On the avenue!

Thursday morning was spent with my comic kids. To be honest, I was still pretty beaten down from my critique the day before. It was hard to smile and keep going to class when you weren't entirely sure you were worth wasting the time on. Thankfully, our first visit, First Second, was a perfect remedy!

Located in the gorgeous Flatiron building, we were met by Gina Gagliano. We got an inside look of this highly artistic, content-rich company, and the thirst to produce soon surged. We were able to peek at new books before their release in September. My favorite was Koko Be Good, by Jen Wang. Oh, if I could have just snuck it in my tote bag! Alas, I'll have to wait till September. Still, there was hope. There are markets for what I do. We also had the rare and awesome opportunity to go to the point of the Flatiron building to see the square below, and the curved windows.
Now I broke away from my fellows in Sequential art to meet with Illustration, who was seeing Mark Smylie, director of Archaia Press, known best for Mouseguard. This was exactly what I wanted to do. However, there was some time left. So what do I do, naturally? Go and find kittens and books! PetSmart was on the way, so I took a few minutes to make kissy-faces at the kittens before locating a bookstore and parking myself in the children's book section. So, hand full of books, I go to the meeting.

It was wonderful that Archaia supports comics as an art form for adults, but also as a medium for children. So often people either swing one way or the other. It's important to know that comics are simply a medium- they aren't a genre. Unfortunately, we got hustled out of the restaurant (apparently the rest of the class had been there since the restaurant opened, and were taking up a lot of room. Mark ended up looking at my portfolio standing outside! However, he liked my work, so I'll send him my completed project!

We were set loose again. On my walk, I went back to Strand (seriously, it's a disease. I'm banned from books forever.) MoCCA was on the way back, so I swung by to visit. There were prints from the original Harlot's Progress by William Hogarth! It was also, again, very refreshing to see comics across such a wide spectrum of styles and uses. The museum was tiny, so it was quite an information overload! But a wonderful one indeed! Of course, my books had grown so heavy by then I had to take a cab home!

That night, there was a party, where all of the people we had met would attend, along with schmoozing and otherwise milling around. It was at a fancy lounge, so I took a bit of extra time to doll up. I was sweating like a sinner in church, since that meant I would have to face Kurt and Zelda again, and I had cried so much last time I saw them, I was probably a blubbery mess in their eyes. I found a cozy corner to curl up and draw, and people watch.

I don't do very well in schmoozing situations- I don't drink, so I felt very silly and very sober. However as the night wore on I was able to relax and I mustered all of the courage I could to show Zelda and Kurt my progress I had drawn since we last met. And… They were thrilled! It wasn't perfect, but they were proud I had taken what they said to heart, and I was so relieved and so glad that they were happy. I couldn't wait to draw again!

Today was our last day of the program. We started the morning with a trip to World Leaders Entertainment, who is in charge of The Venture Brothers on Adult Swim(!!!). We had a doggy climb on our laps as Rachel Simon told us of the inner workings of how the show was produced. It's very funny, since her job mainly involves corralling lawyers! We were intrigued to find out how the art is done- it's almost 50% in-house, and 50% Overseas; the key frames, character design, mixing, etc, are done in-house, and then the animation is sent to the other studio.

Since it was out last day, we had to pick up the pace! The home of Peter Kuper was next. He does the Spy V. Spy comics in MAD Magazine, among other things. Unfortunately, I got distracted flipping through an issue of MAD and got a cheerful reprimand- but serves me right for being so easily absorbed! He had masks lining his wall- some of his own design, and others of African heritage. Kuper also had a huge filing cabinet filled with gorgeous, rare comic art- many originals and first editions. Just sitting there! He also did a few pieces using unused windowpanes as comic panels. I really liked that- I'd love to do something similar, but I fear it'd be too close!We had some time before our next appointment, so we detoured to the Illustration House for a quick peek. There were Norman Rockwell sketches, vintage Vogue covers... It was lovely! Now, does anyone have $5000 so I can buy one? The man who minded the gallery was also the cutest man in existence. He looked like an illustration all by himself! Our next and last appointment was meeting with Mark Heflin of American Illustration. The scope of how long AI has been around, and all that they've published is incredible. It was inspiring all by itself simply to flip through the rows of AI volumes against the wall. I wish comics had some of the singular beauty that a lone illustration has.

Before we all dispersed, there was one last adventure. We had to get John Lowe a wig. Now. Being a man of no hair leaves John at a particular advantage. He tried on a fop wig, a Tom Cruise Wig, and finally settled somewhere around a Matt Damon wig. The women in the wig shop were practically rolling on the floor when he left!

Since I was all dolled up, I decided it was a good time to do the last of my shopping before I left. Now. While I might not be a fashionista, obsessed with brand names or trends, I am a huge fan of fashion design, particularly couture. So, naturally, I had to make the pilgrimage to 5th Avenue to visit Dior. John Galliano, who designs for Dior, is one of my favorite designers, so if anything, I wanted to have the privilege of being inside a Dior House. However, as I tried to put on my best 'high fashion' face, the doorman of Chanel opened for me! I tried to say I was actually a girl from Kentucky and could probably not even afford a button from Chanel- but I walked in as if in a trance. The Couturiers really do look far more like walking into someone's apartment than a shop. The ladies were very attentive, though I had to figure out a gracious way to slip away! That said, I did take a sample of COCO Mademoiselle perfume. Divine! I also slipped into Dior, if only to gaze longingly at their Oui collection. Sigh! So pretty! (They asked me, "Would you like to see the version with all of the diamonds, or just one?" Good grief!)

Now it's off to pack; I have to figure out how I'm getting home with all of these books somehow!
XOXOXO
~Lilly