fall friends

There's a new show up at the Society of Illustrators...the 50th Annual Exhibition for Advertising, Institutional and Uncommissioned Work. I have one piece in the show, a greeting card I did for American Greetings, which I like to call "Fall Friends."


© AGC, Inc.

funny bunny

Just wanted to share this sweet, little bunny cookie my mother-in-law made. It was so cute I almost didn't want to eat it, but I managed to nibble it down somehow.

happy spring...aloha!

So, since today's officially the first day of spring, we still have snow on the ground in Ohio, and I know we're all craving sunshine, warmth, and green, I thought I'd post some images that give me hope that it's all right around the corner. Plus, my artist-friend Jenny Kostecki-Shaw just returned from her trip to Kauai and it made me want to go back and look at my honeymoon photos. So, enjoy this little mini-album from Kauai. Hope you can look out your window and see real flowers soon!

double rainbow at our beach cottage


plumeria, which became my most favorite flower...
they smell heavenly

taro fields


bamboo creaking in the wind


sunrise


rainy sunrise


roadside fruit stand


silly chicken


jungle vines...this is the trailhead for the famous Kalalau Trail


Ke'e Beach...as far as you can go the north shore...this is where the Na Pali coast starts.


Ke'e Beach


awhhhhh...toes in the water


palm tree dancing in the breeze


Ke'e Beach at sunset


a little hidden spot we found to watch the surfers


secret beach...our favorite spot


lava rocks


tide pools...see Jeff way down there?


more tide pools


a happy little cloud




we loved these wispy trees


the end!

i do...deja vu

This is my very favorite bridge. No, it's not the bridge I flew over in junior girl scouts (though that was cool too...for some reason that was such a BIG deal at the time). This is the Bow Bridge in Central Park, where I got engaged less than a year ago (much to my surprise). I thought Jeff and I were doing a photo shoot in Central Park for my head shot, so I was trying to act all model-like and was following Jeff's photographer instructions very closely, "Look left. Look right. Look up. Keep looking up until I tell you to look down...okay, look down." And there he was, on bended knee, holding the tiny ring in his hand and asking me to marry him. When I finally remembered to say "Yes!" we were applauded by a bridge-full of onlookers. It was like a dream, like what you see in the movies. Every morning for a week I'd have to check my finger when I woke up to make sure there was still something sparkly there. And the funniest thing is that Jeff was completely improvising at the time he proposed...his original plan to propose at the Guggenheim was foiled when all the center galleries and lobby were closed. But I think it all happened just the way it was supposed to.

We went back to the bridge last Sunday morning, and Jeff, my (now) husband surprised me with a stop at Crumbs bake shop on our way to the park. We got our order to go, and had a lovely cupcake breakfast in our little magic hut by the bridge. It's amazing how your life can change in a year. And how a place can transport you back there in an instant.


I spy our magic hut. There should be more flower windows in the world...such a nice shape to peer through, don't you think?


I love the detail of the bridge. Our dear friends Nicole and Genna of Invite Design incorporated the pattern into our custom wedding invitations.


Us married folks. Lately, I've been thinking about the symbolism of the bridge...something that joins 2 sides, a crossing point. I like thinking about marriage as a bridge.

more from MOMA

Don't you love these crazy striped steps? I couldn't resist plopping myself down on something so colorful and happy (plus my feet needed a rest!). I love color AND stripes, as you can tell from my rainbow scarf I wear ALL the time...it's like my winter "woobie". I do wish we could have caught the Color Chart: Reinventing Color, 1950 to Today exhibit, but it was a member's only preview that day.

And I just had to rescue this orphan pup from the MOMA store, made from recycled yarn. He was begging for me to take him home...really he was. Woof-woof!

little bets in the big apple

Jeff and I just got back from a long weekend in NYC. We were supposed to be headed there for the Society of Illustrators 50th Annual awards presentation and gala for the Book and Editorial categories, which I have a piece in. BUT, I accidentally booked our flights for a weekend later. And when I realized it, Continental took no pity on me. So, we ended up going just because, which is sometimes the very best reason...no reason at all!

We did still get to see the exhibition. It's a great show, and definitely worth seeing if you're into illustration or books. Here's my piece in the show–it's from my book Peanut Butter and Jellyfishes: A Very Silly Alphabet Book by Brian P. Cleary:


© 2007 Betsy E. Snyder

We also saw a great show at the MOMA...Lucian Freud: The Painter's Etchings. I love Lucian Freud's work AND I love printmaking, so seeing his etchings was enough of a reason for a trip to NYC. To me, his work looks like sculpture–it's so malleable and visceral and textural. I was super inspiring to get up close to his etchings and REALLY look at his mark-making and areas of light and dark. I also love his color palettes in his paintings...I'm always amazed at the subtlety and layering of color he achieves in his skin tones.

More NYC highlights to come...I have to find the cord for my camera so I can upload some photos!