Many Drawings, Pt. 1

What I made at Milkwood Farm

Nov 19, 2024

Dear friends,

Today I’m sharing the first of two parts: every drawing I made during the Illustrator’s Retreat at Milkwood Farm this summer. A few of them are brilliant, a few of them completely bewildering, and many are just plain ol’ goods. Are there any bads? Maybe. I can’t remember the prompts for all of them, but each drawing was made in a minute, five minutes, or 15 minutes over the course of 2–3 days in the studio. I think there are 90 in total!? I thought about trying to fit them all into one email but at a certain point I think it goes from a fun visual adventure to a brutal endurance test. Stay tuned for part 2 next week, and for now: Buckle up & enjoy the ride!

1—Many Drawings
2—A Few Words

1—Many Drawings (in no particular order)

I’ll end Part 1 of the images on the cake, as tomorrow is the fifth birthday of a person I really truly admire. What a thing, to be FIVE.

2—A Few Words

The Illustrators Retreat was led by Cecilia Ruiz and Doug Salati who are wonderful, generous creative guides.

I connected deeply with the whole cohort, and am so honored to have shared space with all them! Instant friends, brilliant storytellers. (Beatriz Gutiérrez Hernández, Charlotte Parent, Erica Sirotich, Hannah Salyer, Jackie Verbitski, Jen K. Mann, Noa Denmon, Patty Arehart, and Sarah LuAnn Perkins)

And of course, there is Milkwood Farm itself, a special project by Sophie Blackall and her husband Ed Schmidt. Milkwood is the sort of place where you wake up to quiet misty mornings and go to sleep with a belly full of cake, with everything in between some magic experience beyond time—certainly a heaven on earth. It was such a gift to be accepted into the retreat, and to be able to attend.

A very special thing: seeing Sophie’s illustrations for Farmhouse in PERSON.

A very special thing: perusing the guest books and finding my friends in their pages.

A very special thing: my imposter syndrome dissolving quickly amidst warm and welcoming people.

I’m looking forward to reconnecting with some of my pals from the retreat and seeing Sophie’s keynote speech at the upcoming SCBWI (Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) conference in NY at the end of January. Will you be there? And tell me — what MUST I do on a wintery Thursday in midtown Manhattan?

Thanks for being here! See ya next week for Part 2!
Sara
*<:^)

P.S. I’m willing to part with most of these drawings in exchange for cold hard cash. After all, I have a big trip to New York coming up and I really need to procure some furs, a limousine, and an entourage. (and, an economy plane ticket) See a drawing you love? Get in touch!