Happy (Chinese) New Year!

Aaaaah-Chooo! Tomie Di Paola 2014 Contest-SCBWI

"Sneeze" 9x9 Watercolor & Colored Pencil

The annual SCBWI Tomie Di Paola Contest has passed, and here are the results! We were to illustrate a scene to the poem: Sneeze
                              A sneeze
                              is a breeze
                             in your nose

Congrats to winner Akiko White for his playful scene done with- wait for it- CAKE! Check it out:http://scbwicontest.blogspot.com/2014/01/akiko-white-grand-prize-winner.html

Entire Sneeze Gallery (Be Prepared to feel sneezy while looking at these!) http://scbwicontest.blogspot.com/

My version on the Gallery with more room for type (which were part of the requirements): http://scbwicontest.blogspot.com/2014/01/heather-soodak.html

Framed Version ( Will soon be displayed at the Aliso Viejo Library with the OC Illustrators):

Kingston, the King of his Castle

Kingston, baby lion  Ink and Watercolor 5x6"

Painting and T-shirt design for my friends John and Sonja presented to day at her baby shower, happy almost baby-time!!! This little lion will be on the mural I am designing for their baby room as well!

Calder Exhibit

I spent the 2nd day of 2014 going to the LA County Museum of Art with artist Nadia Rolden and saw the special exhibit of Alexander Calder.  Though I learned about Calder in school, there were new things that I learned such as the fact that he got an engineering degree, which is evident that he used his knowledge of mechanics in his entire body of work. He also loved making toys and made his first wire toys at age 11. I especially found his "circus" fascinating, where he created a little circus show with wire sculptors that performed. He was also friends with many famous of abstraction and surrealism such as Miró, Mondrian, and Duchamp which you can see very much influenced his sculpture. His interpretation of things in nature is very simplified, yet beautiful in such works as "Blue Feather" and "Eucalyptus" and I saw many parts of nature in his metal forms such as orchids and planets. Seeing art like this helps remind me that artists observe the world from unique place, bring it to fruition in art form by stylizing or simplifying, and others can then dare to see from their perspective.

Sketch of "Blue Feather"

Alexander Calder with Eucalyptus (1940), 1940, Calder Foundation, New York

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year 2013 8x10" Ink and Watercolor

Reflections....here are some things I did in 2013! Hiked with dad and pet horses with Grandma in Mexico, pet turtles and bathed in pristine waters of the Carribean and visited with mom in Petaluma, saw Postal Service with friends in Santa Barbara, hiked with the Buffalo and waved at fish from a submarine at Catalina Island, created a new portfolio and website, attended SCBWI summer conference, took Digital Painting and Photography class, taught art at Pacific Academy, para-sailed with the hubby, taught a puppet workshop at Art Exchange, volunteered at the craft booth at Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards, met great artists and authors at the Chemer's Gallery Annual Illustrator event, Met John K. of Ren and Stimpy, participated in the Press Paws Art Show at Gallery Nucleus to support pets, did a sketch a day in November, took Darwin to the beach for the first time, danced on a boat, aaaand more! Happy old year and now Happy New Year Everyone! Make the most of it!