Friday, April 28, 2006

today i'm feeling goal oriented

this is rare, i don't want it to slip away without writing it down.

this summer i want to focus on my kid's book, i have a few in the works for years now (the original reason i wanted to go back to school for illustration). since going back to school my priorities have shifted, but i still want to pursue these books.

one is about growing up with my sister jesse, she's my step-sister exactly 2 weeks younger than me.
another is about the ice cream carts and a girl and a chihuahua.
a 3rd is just a little promo i've been working on with the song lyrics of si & gar's "at the zoo".

i may periodically post updates/illustrations of the works-in-progress for feedback and/or accountability sake. does anyone else have a kid's book in the works? or know of any contacts in the publishing field you'd like to share? ha!

another summer goal is to research MFA programs in painting to apply in this winter, for fall of 2007. yes, more school. sounds perhaps crazy after all the schooling i've been in recently, but why not be as ambitious as i can, with the idea of maybe teaching at the college level someday. i'm extremely interested in affordable options. i hear stanford is a full-ride. dream. does anyone know about SF state? Davis? i would love to continue going to CCA... but financially steep.

side note: we had an interesting/unfortunate convo in my class the other day about how our teacher receives far less requests for recommendations for grad school from girls than boys (even though the school is more girls-- maybe 65/45 % wise). it's not quantifiable necessarily, but a trend she sees. not that schooling is everything, but i would only hope women seek the same opportunities as men these days.

a 3rd summer goal is to paint 15 paintings, about one a week.

if anyone happens to be reading and has related advice about grad school and/or kid's books please email me:
matimcd at hotmail dot com

3 comments:

amy said...

good for you mati..write it down while you're feeling it...I'll forward any schools I can think of...CCA is pretty dreamy isn't it-i really watned to go there for my MFA as well. have a good weekend.

Anonymous said...

jordan has been working on some kids' books on and off for years. he taught 2nd grade for awhile and is really great with stories and what works/doesn´t work...if you ever need help with the written section of a book he might be of help. plus, i know he's talked to some publihing folks and has an idea of how it all works...
i´m working on a picture book but it's more for adults and it isn't really something i think will get published, more for fun...i have to say though, writing a short story is really hard!
i think it's great you're going to go on for a masters. yay!

zelia said...

it's so good to get them written down. i'd love to see updates about your books as you get them done. i love your ice cream cart painting, and that would make a great subject for a kid's book, i think. all that i really have to share on this is a gigantic library of children's books.

maybe your friend Sabrina would have some ideas about the publishing end of it?

stanford would be pretty sweet. did you know that at harvard you don't have to pay for any art supplies? you get all the paint and canvas and whatever you want, as much of it as you want for free. well, for the price of harvard tuition, but still, you can do any project you want for no money. well again, it's harvard, but that surprised me!