Thursday, August 9, 2012
Friday, July 13, 2012
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Susan McGraw Keber: FINDING THE STORY...AGAIN
Susan McGraw Keber: FINDING THE STORY...AGAIN: Meet "Fromage"...the fellow who began in a whole other story and found his way to the mice-critter top of the new version...amazing how t...
FINDING THE STORY...AGAIN
SleepWalker has gone to the mice-critters!
I was invited to spend a four day weekend with Patricia Gauch at Highlights Founder's Workshop in Honesdale Pennslyvania...up in the mountains of the Catskills, where wonderful farms dot the landscape and dirt roads lead you through the countryside, in and out of white pine forests. Each of the eight writers had a cottage where we would go to retreat and spend the afternoons and evenings writing our hearts out...eager to take with us what Patti had given us to help our stories have voice, passion, and structure that would translate into a story worth reading. For someone who never naps, I found myself longing for an afternoon nap as I toiled away at my writing, giving all my energies to my work. By Sunday, the last day of our workshop, I was exhausted as though I had run a marathon...in fact, it was just that...a writing marathon...a learning marathon. I was depleted and happily so. Even getting lost on my way home that Sunday evening gave me invaluable time to rethink what Patti had imparted to me and what I had shared with my new friends in the workshop. It was a marvelous experience to be a part of the group that was supportive and as eager as I. Was I doubtful of my work? Yes! At one point I cried and felt I was in the wrong dream...I was not a good enough story-teller or writer...and what did I think I was doing there with everyone else who obviously was? I had to shed those doubts when I learned all of us felt similarly and we laughed. We felt like sisters in the trenches. The Highlights Barn, where we met for exquisite meals and our classes, is barely a year old...the scent of fresh timber and space gave way to percolating ideas and creativity. The original farmhouse offices of Boyd Mills Publishing is across the farm field, a few hundred feet away. It sits next to a river that continues to flow with sweeps of fresh waters...like new ideas from writers. It is a sweet reminder of what might be possible if we're determined to do our best...we may become published authors! With Patti as our consummate guide and expert editor, I feel I'm in great hands and am now working to apply what she imparted to me and my classmates, in my efforts to write my revised story. An superb four days, come October, when the leaves are their most brilliant orange, yellow, and crimson, I will meet with them all again in the farmlands of Honesdale with a new manuscript in hand. I hope it will be completely finished and the best I can do. In essence, the Highlights Founder's Writing Workshop taught me I had much to learn and to view my first manuscript with a new set of eyes...and ears...to re-examine the first draft in a detached way so I could improve it...again.
For the next several months until we convene again at our next intensive writing workshop, I will be rewriting an entire novel I believed to be finished last May. Opening my eyes and ears, I see the story that longs to be told, and told with heart, is in the core of a little fellow I created who began his journey in Woohickley Missouri...a mice-critter name Wilford Cruxley Verne Lamont III...known later in Noisy Town, as "Fromage", Caterer to all of MoHo....(Mouse of Houston)
And so, until I'm finished writing the last word....it's me and my passion. I look forward to hearing from you if you care to comment. I'll be in touch when I'm finished with my work...again.
Thanks for being here!
Susan
WINTER BLEETINGS
Winter is in full swing...from the looks of the weather forecast past and future, it's spring and has been all along. How I have wished for one magical white sugar coated earth of snowfall!
Monday, August 8, 2011
BACK TO SCHOOL TRAUMA MEMORIES
All over stores beginning in early July, I noticed signs for "Back to School" and "pre-school sales" for supplies: pencils, book binders, erasers, crayons, rulers, pens, knapsacks, and all the gadgets that are required for a proper first day of school. As Americans are consummate consumers, I should not have been surprised but I was. In fact, I felt deeply and suddenly saddened. There I was in a Target store, (or was it Wal-Mart?) standing with eyes wide in astonishment at the huge poster signs all over the store hanging like ideas that float and beat down on you insisting you MUST do something! Buy something! Be aware of the need to purchase...NOW!
I was amazed that in early July, most children had just graduated from their previous year of school or college, just as we were about to celebrate our country's birthday and independence from the British on the 4th, and our home had been newly decorated with mini American flags stuck in our flower pots and our flag, though proud and beautiful, limply moved in the oppressive humidity of summer's 100 degree weather from a pole on our house as it does every Memorial Day through Labor Day...just as we were about to enter the full swing of summer's delights, I was bombarded by "Back to School" brainwashing campaigns that had begun in earnest leaving me feeling assaulted.
I left the store empty handed, I had not found the item I was searching for, (nor did I ever) worse, I felt robbed. Robbed of summer, robbed of the BBQ's and fireworks and birthday pool parties and ocean beach days we normally shared as a family with friends. After all, Target and all the other stores declared that school was soon to begin and I had better hurry up and buy supplies NOW! That day! "Don't wait or supplies will run out" was the clear message I heard rumbling around in my head as I drove home in earnest, hoping to catch some of the ocean beach day before school started.
Prompted by the looming fear of school approaching and all the things I must do as a mother who will once again take her son back to college, our Volvo station wagon filled with boxes and plastic storage containers, two guitar cases, computers, clothing, (some of which I should have thrown out before he saw it.) tattered and new books, and all the paraphernalia that a young college student needs, I started to think about the way I felt when I was his age, even younger, and how insecure feelings gnawed at me with each day that approached the opening day of school. As an illustrator, capturing those feelings is difficult...so here is what I did.
Last night, under the lights as it was closing on the day and bedtime was near, I decided I would put myself into the spirit and emotions of a middle school aged person...not a little child any longer, but not a full blown adult either, the insecurities that filled me every late summer about returning to school started to reignite. Although I chose to have braces when I was an editor at Redbook magazine while in my early twenties, not when I should have as a younger person as my my parents urged me to do, I remember those students who did listen to their parents, glumly capitulating to a swath of metal and pain for the duration of middle or high school years. I can still see big shiny chrome brackets that collected food in the hinges and lingered there all day, complaints of mouth discomfort, and oh perish the thought, braces that got caught when you kissed your girlfriend or boyfriend because you both wore them!
Worse was the distinct knowledge that NO ONE liked you. They never would like you no matter how you looked, what you wore, or what kind of grades you got. You were a destined to be LOSER. Sure you had friends from the year before, even a best friend, but that was last year, not this year. What if none of those kids were scheduled to be in any of your classes? What if you were alone with all new faces and personalities to get to know...and what if you did get to know them and they decided to snub you or laugh at you in your shiny new bright chrome tinsel teeth with tuna fish stuck in the wires?
It was of no use. Going back to school was like jumping into a well of black oozing tar. You were facing certain extinction.
Instead, you kept you mouth closed and when necessary, smiled faintly so people couldn't see your shiny new contraptions of torture with tuna fish stuck in the wires, and you worked on your hair. Orange juice cans you discovered made fairly decent curlers and while sleeping was forfeited to get the straightened hair look, you managed to overcome this deprivation by making up for it in gym where you promptly fell asleep during workouts in the corner locker room. Another fear: suppose everyone else was taller than you were now? Surely you must have stopped growing and will remain a midget while your best friend is now a model height and gorgeous. If you hadn't started to "mature"...signs of femininity not yet announcing themselves: breasts non-existant for girls and muscles in your biceps looked like spaghetti strings for boys, you were embarassed and knew you just could NOT go back to school in the fall. Imagining you would have to take off your clothes to put on your gym suit (an unattractive pleated skort style romper with bloomers to match and your name embroidered across the front) was unbearable. Who would want to be seen by all the other girls who had "matured" over the summer in the locker room? Who would want all the other males to laugh at you with your spaghetti string bicep arms while the "he-men" slapped each other on the backs gaffawing hilariously. You knew that everyone, including the teachers and principal, would laugh at you if you looked as though you were still a little girl while everyone else was a "grown up" person.
I remember my mother telling me that one day I'd have hips. When I "matured" I would "fill out" she said. Years later she told me she had lied to make me feel better because like her, she saw I was the same. I never "filled out" and retained the string bean narrow shape I was born with. As the years passed I was grateful I did not "fill out" because that meant there would have been more of the same in later years.
Now, think about blemishes. Horrors! Can you imagine last year you had beautiful soft skin and during the summer you "matured" and instead of growing a chest or biceps, you blossomed into a pitted face of ugly blemishes! There was no way you could face your school mates...not looking like that! Clearisil wasn't good enough to help. So off to the dermatologist for a prescription of Tetracycline and forget about the rest of the summer tanning...that was out of the question...unless you wanted rashes all over your body because the medication and the sun don't work together.
If you were a boy you might have noticed "peach fuzz" around your upper lip. Your mother may have told you to wash your face because you looked "dirty" but in truth she hadn't gotten up close to you and seen that her son was becoming a "man" and men had whiskers! Still, you looked in the mirror and saw a half boy/man and thought : "Nerd"
You were probably right. You were ridiculous looking and your hair was slapped down on your head with some cheap stuff you find in the drug store that smelled like plastic Play-Doh. Same for the girls...instead of a mustache, your legs started to look like female gorillas...but your mother said it was too soon to start shaving. She probably told you that once you started it would be forever and what a nuisance it was!
I digress from the main point which is that school ends when the temperatures rise and the flowers are in full bloom, the birds exhalt in their singing, and the ocean crests cool our feet, clear our heads, and laughter is in abundance. The idea is that summer should be a time when there is NO pressure to do any planning other than what is completely pleasurable and I don't believe thinking about school supplies or teenage problems real or not, should occupy our minds...so tell your teenager they'll have more friends next year and the year after that and have so many by the time they're adults they'll turn off their cell phones and iPads and have blank minds for blogs and wish they were still on the beach with tinsel chrome brackets and wires and tunafish stuck in them, not yet a grown up and laden only with dreams of what the possibilities of life hold before them! Off to the beach before the summer supply of good weather leaves!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
ABIGAIL LOVE ENVELOPES IN ALL SIZES~!
In virtually every size, Abigail Love now adorns envelopes on the front and back so the recipient of your letter is greeted by a hug by Love!
Abigail Love sends Love to someone special you know.
<div style="text-align:center;line-height:150%"><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/abigail_love_postcard-239188420492176645?rf=238591281445362980"><img src="http://rlv.zcache.com/abigail_love_postcard-p239188420492176645vpov_325.jpg" alt="Abigail Love postcard postcard" style="border:0;" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/abigail_love_postcard-239188420492176645?rf=238591281445362980">Abigail Love postcard</a> by <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/susanmcgrawkeber*">susanmcgrawkeber</a><br />Get your <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/custom/postcards?rf=238591281445362980">postcards printing</a> from zazzle</div>
Monday, July 11, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Creating "Abigail Love" products for sale
I've discovered "Zazzle"...there is a new line of "Abigail Love" products to buy!
Aprons, greeting cards, posters, stickers, canvas tote bags, postcards, postage stamps, t-shirts, iPhone and iPad covers, mousepads, dog sweaters, toddler clothing, and even Keds sneakers for kids and adults! I'm having fun bringing "Abigail Love" to all these items! Additonally I've done illustrations I have added to my store on Zazzle... Have a look and see my latest illustrations and cartoons!http://www.zazzle.com/susanmcgrawkeber
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
THE MICE-CRITTER BALLET COMPANY
The Mice-Critter Ballet Company
proudly presents
"Firefly"
Auditions for principals and corps ballet members is now taking place on the drawing board of cartoonist/illustator
Susan McGraw Keber
Selections to be posted to the website soon.
All candidates will be announced and must be ready to begin rehearsals. Due to the confines of editing and proscrastination on the part of the author/choreographer, the process may require extended periods of rehearsal.
Thank you,
The Author & Illustrator
Monday, May 16, 2011
SKCAT WOOFER & MICE-CRITTER DESIGNS
We live with a dog, a cat, and a rabbit.
I've always drawn "Frizz", the dog, but never a cat or a rabbit. So here is a "Skcat"...I made a series of them...they're my colored skcats and each one is different...as we are.
I'm experimenting with what I call "Skcats", "mice-critters, the characters in my children's book, and yes, new versions of dogs.
I'm experimenting with what I call "Skcats", "mice-critters, the characters in my children's book, and yes, new versions of dogs.
I'm having fun making them up as I draw them.
All of them make me feel silly and give me cause to laugh.
All of them make me feel silly and give me cause to laugh.
SKCAT...tells you what it is right away...chases rats, yes, indeed the cat does, and it skats...off like lightening!
I imagine this skcat is simply looking for a bite to eat, a pat on the head...a human touch.
The Skcats below are "Jazz Skcats"...cool dudes strutting down the sidewalk of the neighborhood...looking good and feeling it too.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
ABIGAIL LOVE : NEW CANVAS TOTE!
New today! Abigail Love canvas tote bag to have and to hold all your books, gym clothing, groceries, and whatever else you need to bring carry! Click on the link below and pick out your favorite style. Made of cotton canvas. More items available featuring the newest little star...Abigail Love!
http://www.zazzle.com/abigail_love_canvas_tote_bag-149617573592811232
Thursday, April 7, 2011
IN THE BEGINNING THERE WAS "ABIGAIL"
I've always drawn for as long as I can remember. I used to look like the person to the left, and no doubt you might think I still do...and you'd be right. Inside my mind, that person still exists; red corduroy jumper, stick straight hair, shiny black patent leather shoes, anklets, and glasses. The arms outstretched, are ready to hug and embrace. Yep, that would be me!
"Abigail" started in high school with me and swiftly became my best friend on paper. She's been priviledged to appear in REDBOOK, PARENTS, SEVENTEEN, and on greeting cards. She's back with spirit and energy...I'm glad she nudged me to give her life again...along with her many friends and Frizz, her dog. She likes to get things done and so do I...together we're on another adventure!
Thanks for being here...
"Abigail" started in high school with me and swiftly became my best friend on paper. She's been priviledged to appear in REDBOOK, PARENTS, SEVENTEEN, and on greeting cards. She's back with spirit and energy...I'm glad she nudged me to give her life again...along with her many friends and Frizz, her dog. She likes to get things done and so do I...together we're on another adventure!
Thanks for being here...
Sunday, March 6, 2011
SWIMMING IN A SEA OF IDEAS ON A RAINY EVENING
It's Sunday evening, the dog, cat, and rabbit are peaceful, although Maizie Marbles our Bearded Collie "hears" sounds that cause her to sit and stare at the wall in what I can only imagine is dreaded anticipation of an impending thunderstorm, I am embarking on another writing assignment, this one for class. Maizie is right, the first sound of a distant thunder is not far off. Just watching her ears twitch, her eyes dart at the sound, and her rigid posture give me ideas for drawing cartoons. The rabbit's long ears by contrast, are flat to his head and over his shawl, like two oars on a boat. The cat, Mr. Baxter, is wisely curled up on the bed and observes Mr. Milo the rabbit with little interest. More ideas for cartoons and illustrating. They are all creatures of instinct and move differently with unique expressions. I love to watch them "listen" to the rain.
Funny how you swim around in waters so large you can't see land and then suddenly, or so you think, the idea is so large it takes up your entire view and gone is the vast sea before you! That is what I refer to as IDEA.
The IDEA is a gift that comes to you and you have alot of unwrapping to do when you receive it. Layers of packaging must be removed before you get to the core of the item....the beautiful IDEA gleams at you...and carefully I remove it and single it out from all other thoughts...walk around it mentally, see it's various angles, lights, colors, and imagine possibilities for it. It's like a rock to be sculpted. The IDEA is all at once perfect and in need of refining. That is writing for me...and illustrating. It is independent of me, devouring me and I relish the fervor with which I swim toward it. Yes, it is raining tonight and I am sure this is one of the best nights for working. My new studio space is almost ready for serious illustrating and writing and I am floating in happiness...no sharks after me!
The IDEA is always there...you just have to listen for it...hear it and go with it...it's called INSTINCT. When you feel it, it's yours...and that is unique.
I love a good rainy day and night.
Thanks for being here.
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