A Hollins Summer
Co-teaching a 6-week course at Hollins University
Happy last day of July Sketchbugs!
I apologize once again for being so spotty with these newsletters. This summer truly was a whirlwind of events, from travelling to LA, moving into a new apartment, and driving to Roanoke, Virginia to teach a course for the Children’s Literature and Illustration Graduate Program at Hollins University. Factor in the record level heat waves in July and you’ve got a recipe for both fun and stress.
I was brought on by the lovely illustrator/ professor MJ Begin, current chair of the illustration program, to co-teach a course on Picture Book Design with the amazing Elizabeth Dulemba, who was recently appointed as the head of the entire program. She has an informative BLOG all about picture books. Go check it out! Because she was so busy, the class was a collaborative effort, with me taking the reins most of the afternoon while the mornings were spent with both of us critiquing and lecturing. Luckily we only had a few students so the workload was not as intense as my previous classes at UArts, where some classes had 15+ students.
Shoutout to my student Allison who went above and beyond with her book project “Old Gray Goose and Gander”. We only required two finished spreads but she went ahead and did so much more, including laminating her book dummy for the final show.
The Children’s Literature and Illustration Masters program at Hollins is one of a kind, and you can feel it in the air as well as all around campus. The new Margaret Wise Brown Reading Room is a must see, filled with an expansive collection of children’s books that any illustrator would dream of having access to. Plus, Ashley Wolff, one of the amazing illustration faculty, made these cutouts of famous children’s book characters that are placed all over campus for the duration of the program. You could take a stroll and see the likes of Skippyjon Jones to Madeline. She even made one of the alien and alien dog from the Book from Far Away!
Speaking of the faculty. The group of teachers assembled were all wonderful people, from writers like Dhonielle Clayton (founder of We Need Diverse Books), Delia Sherman (writer of The Evil Wizard Smallbone), and Ellen Kushner (fantasy writer and former host of the radio show Sound & Spirit), to Matt Faulkner, illustrator of Groundhog’s Dilemma which was written by his wife Kristen Remanar. Big thanks to Elizabeth Dulemba, Lisa Fraustino and MJ Begin for putting us all together and organizing the program. There were many fun singing nights, delicious dinners, and the occasional animal cuteness (big shoutout to Ashley’s dog Rufus and Matt’s cats, Sugar and Dora).
In between classes and working on deadlines, I got to explore the Hollins campus and walk the loop several times. The land is lush with green grass, mind blowing clouds, bumbling creeks, hay barrels, and even a horse stable. There was also a plethora of fauna, from ducks, herons, groundhogs, deer and the occasional skunk. I almost felt like I was at a residency with how lovely the nature was. I sketched as much as I could and even took my students to plein air paint for a class.
Shoutout to my student Evelyn for painting this stunning plein air piece with jelly gouache! She was locked into the process.
It was so hard to stay inside and work some days because of how beautiful the sky looked. Plus, the amount of sun showers were insane and led to some vivid rainbows. Apparently in the south they call sun showers “the devil beating his wife”?
Along with class twice a week, I had the wonderful opportunity to exhibit my work for a solo show at the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum from June 13th to July 28th and give a talk about my illustration journey. You can find that recording HERE. Nothing can compare to seeing 5 years of work on display for all to see and admire. Even I was wondering how I made some of the work on the wall. They even let me include my foam cutouts of my characters and my sketchbooks! Big thanks to the museum team (Jenine, Laura, and Katie) for assembling my work with care.
This summer was a test of both my teaching abilities and my time management skills; let’s just say I still have a lot to learn in both. Despite the hurdles of balancing a summer teaching schedule with some tight book and editorial deadlines, the past 6 weeks were filled with meeting amazing faculty and students, travelling around the Roanoke/ Blacksburg area, and walking an insane amount of steps along the Hollins loop (many Pokemon Go eggs were hatched).
I also enjoyed learning so much from my fellow faculty, guest speakers and students in the Hollins bubble. It’s a space that breathes inspiration and makes you want to make art just as much as the students. The philosophy of the program is similar to RISD’s, where we strive to teach students how to create stunning illustrations with their own voice, rather than a specific style. Unless something happens, I’m excited to teach at the program again in 2025.
Extra Cool Things
Please check out some of the awesome books that just came out or are coming out soon from my fellow publishing friends! I showed some of their books to my students so you know they’re skilled!
Spider in the Well written and illustrated by
Sour Apple written and illustrated by Linda Liu
The Museum of Very Bad Smells by written and illustrated Monica Arnaldo
Dare to Be Daring illustrated by
and written by Chelsea Lin WallaceHow to Pee your Pants: The Right Way written and illustrated by
Enola’s Best Friend written and illustrated by
This post made me smile and miss Hollins in the worst way! I got my MFA in CW there ten years ago. I want to go back for the children’s literature program!!
These adventures are amazing! And that frog bucket hat 😭