Teresa Flavin

Heroes of the Valley Book Trailer

I happened to come across this gem of a book trailer for Heroes of the Valley by Jonathan Stroud. The trailer was made by Leevi Lemmetty, who was one of three winners of the 2009 Bookseller Video Award.

Going West Animation

The New Zealand Book Council’s stop-frame animation of elements from Going West
by Maurice Gee sends shivers down my spine. It was made by the hugely talented designers, Martin and Line Andersen, who are based in London. To see more of their work, including a gorgeous animation for the Southbank Centre’s Classical season, visit their site.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Congratulations to author-illustrator Grace Lin!

It gives me such great pleasure to congratulate Grace on her illustrated novel Where the Mountain Meets the Moon being chosen today as a Newbery Honor Book. I have a lot of admiration for Grace’s achievement - the Newbery awards are highly prestigious. And I found her blog entry very moving. Well done, Grace, you inspire us!

One Dream at a Time

Happy New Year!

This is a good time of year to think about dreams, both the sleepy type and the visionary, self-actualizing type. I have been sleeping a lot this winter, under snowy skies, grateful for the warmth of home. I have been dreaming a lot, too, about what 2010 will bring.

I like the groundedness of “One Dream at a Time”…just choose one, make it happen and get onto the next. Choose too many at once and chase your tail in frustration.

I wish I knew who made this poster. If you know, please tell me.

Or is it better not to know? Maybe the whole point is to keep a potent little mystery alive in the creative corridors.

Happy January New Moon - make a wish and follow your dream.

The Beauty of the Everyday

Is it a tower block or a molten monolith?

Sometimes I look up from my work because I see a glow in the corner of my eye. And there it is: the tower block on the other side of the motorway, majestic against a blue sky, the western sunlight slanting just right.

This is how it looked today with a few streaks of sunset lurking in the mix. Through the huge northern-exposed windows in my studio I can track how the passing weather teases colour out of the tower block. Blue sky can give way to black so swiftly in Scotland - this is both a joy and a frustration depending on whether you are watching it from inside or outdoors.

The best is when a rainbow slinks in behind that tower block - or even, heaven help me now - a double rainbow. Then I stop whatever I am doing and watch until it has gone wherever rainbows go when they are done knocking me out.

I recently had a chance to move to a new studio, but said no. Among my reasons: I can’t give up that sky, even though there is a noisy superhighway under it.

Back In The Saddle

It has been a mighty long absence.

I have some pretty good excuses for not posting in some time. A trip to Boston took me out of circulation for a while - I had great hopes of communicating with the blogosphere while I was there, but there was just too much going on. Here are a couple of highlights from the visit:

-a fantastic day of speaking to and drawing with children at Center School in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, a beautiful community by the sea. Great kids, great teachers, great experience! Thanks to everyone there.

-poking around independent bookshops like The Children’s Bookshop in Brookline and Porter Square Books in Cambridge. It was interesting and gratifying to see the breadth of children’s fiction available, especially books from the UK. If you are interested in learning more about independent bookstores in the USA, check out Indie Bound, their website. There are some excellent items there, especially their recommendations for reading groups.

Since I got back, it’s been go, go, go. There’s a lot of exciting stuff on the horizon that I will be sharing with you soon!

The Art For Hearts Auction

Snag yourself an original piece of art in support of a great cause.

Love Elephant

The Art for Hearts charitable online auction for Great Ormond Street Hospital started yesterday on ebay and there is some lovely artwork to bid on.

My little elephant painting is up for bids and I would really like it to go to a good home! It’s 22 x 22 centimetres, done in acrylics and oil pastels on paper. It comes mounted in sturdy, acid-free mountboard and wrapped in protective plastic wrap - ready to be given as a gift or framed.

Please visit the Art for Hearts blog and follow the link to ebay.

London Inspirations

Fast, furious, fantastic.

Chihuly Chandelier at V & A

Without doubt, one of the loveliest things I saw was Dale Chihuly’s huge chandelier in the entrance rotunda at the V&A. My photo just does not do it justice, so have a look at the V&A’s own website for great photos from odd angles.

I also love the option of sending a webcard of Chihuly’s work on this page.

A Post-Open Studios Update

If you have been wondering what happened to me over the last two weeks, suffice to say things have been crazy busy and show no signs of letting up.

Our WASPS Open Studios event on the 3rd and 4th must have broken all previous records with hundreds and hundreds of visitors over the two days. I met loads of interesting and enthusiastic people from gallery owners to school teachers and, of course, plenty of children who completed the Treasure Hunt. Thanks to everyone who ventured in to see my work and have a chat.

I’ll be posting some new paintings here soon and have plenty of news on other fronts. Have a great weekend!

WASPS Open Studios

On October 3 and 4, we’ll throw open our doors so you can see where we work and what we’ve been doing.

Shadows Into Dusk We Pass

I am also delighted to be able to give you a sneak preview - this weekend only - of the painting I am donating to the Art for Hearts auction before it goes on exhibition at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London next month.

My colleagues will be showing their paintings, sculptures, jewelry, glassware, ceramics, installations, videos and much more. This year we also have visiting artists from King Street and Dovehill Studios showing work in our gallery and project spaces. Click here for essential info.

And once again, I am making a Treasure Hunt for children and their families. Pick up a clue map at the entrance and work your way around the studios to find certain special objects, answer questions, figure out a puzzle or two and register for a free prize draw! This year’s mascot will be Grumpy Cat, who will help guide you around the building.

Any of my blog readers who come to my studio this weekend and ask me what my exciting news is will receive a free postcard!