work often stems from the processes in nature daily walks and hikes outdoors bring a lot of energy into my work. While outdoors I gather impressions, take photos and videos,  dance with the winds and can watch for light shifting on waterfront for hours. Once in my studio many of those experiences and recordings work into my art. Before I start working on a drawing I often sit in silence for a while as of letting the winds that moved me outdoors to come upon me and then later on move my pencils around on the paper. I almost become a medium for creating the work rather than being fully in charge what the work will end up looking.

ST: Jaanika has shared an art project with Scribble Town called ‘Drawn by Wind’. Please go to  http://www.scribbleshop.com/content/jaanika-peernas-drawn-wind-art-activity.

JP: Keep the element of PLAY in your projects. Play means keeping your activity open ended, experimental and fun for as long as you can. Sure, at some point there is a need to close in and focus yourself in executing a chosen path but until then keep in flowing in unknowing…  There are too many tasks and activities in our lives that are linear and geared towards a specific goal anyway. So take the chance to play whenever possible!

You can see more of my work at my website at www.jaanikapeerna.net and follow my newest projects at 

ST: Thank you Jaanika for all the inspiration you have given us!

Tucked into the northern corner of the Catskills is a village called Tannersville, sometimes referred to as the painted village.

The stores, restaurants and b­uildings along Main Street are sporting a very colorful look.  A local artist and painter, Elena Patterson conceived and carried out the town wide Paint Projectwith efforts of the Hunter Foundation and with the help of corporate sponsors and local residents. Downtown buildings were transformed into dramatic paint schemes of bright colors with decorative signs and shutters.  Some of the buildings even have cartoon pictures painted on the shutters.

Thinking of this colorful town reminded me of a drawing I did a while back for a product I created called Scribble mats.

 

I hope you will enjoy using your favorite colorsand get creative with our On the town coloring  page. Just, download the image, print and get scribbly.

Have you created a colorful work of art that you would like to share?  Please send in your artwork and tell us what inspired you to create it.  Perhaps we will feature it  on Scribbleblog.

Happy Scribbling!

Hi Scribblers,

It’s been quite the week here in NYC.  Hurricane Sandy came in with such tremendous force, I don’t think anyone was prepared for the damage and devastation she left in her path. Our building was evacuated and our lobby filled up with water and could have passed for an Olympic sized swimming pool.   We still are without power or heat. Transportation has been difficult and we haven’t been able to get to the office, so I’ve been scribbling up a storm this week.

I thought I would share this opportunity with you.  The is putting out a call for art for their upcoming December exhibition. They are asking artists, writers, and designers to send postcard sized works in any medium.  I was inspired to create “Stormy Rays”.  I’m going to color it and send it to them.

Your postcards can be priced at $20, $30, $40, or $50. The artist will gets 50% if the work sells… (woohoo!)  This is a great activity for you to do with your little ones. You can send as many postcards as you want. The more the merrier!

Please have a look at their website for full details of how you can submit your art.

So get your pencils, markers, paints etc. out and start scribbling.

We would love to see your creations.  Please share them with us and if you know of any events that our readers may be interested in, please share them with us too.

Happy Scribbling!!

All my best,

Andi

 

 

Since we saw the first craft entry, we were so unbelievably impressed with everyone’s hard work and dedication in facing the Scribbleshop.com  Scribble Challenge.

After much consideration, we narrowed the entries down to 5 finalists:

• Craft Stick Puppet Theater by Crafts by Amanda

• Silverware Tray Chalkboard Organizer by Tatertots & Jello

• Spring Centerpiece by The Country Chic Cottage

• Chevron Chalkboard Photo Frame by In My Own Style

• Party Animal Train by Honeybear Lane

Please help us find the Winner of the Scribble Challenge by voting on the poll on our page. We will leave the poll running to acquire votes over the weekend so feel free to let your friends and fellow crafters know and ask them to vote!

The Winner of the Scribble Challenge will be announced on Monday, April 2^nd so stay tuned here on our blog and on our page!

If you would like to sign up for the next Scribble Challenge (TBD), or know of anyone who may be interested, please send an email to and ask to be added to the list!

Hi Crafters!

Perhaps you’ve been picking up on a little something in the craft blogging circles called the “Scribble Challenge.” What is the Scribble Challenge??- you may ask…well, look no further!
The Scribble Challenge is the “iron chef” of crafting- it’s a little something we put together for our arts & crafts supply store, Scribble Shop! For the Scribble Challenge, we asked a select group of crafting bloggers to accept the challenge to get crafty with a mystery box of crafts sponsored by ScribbleShop.com

Check out this from Life As We Know It!

With these random supplies, the crafters are challenged to come up with and create their own unique crafts! We have seen some GREAT finished pieces of art! Once all of Scribble Challenge bloggers have posted their crafts, we will be selecting a winner and featuring some of the crafts on Scribbleshop.com – so stay tuned!

Check out a few of the finished crafts!

 

 

Do you want to take part in the challenge? Click here to buy these same supplies and show us what you’re made of! We would LOVE to see what inspires you, what you can come up with and what you can create! Share your pictures and videos with us by posting on our wall or send us an email and you just may see your crafts featured on our blog!

* Keep in mind, the time to sign up for the current “Challenge” is closed but we would still love to see your crafts! To sign-up for the next challenge and be eligible to have your blog featured on our site, send us an email at scribblechallengeATgmailDotcom and we’ll be sure to add you to the next challenge sign-up!

Happy Crafting!!

Hi Scribblers,

I was trying to decide what to do for my daily scribble and as I sat thinking, I was looking at the craft we had made today. I loved the colors and the underwater creatures, and while I sat fishing around for ideas, I came up with this scribble!

Haha, Fishing Around…get it? I just love how soothing the ocean water can be and it tends to be the inspiration for a lot of my scribbles.

What inspires you? What did you scribble today?

Do you like to draw, scribble, doodle or sketch? We’d love to see your art!!
Whatever type of art you may do- whether its with crayons, pen & paper, paint, drawing on sand, collages…they are all wonderful and creative!

We would love to see what type of art you enjoy and make at home- post your art to our  wall or send us your pictures via email and you just may get the chance to see your art featured on Scribble Blog!

Happy Scribbling!

Hi Scribblers!

I sat down to scribble today and I was in the best mood! The storm was over, the sky was beautiful and I had the song Feelin’ Groovey, by Simon & Garfunkel in my head.

This is my scribble for the day. I was feeling great, I had a smile on my face and I went to grab a marker, these colors were just calling my name!

It’s a happy scribble, because I was feeling happy! Sometimes, getting scribbley- sitting down and being creative- is a great way to express yourself. Why not try it with your little ones?

Hi Scribblers,

I really believe that it is good to use your imagination and have a good time.

I did this scribble because I was thinking about our newest website in development and that whatever comes to mind, you can make happen if you focus on it and taking it one step at a time.

Sometimes I get these random thoughts in my head and when that happens, I scribble!  When I was thinking about the upcoming website,  I was thinking about how to get traffic to it, who would be interested in supporting us and who our target audience would be. I  was thinking it is really important to put people in your life who can help you reach your goals and make your dreams come true and most importantly,  having people in your life that you enjoy being with– then, the rest is just fun and play.