ALA + Nola

New Orleans!

My first introduction to the fabulous city rich with all sorts of mixes.

The Creole people are a combo of Spanish, French and African American– creating divine cuisine (definitely not easy on the hips!). Sean and I indulged in a mix of delicious rich fried foods and fine dining, including beignets, cafe au lait, creamy pralines, seafood, oysters and bananas flambe.

We attempted a mix of ALA (convention floor walking, signings & cocktail parties) with touring the city. We saw some of the Katrina ravaged neighborhoods (a mix of sadness and, to my surprise, hope– in the rebuilding efforts), and funky areas like the French Quarter and the Merigny. Way too much for just 4 days!

These pictures show Sean and I together with colleagues in the picture book world from all over; An incredible gumbo of artists and writers converged at the end of June in The Big Easy.

(Top - bottom: random art in the French Quarter, Sean signing at S&S, Sean changing the guard to Brian Floca, Sean & Selina with Yugi Morales & Maya Soetoro-Ng, Selina with Rebecca Sherman & Grace Lin, beignets, Sean with Wilder recipient Tomie dePaola, Sean with Caldecott honor recipient David Ezra Stein & family, Selina with Newbery honor recipient Jennifer L. Holm.)

Art in Wellfleet

Sean and I started going to Wellfleet on the Cape before we had kids, not only because of its breathtaking beauty, wonderful beaches and quaint charm, but also for The Art.

Many summers ago we biked from Eastham to Wellfleet where we stumbled upon a bunch of galleries and artist's homes. We discovered the artist, Selina Trieff. We were struck to find another Selina, and her beautiful work drew us in. We ended up buying a small piece, which I now treasure in my studio. Most summers we try to visit her and her husband, the artist Robert Henry, when they open up their studio/gallery.

Speaking of studios & galleries... Openings are a mainstay Saturday evenings in Wellfleet. This past week we were lucky to be there for Tommie dePaola's at the Cove Gallery. He has been showing his work for 15 years and only has ONE big opening every other summer. Sean, Isaiah, Ginger & I were delighted to attend this year. The kids were especially excited; Ginger coined Tommie, "grandpa" and Isaiah entertained him with funny faces. Tommie was such a great sport with our little firecrackers. You could tell he truly appreciates real-live children– if you didn't already get that from his hundreds of amazing children's books.

And speaking of children's books... Every summer we make sure to visit the Wellfleet library. It's a great local for restless kids– even when it's not raining. One morning last week I took Isaiah to story time and was happy to see, "Im Your Peanut Butter Big Brother" up on the bookshelf. I'm sorry, but I just had to take a picture.

(photos from top to bottom: Selina Trieff's latest work. Selina T with Sean & Ginger. Tomie dePaola and Sean. Isaiah & Sean, Tommie, Ginger & Selina A. PBBB and Isaiah)