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Paper Knot Studio - #112 at Western Avenue Studios. 1st Floor in C/D Mill Tomorrow marks my first  First Saturday Studio Opening. First Saturday is the widely advertised Western Avenue Studio opening to the public . The building is generally open during the week or whenever The Loading Dock Gallery has active hours. The first Saturday of every month is pinned as the day many of the artists will be opening their doors to buyers and general curious. Western Avenue Studios If you want to visit me, please feel free to do-so! Studios will be open from Noon - 5pm Saturday. As you can see above, there are a LOT of studios to browse…. not everyone will be open, but many will be. Paper Knot Studio (a.k.a. me) is located in Studio 112. You should be able to spot me just from my cute stripy awning. But if you want to find me quick, I'm on the first floor of the C/D Mill; entrance is next to the loading dock (seen there on the within that GREEN space. There should be a sign and/

In a couple days I'll be heading to New York City for the Annual Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Winter Conference, where my portfolio will be on display during the Friday evening showcase. I should be able to exhale at this point... or at least after I've collected my book and any remaining postcards. I feel confident approaching the SCBWI conference than I did last year. I'm not going to lie - it took a lot to get here. It's hard becoming a giraffe! At least it's hard to make one's portfolio into a giraffe, but here's how I did it: Step 1: I planted an Idea seed late in the year 2011. The seed was for marketing materials. Yes. Postcards. Step 2: The idea flourished into "Aww's" and other kudos and encouragements to "turn this  (postcard concept on right) into something. " Step 3: The "Something" became a story. Step 4: The story became a (mild) obsession.  Step 5:

I'm starting my 2013 with a made up word. Portfolio-izing is the act of "accessorizing" or enhancing one's portfolio. By "one" I mean my own. As you can see in my snippet above, I've transformed my portfolio into a giraffe pelt. The WHOLE portfolio looks like a giraffe now. This is just a close-up of the finished patterning: Lately I've been playfully gussying up my portfolio for the Annual SCBWI NY Conference. I'm beside myself with giddiness to get back into the city to show off my collection. I'm spending my weekend deciding on the interior pages and assembling my dummy book. This is what it looks like for me to "plot" out my portfolio pagination: I've got a lot of work to do, but I'm confident with the pieces I have completed. I can hardly wait to have my completed giraffe portfolio. Some of the "interior" bits can be found in my online portfolio . A few more pages will be making their way into