Ken W. Min ~ Illustrator

My picture book is listed on amazon

was monkeying around over the weekend and thought i'd type the name of the PB i worked on into amazon.com and low and behold, it was listed. granted, without a cover image (which i've provided here without text. :) apparently the book retails for $17.95 and you can pre-order it. and i have an ISBN number. that makes it official. cool!

i found it amusing to click on my name under the heading which takes you to a list of other titles by "ken min". the first title that came up for me was "empowering asian mindsets through coaching", then my title and third was "the national collegiate judo handbook". i find that third one funny because i know, by 'googling' my name, that there is a tae kwon do master who teaches at berekley by the name of 'ken min'. yes, i'm not the first 'ken min' (shock and surprise!) and if you type in kenmin.com, it takes you to a chinese restaurant in japan. (btw- no, i'm not heir to the food dynasty and no, i can't get you a free meal, so don't ask)

speaking of the berkeley 'ken min', i've always wanted to meet him and i probably missed my opportunity because i had numerous friends who went to cal back in the 90's. i guess i snoozed and losed, uh, lost.

he's also the reason i use my middle initial 'W', to differentiate us and so no one comes up to me and asked me to "bust a move" karate-wise.

see the amazon listing here: Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-Ji

look for it may 2011.

The Day is Done (UPDATED)

yesterday illustrator's day (see previous post), an event i helped coordinate, came...and went.

it turned out to be a lot of fun and i was really happy with how everything played out. and if you know me, i'm my own harshest critic, so there's always something to bug me, even if it's some small detail that no one else would really pick up, but i can't say there was anything glaring yesterday...well, o.k. i wince every time i think about how i too quickly turned off the lights in the auditorium on brian floca's slide presentation. should have done it one light switch at a time, drop the lights gradually. sorry brian.

so i hope that everyone who attended came away with some good info, a touch of inspiration and a smile.

i also want to thank my tag team partner, milla, for co-conceiving the day with me and to my "volunteer army" for all their best efforts behind the scenes.

tho, i think the best part for me was getting to meet and know such bright, creative folks in the children's publishing world. my hat's off to brian floca, jen rofé, rich deas, abigail samoun and the irascible dan santat.

maybe we can all do it again sometime.

 

(* UPDATE- we've got pictures! if you would like to see some of the pictures from the day, you can visit the flickr site of friend rita who shot the pictures at this link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rhcrayon/sets/72157625453108190/

 

 

SCBWI-LA Illustrator's Day 2010

i suppose i could have written about this sooner, considering it takes place this saturday, but well, ha ha.

illustrator's day is coming. this is an event that i co-organized and i think we have a pretty spiffy line-up. we have author/illustrator/ dan santat, tricycle press editor abigail samoun, sr. creative director at macmillan rich deas, author/illustrator brian floca and literary agent jennifer rofé (accent on the 'e')

my partner and i have been plotting, planning, moving huge boulders and making back room deals to get this event put together and, frankly, i can't wait to see it unfold. i think we've got a little something for everyone. interested in how a picture book is conceived? you'll find out here from brian floca. want a mix of craft and industry talk plus what an editor thinks when acquiring a book? abigail samoun will tell all. what goes into cover designing? listen to rich deas. you've got a book to promote? jennifer rofé will tell you how (and she'll clean your fridge. what do i mean by that? come to illustrator's day and i'll tell you. :)

i don't know what dan santat is planning. he keeps saying he'll get around to preparing his talk. one of these days. that's why i've developed an ulcer and a nervous tick.

i think the curiousity of what dan is presenting- that alone is worth the price of admission. 

plus we'll have raffle give-aways, books for sale, contest prizes, and a secret something that we won't spoil here.

find all the details below:

http://www.scbwisocal.org/events/la_illustrators_day.html

 

so come on out and see what all is going on. it will be a blast!

It's Happening. For Real!

a friend passed on this little tidbit to me this evening.

read on Publisher's Weekly site (for titles Spring 2011)...

LEE & LOW

Lee & Low looks to the night sky with A Full Moon is Rising by Marilyn Singer, illus. by Julia Cairns, a collection of poems about full moon festivals and celebrations around the world; Hot Hot Roti for Dada-Ji by Farhana Zia, illus. by Ken Min, starring an Asian boy and his grandfather; It Jes’ Happenedby Don Tate, illus. by R. Gregory Christie, a biography of outsider artist Bill Traylor; Love Twelve Miles Long by Glenda Armand, illus. by Colin Bootman, about Frederick Douglass’s relationship with his mother; and The Mangrove Tree by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore, illus. by Roth, about the work of Dr. Gordon Sato, who made saltwater and desert land productive by planting mangrove trees.

whoa dude, we're not in kansas anymore.

Look Out!

   

Mission Viejo Reader Festival

yesterday i went to the mission viejo reader festival. i lent a hand to my friends at studio 5 who had a booth and were there drawing pictures for the kids. since one of their main cogs is bob singer, character designer at hanna barbera, much of the requests i fielded were for drawings of scooby doo, yogi bear and tom & jerry. but little did i know that  i would be the receipient of some cool artwork.

this self portrait drawing is by a girl named savannah.

as you can see, she has yellow/blonde hair and large bright eyes. we made a trade of pictures. i'm not sure who got the better of this deal. (i think i did) it was also her birthday this weekend. i think she turned 4. happy birthday to you savannah!

this drawing is by a girl who i reckon is around 11 or 12. at the bottom of the page she left me her web address. she has her own website!!! how crazy and how freaking cool is that?!? if you want to see more of her work, go here: http://puzzle-tan.deviantart.com/

it was a fun afternoon drawing pictures for kids. it's for this audience that i do what i do. seeing their shiny, happy faces, makes it all feel worthwhile.

just, please, no requests for drawings of scooby doo for a while. every time i blink my eyes, i see his after image in my mind. :)

 

826LA Charity Art Auction ~ WK 2

the 826LA charity art auction rolls on into week 2 and my piece goes up on the auction block. you know you want to support a good cause and pick it up. look at it, it's got a toad and a robot duking it out across a city skyline. it's got action. it's got adventure.

it's got romance. look in the window of the building on the left and go down the hall where you'll find a 70 year old man stuck in an elevator with a 68 year old woman. at this moment, they realize they were neighbors as kids until one moved away. but they never forgot one another and now, in a moment of serendipity, they meet for the first time in 61 years. buy this piece for their love story.

or look around at all the art that is up for sale. there's lots of good stuff here. check out that piece by bob boyle. it may be my favorite one here. or look at the works of erin kono or catia chien or scott magoon. lots of good stuff, people, from lots of talented folks.

so run, don't walk, to the ebay link here and support 826LA:

http://shop.ebay.com/dsantat75/m.html?_nkw&_armrs=1&_from&_ipg&_trksid=p3686

for more info about 826LA  and the auction website see here:

http://theeyewitnessreports.com/EYEWITNESS_REPORTS/JUNE_1,_2010.html

826LA Charity Art Auction

 

a friend is putting on a charity art auction to benefit a very worthy cause- 826LA. here is what they are about:

826LA is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. Our services are structured around our understanding that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention, and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success.

when asked to pitch in, i was more than happy to contribute art for the auction. in fact, it was a blast to do my rendition of characters from the book OH NO! (OR HOW MY SCIENCE PROJECT DESTROYED THE WORLD)

that's the theme of the auction. 30 artists portray scenes from the book or moments inspired by the action. it's that simple and that fun.

the auction will be held in 2 parts beginning august 23- 27 and then august 30- september 3 across Ebay.

here are the details. just follow the links:

the auction website: http://theeyewitnessreports.com/EYEWITNESS_REPORTS/JUNE_1,_2010.html

the video trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5orTOKFxFyw

a gallery show will take place of all the pieces at gallery nucleus on august 14 so you can see them up close and personal:

http://www.gallerynucleus.com/gallery/exhibition/259

if you're in the LA area, i plan on being there and maybe, just maybe, i'll be wearing my fake mustache! that's worth the price of admission right there! :)

btw, here's my piece:

 so everybody, get the word out there. pass along these links or this blog post and lets support a worthwhile cause!!

The Bet that Paid Off! (UPDATED)

finished up the SCBWI summer conference over the weekend and i definitely had a blast. lots of good speakers. lots of great workshops and to me, the best thing of all, was hanging with a lot of wonderful people.

but the one thing i wanted to specifically follow up on was the bet i made with one tammi sauer. ms. sauer hails from oklahoma and i, of course, live in LA so we made a friendly basketball sports wager on the outcome of the LA lakers/OKC thunder match up. if the lakers lost, i would pony up original art. if the thunder lost, i get an advanced, signed copy of tammi's new book. but best of all, loser has to wear a t-shirt of the winning ball club during one day at the SCBWI summer children's book conference.

guess who won?

yup, tammi is sporting the purple and gold of the NBA champion lakers.

and here's my booty from the bet.

 

with it's rather curious dedication

tammi was an incredibly good sport and to show you all that i'm not the cad you might think i am for making possibly one-sided bets, i presented her with some art based on her most recent book "chicken dance" (illustrated by my buddy dan santat)

so, please, a round of applause for tammi sauer and go out there and read her books. they are terrific.

visit tammi's website at:

http://www.tammisauer.com/Home_Page.html

'mostly monsterly' comes out august 31st in fine book stores near you. get a copy!

(UPDATED) i would be remiss if i didn't mention the very cool, sweet swag that tammi brought out for me from OKC. i have to imagine i'm the only person in LA driving around with this particular car flag.

 

on another note, i noticed there was this rather curious mustachio'd gentleman wandering about the conference flirting with all the ladies. i think his name is something like enrique suave (accent on the 'e') and apparently he is something of a lothario at large. beware ladies, beware!

(and one rather disgruntled dan santat who was not amused. OH NO, not at all)

It's Summer Conference Time Again...

it's the middle of summer which means it's time for the SCBWI national conference. the conference takes place july 30th - august 2nd at the hyatt here in century city, ca. i always enjoy getting together with old friends and making new ones while rubbing elbows with...well, whoever will rub elbows with me.

they always have a nice roster of talent speaking and discussing the business of children's literature, but here's my list of things that i'm looking forward to this year:

-that "first day of school" feeling the morning the conference begins. i still get a touch of the butterflies in my stomach. but it's always nice to see how people are doing and what's new with everyone.

-wondering what the ratio of writers to illustrators will be this year, cause you know, we illustrators are the 'black sheep' of the group. *baaaaa*

-hazing the obvious newbies who are here for their first conference. like giving them the wrong directions, making them carry my pack, letting them push pennies across the lobby of the hotel with their nose and having them wear their clothes inside out and backwards for the first day of the conference. be forewarned 'scrubs', find a good place to hide!

-wondering what take-out food author lisa yee will forget about and leave under the seat of her car to fester and 'mutate' and ripen by the time of the conference; like an unwanted science experiment. last year she had a bevy of little creatures come alive to sprout, amuse and entertain her. that is until she took her vehicle to get it cleaned out. this year, i'm guessing the food of choice will be a nice half eaten burrito. and could you please leave your car parked out on the street under the hot sun to ensure maximum results?

-seeing writer tammi sauer model the latest in l.a. laker fashion wear. ms. sauer and i made a little sports wager back when my lakers were playing the oklahoma city thunder in a basketball playoff series. loser has to wear a shirt with the logo of the winning team. gee, i wonder who lost that fight? now it's just a matter of which day is best for her to wear that stunning, sparkly, shiny shirt i picked out for her...

-drinks in the lobby. if you know what i mean, just touch the side of your nose and nod your head once.

-the sugary snack we get on monday afternoon. some years it's ice cream. sometimes it's cookies. and some days it's cupcakes. at heart, we're all little kids looking for a treat at the end of a fun, busy and informative conference.

looking forward to a good time.

and i plan to be sporting a moustache!