{"id":1189,"date":"2008-03-23T00:01:37","date_gmt":"2008-03-23T06:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1189"},"modified":"2008-03-23T00:02:13","modified_gmt":"2008-03-23T06:02:13","slug":"7-imps-7-kicks-55-the-sunday-and-monday-cause-its-easter-version-featuring-kelly-murphy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1189","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #55 (the Sunday-and<\/em>-Monday-’cause-it’s-Easter Version): Featuring Kelly Murphy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"'Poppies'Jules<\/strong>: IT’S SPRING! And here are some poppies for you, courtesy of the very talented Kelly Murphy<\/strong><\/a>, an illustrator whose work Eisha and I adore. We’re so glad she’s stopped by today to share some new art work from some upcoming projects. This one, actually, is already featured on her site<\/a><\/strong>. Please do go see her re-vamped site. It’s seven kinds of awesome, people. Very beautiful. Anyway, Kelly gave us permission to pick which images we love the most — as well as sent us some new stuff, which we’ll get to in a minute — and it was very hard to pick, indeed. But here are two more:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"'A
\n

From <\/em>A True and Faithful Narrative<\/strong><\/a> by Katherine Sturtevant;
Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 2006<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n

\"'Frisky';
\n

“Frisky” from a prospective manuscript<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n

Don’t you just wanna know more about Frisky? Anyway, as mentioned, Kelly sent some brand-new, “hot-off-the-desk” stuff, and we’re thrilled to be sharing those. Let’s get right to ’em. <\/p>\n

First, here’s a spread from her newest illustrated title, Hush, Little Dragon<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/font> (Abrams), by Boni Ashburn<\/a><\/strong>. This was just<\/em> released, and I saw a copy on Friday. It’s good stuff. This is a wee dragon’s version of the old folk lullaby, “Hush, Little Baby.” Baby Dragon can’t get to sleep and wants a bed-time snack. In a book that takes picky eating to a whole, new level, the dragon’s mama — who’ll do just about anything for him — searches for some food in the village in which they live. But here’s the delicious twist: They are dragons<\/em>, after all, so baby has to choose between the village musician, the king, the not-so-nice queen, the princess, the three musketeers . . . you get the picture. It’s a clever take on the mama-will-do-anything-for-baby motif, and it manages to be both slightly dark and sweet at the same time (I mean, they are talking about eating people). I enjoyed it. And I give seven bonus points to Ashburn for the lines: “Here she comes with a fresh magician \/ Don’t mind the taste — he’s good nutrition!”<\/font> (as well as for rhyming “queen” and “cuisine”). Kelly’s illustrations exude her unmistakable Kelly-charm, and here’s one spread from it: <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And here are two spreads from a forthcoming title, Brand New Baby Blues<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/font> by Kathi Appelt<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n


\n<\/p>\n

And what else is Kelly up to?<\/em> you ask. Well, we can deliver on that question. In her words:<\/p>\n

{This} is actually the start of a new adventure with Antoine Revoy<\/a><\/strong>, a French artist. We are slowly forming a joint studio, Shybird Studios<\/strong><\/a><\/font>, where we will eventually work on collaborative illustration projects. You can see a tad more at the beginning of our website, http:\/\/www.shybird.com<\/a><\/strong>.<\/font><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You’ll see at the site that the studios will specialize in “illustration, concept art for animation, character and motion design.” I’m unquestionably going to sound like a nerd saying this, but the first thing I wanted to yell when I read that and saw the site was, SUPER KEEN<\/em>! “Collaborative illustrations,” and he’s in France while she’s in the U.S. How do<\/em> they do it? I wanna know more, and it’s a good thing I’m trying to develop a new 7-Imp format for interviewing illustrators, but I digress. <\/p>\n

Here’s one of the first illustrations from Shybird: <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

On the left below, is “La Mort,” another “experimental piece, hot off the desk,”<\/font> Kelly told us. “The Living Room” is on the right, a “hot-off-the-desk and just a fun piece about me and my sister when we were very young”<\/font>: <\/p>\n

\"'La<\/p>\n

Here’s some art work from another upcoming title, Masterpiece<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/font> by Elise Broach. Elise’s web site<\/strong><\/a> says the following about the book: “Masterpiece<\/em>, illustrated by Kelly Murphy, is an art-based mystery set in New York City, will be published by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers in 2008. Ages 8-12. What do a lonely ten-year-old boy named James, the great Renaissance artist Albrecht Durer, and a beetle with excellent night vision have in common? Find out in this middle-grade novel about art, forgery, and friendship.”<\/font><\/p>\n

And, though we know this post already rivals a novella in length, here are three bonus images, ’cause we love Kelly’s work. On the left is a book cover illustration from the Our Generation toy line by Battat. The books were written by Susan Love and are included inside the dolls’ packaging, Kelly tells us. On the right is “Guillaume et Delphine” — for proof of Kelly’s ability to swing the pendulum from one tone to an entirely different one (if you hadn’t already noticed that) in her illustration work. <\/p>\n

\"'Guillaume<\/p>\n

And the final bonus image? The one pictured below. Enjoy! And many thanks to Kelly for stopping by to share some art work. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

As a reminder, our weekly 7 Kicks list is the meeting ground for listing Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week — whether book-related or not — that happened to you (as well as featuring artists like Kelly). You — yes, you<\/em> reading now — are more than welcome to leave your kicks from the week, whether you’ve ever done so before or not. <\/p>\n

We hope you’ll share your kick-worthy moments from the week, though we have a feeling people might be busybusybusy today, doing things like hunting for eggs and eating Peeps. For that reason, this kicks list is not just a Sunday version; it’s for Monday as well. People are always welcome to leave their kicks after the Sundays on which they’re posted are over, but we’ll leave this up two<\/em> days<\/font> to encourage folks who are busy on Easter to also leave their kicks on Monday. <\/p>\n

* * * Jules’ kicks * * *<\/strong><\/font><\/font><\/center><\/p>\n

1). A copy of Kadir Nelson’s<\/a><\/strong> We Are the Ship<\/strong><\/a><\/em> arrived at my door this week, and I knew I<\/em> hadn’t ordered it. Turns out it was a surprise from my husband, as a way of saying “good job” on our interview with Kadir<\/strong><\/a> (not to mention he KNEW that the library was going to have to pry that thing from my fingers when it came time to return it. Now, things won’t get ugly, since I have my own copy.) <\/p>\n

2). Some lovely literary surprises from Elaine Magliaro<\/a><\/strong> in the mail. <\/p>\n

3). I wrapped up the three-week program at my local library that I volunteer-taught (good for the ‘ol resume, too). When the course this last week was over, three other mothers who attended and I sat around and just talked about motherhood for probably thirty minutes. It was nice. <\/p>\n

4). Spring, watching my girls hunt Easter eggs yes-
terday at an egg-
hunting party, and seeing old friends at said party. <\/p>\n

5). I’m leaving town this week to head to Boston for a company meeting (for the very part-time contractor job I have), and I’m looking forward to meeting everyone (though I won’t be posting as often as I normally do at 7-Imp this week). I have never even met these nice people I work for, except for one who lives in middle Tennessee as well. They are all terrifically smart and all have their Harvard business degrees or something like that, so I hope the dorky literary one (me) fits in!<\/p>\n

6). This might seem like a very prosaic kick, but my wee daughters had their very first dentist visit this week. When you become a parent, it’s the little things, huh? And, best of all, they had no cavities, but my poor two-and-a-half year old may<\/em> have what’s called a crossbite<\/a><\/strong>. Ack!<\/p>\n

<\/a>7). My favorite singer\/songwriter\/musician ever ever ever<\/em><\/font>, Sam Phillips<\/a><\/strong> (who is<\/em> the fifth Beatle) and who has a new CD coming out in June (the release date got pushed back, just to torture me), has re-vamped her MySpace site<\/a><\/strong>. It’s remarkable that she even has a MySpace site with actual new photos and such, ’cause she’s normally rather media-shy. Anyway, the first track that plays when you launch the site is a “collage” from her NEW CD! I am a hard-core fan. It makes me very happy to hear snippets of the new music. (Plus, there’s a great story from her at the “About Sam” portion of the page about smelly Bibles and one of her first attempts to make art as a child.)<\/p>\n

Oh, and she’s been making collages lately (“I recycled Madison Ave. to advertise the things we can’t buy,” as she puts it), and this is one (above). God, I hope I don’t get sued for sharing it here. I’ll be sure to link the image itself to her page.<\/p>\n

7\u00bd). One little extra kick: Look what I found<\/strong><\/a>. How GREAT does that look? Love Almond. Love Dave McKean. I wonder if it’ll also be released in the U.S. this year?<\/p>\n

* * * eisha’s kicks * * *<\/strong><\/font><\/font><\/center><\/p>\n

Ooh, have fun in Boston, J. Why couldn’t you have had to visit while I still lived there? Oh well. Go to the Isabella Steward Gardner Museum<\/strong><\/a> if you have a chance – it’s fabulous. <\/p>\n

Also, your girls are so cute I cannot stand it.<\/p>\n

1* I just love the ilustrations this week. Can’t even say which is my favorite, but maybe “Poppies,” or “Guillaume et Delphine,” or almost definitely “Frisky.”<\/p>\n

Rebel Angels by Libba Bray2* The husband and I went to a St. Patrick’s Day thingy at the neighbors’, where we played Rock Band<\/strong><\/a>. I’m deeply ashamed to say that I played fake guitar so badly during the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage”<\/strong><\/a> that I was booted out of the game, but I did passably well on drums for a couple of songs. All in all, it was a good time.<\/p>\n

3* I averted a couple of crises at work, and got some tedious stuff done during the slow days.<\/p>\n

4* I also got some good news, but it’s a bit early to share it. Maybe next week…<\/p>\n

5* I got some lovely things in the mail this week, including a package of books from Jules (thanks, J!), some cute notecards, and some excellent-looking books-for-review.<\/p>\n

Dragon Day<\/a>6* I’ve just finished reading Rebel Angels<\/em><\/strong><\/a> by Libba Bray<\/strong><\/a> in prep for the Teen Book Festival in April. I don’t know why it took me so long to get around to it – I fiercely loved<\/em> A Great and Terrible Beauty<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. That woman can write – so imaginative and funny and creepy and sexy. And this was just as good – I absolutely must get my hands on The Sweet Far Thing<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, like, yesterday<\/em>. Of course, it’s Easter, and all the libraries are closed…<\/p>\n

7* I forgot to mention this one last weekend, but I got to see Cornell’s annual Dragon Day<\/strong><\/a> event. Apparently, this tradition goes back over a hundred years, but this is how it’s celebrated now: the freshmen architecture students spend weeks building a large paradable dragon. For a few days before the declared Dragon Day, they do things like paint themselves green and run around campus in packs half-naked and chanting, and rolling trees. Then, on the day itself, they get drunk, put on costumes, parade the dragon around campus for a couple of hours, and end up in the Arts Quad. Then they drop the dragon, throw their costumes on top, and set the whole thing on fire. It was kind of awesome<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n

What are your kicks on this Sunday or Monday?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jules: IT’S SPRING! And here are some poppies for you, courtesy of the very talented Kelly Murphy, an illustrator whose work Eisha and I adore. We’re so glad she’s stopped by today to share some new art work from some upcoming projects. This one, actually, is already featured on her site. Please do go see […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-seven-good-things-before-monday","category-picture-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1189"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1189\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}