We had a good day on Saturday at the RISD Holiday Sale. It’s been five years since I had a booth there, so it felt good to once again be among the 200 odd alumni who set up their wares. Since I don’t make kits or dolls to sell anymore, I brought books to sell. My husband, Rob was relieved that my setup was simpler than in the past. I used to make him haul twisty trees on heavy stands, but not this year. I hung up a large blowup of the cover of Pocketful of Posies, which my editor and the sales staff at Houghton Mifflin passed on to me. We were busy, which meant that I couldn’t take off and peruse the other isles. There’s always an eclectic selection of stuff at the RISD sales. Alumni from almost every department are represented; jewelry, furniture design, ceramics, printmaking, illustration, glass, textiles, industrial design, etc. Several people who follow this blog came by, including RISD illustration alumnus Ingrid Lavoie, who had her own booth with cut paper items. We talked about how a large percentage of illustration majors never work in publishing, but end up using a variety of art forms, and that their work usually has a storytelling element.

In my booth, I displayed some original illustrations from Pocketful of Posies, including There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.

Kate Menard came by to have her book signed. She told me that she’s bringing her parents to see my exhibit at UConn later this week. The show will be up through Dec. 16th.