R.I.P. Glenn Pavone

I was saddened and sorry over the weekend to hear the news of Glenn Pavone's passing. For those of you who aren't familiar with Pittsburgh music, Glenn was probably the best guitarist many of us had ever heard in the area.

No exaggeration.

I once saw him tuning his guitar in the middle of a solo. On that same night, I saw him placing an order with a waitress while in the middle of another solo. He was the kind of guy who made it look easy.

The picture I've included here was one I took in 1994, somewhere around the time The Cyclones had released their first album, Twist This.

To get an idea of what he was capable of, take a listen:



Mr. Pavone was 52 and will be sorely missed.

Convoluted painting

I finished a new painting a few weeks ago, and I wasn't all that satisfied with how it turned out at first. But I put it aside, and now that I'm looking at it with fresh eyes, I think I can deal with it. It's called "Drop Away," and I painted it with acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 36"x24". The story behind what it means is the most convoluted of any of the paintings I've done for the series so far, which would explain why the painting itself is the most convoluted of any of the paintings I've done for the series so far.

Bad, bad kerning

If you're carving it in stone...

Killer Birds

We have a hiking boot birdhouse (see top inset) that has attracted house wrens every summer since we first hung it a few years ago. It's just in the shape of a boot (child-size), so I'm not entirely sure what's attracting them. This spring, we successfully hatched (and launched) a full nest, and within days of their departure, the nest was being rebuilt and, apparently, reloaded.

Turns out house wrens aren't as cute as they look.

I had just come back from a run when I saw a commotion in the nest not typical of what we had seen with previous occupations. I walked over and asked what they were doing (literally, I said, "What are you doing?"), and one of two birds flew out. The second one clung to the side of the birdhouse, and just stared at me (me standing less than a foot away). I could see the end of its beak was wet, and at least one egg partially hanging out of the entryway (exitway?). That second bird flew off, so I was able to get a good look inside.

Mass murder.

Within a few hours, somebody or other had returned and tossed what was left of the eggs out onto the concrete of the porch floor (see bottom inset). Interestingly, this isn't the first time this has happened. We're thinking it's all a territorial dispute, and it may be gang-related.

The sad part is the bird (or birds) that keep returning to look in the nest and cry on top of the house, refusing to go in. The good news is, our second birdhouse--which hasn't been occupied since the fall I cleaned out a baby bird skeleton--is showing signs of activity.

Keri Smith

When I want to feel like an incompetent, underworked artist, I visit Keri Smith's Web site.

TTFN

If you've read my last entry, you already know about the frustration yada yada.

After some soul searching and decision-making, I've decided to allow the kid's illustration part of my life to take a back burner. I'm finding it difficult to justify pouring money and time into a part of my career that has no intentions of going anywhere anytime soon.

I'm still working on books I've been writing and illustrating aimed toward kids, but creating more self-promotional illustrations feels like a waste of time right now. My next promo postcard and newsletter is scheduled for August, and I'll see how I feel about sending either when the time comes.

I'm not planning on more entries in this blog in the near future (although you never know what might come up), but you can still follow my other blogs:

The Rots
Hairy Eyeballs
Thompson Graphx/Fine art

So as Tigger says TTFN: Ta ta for now.

Not bothering to bother

I admit it: I've been shirking my kid's illustration duties lately.

When frustration and discouragement sets in, it's hard to keep banging your head against the wall. It just feels so good when you stop. I've been leaning lately in a direction where I am getting positive feedback, and where I don't feel like what I'm creating is getting sucked into the oblivion.

I won't post details here. This is, after all, available for anyone to see who has an Internet connection. I will, however, point you in the current direction of my attention:

http://www.facebook.com/slightly.irreverently.twisted
http://www.zazzle.com/the_rots*
http://www.squidoo.com/the_rots
http://www.the-rots.com

Mexican Restaurant likes the signage

I finished the first of several signs I'll be working on for a Mexican Restaurant located inside Westmoreland Mall. Their name is Madres Mexican, and they specialize in build-your-own orders.

This one will be 96"x30" when it's biggie-sized. Yeah. Pretty big file.

Gris Grimly's Frankenstein in progress

I've been keeping track of Gris Grimly's career since I happened to find his book Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Mystery and Madness in our local Barnes & Noble a few years back. He's a prolific illustrator. I'm not sure how else to describe his work. He's incredibly gifted and has determined ideas of how his books should look.

I'm terribly envious of his abilities. Can you tell?

Last July he started a blog to share progression of his new book, Frankenstein. He's been uploading images both in-progress and complete, and keeping his readers up-to-date with meetings with his editor and art director. In his latest entry, he posted a page that he wasn't satisfied with and also the pages he illustrated to replace it. I saved both images so I could compare the differences side-by-side, and the subtle detail changes are stunning. To me, anyway.

He's changed the color dramatically, which he mentions in the post, but he also made other, more subtle changes to hand positions, compositions and faces that have me taking a step back.

When I look at the original page, I see nothing wrong with it. As an illustrator, I would have been happy with the result, considered it finished, and moved on to the next page.

Maybe that's why he has the book deal. I'm not sure I have that extra "something" to boost my illustrations from self-promotion to an actual contract. I'd like to think working harder might do the trick, but I'm not sure how much harder I can work. Working harder doesn't give you that "something," and if I don't have it by now, I doubt I'll ever have it.

I am looking forward to Frankenstein; I've loved all his books. They're very enjoyable, as long as I look at them without comparing my own work to the talent in front of me.

Bear scat?

I'm thinking this wasn't the neighbor's cat.

We found two similar piles within a few yards of each other in our front yard. The second one was close to a line of empty (except for the leftover dirt) potted plant containers which were lined up along a wall of our small outdoor building. A couple of the containers had been tipped over, and one was broken in half.

I know, I know, this probably isn't what you typically expect to see on a blog, but we weren't sure what neighbor left this for us. We've done some research, and we're thinking black bear. We checked around the property and didn't find any kind of territory markings on the trees, but we've found bark scraped off before. We're thinking he was looking for grubs behind the pots.

The bright circle toward the bottom center is a quarter I put in for size comparison. I think the droppings are pretty impressive, no matter what left them.

And now that I think about it, I haven't seen the neighbor's cat around lately.

Newsletter coming this month

As you may have seen at the top of this blog, I'll be changing over to a professional newsletter generator beginning this month. When I first started sending newsletters, I used the generator that CafePress made available to shop owners, but over the past year or so I've gotten a little fed up with their system. Using their interface was more of a hassle than it was worth, and the end results never looked all that great anyway. So I decided to jump ship.

I've signed up with MailChimp to send future newsletters, and so far the experience has been better than expected. I'm able to control the graphics, the fonts and the layout which I wasn't able to do before, and I have to say, it looks a whole lot better. I'm working on the Spring edition right now, and I'll be sending it out sometime over the next few weeks.

If you would like to subscribe or if you were a subscriber with the CafePress version of the newsletter and need to re-subscribe, use this link. Newsletters go out quarterly, so I won't be inundating your inbox. You always have the option to remove your name from the mailing list at the bottom of each newsletter edition, on the "Newsletter" page of my site or through this link.

nornie.com

I think I forgot to mention it here before, but I try to keep my different art lives separate so as not to frighten the children. I've built a Web site that has the links to all of them though, and it's here: www.nornie.com. If you're old enough and you can handle the shock, you can take a look at what I do when I'm not designing or fine arting. It keeps me out of trouble, mostly.

Even though all my sites are different, I try to keep a similar feel through each one. I use different fonts and different colors, but I've created a grungy background that has found its way through all of them. It helps me get rid of that corporate "I like to follow the rules" kind of feel because I'm not a corporation and I don't like to follow the rules. At least not as far as art goes.

Nornie was the nickname my dad gave me before I was old enough to understand what a nickname was. Apparently I didn't like it, and I guess I told him so. But it stuck and now it's mine. Thanks, Dad.

iFrank in Technicolor

Here's a little guy I just painted this afternoon. I did a version of him earlier that was a take on the iPod commercials and was originally posted on The Rots blog.

Hiking the Laurel Highlands

Went for an absolutely gorgeous walk on the Laurel Highlands Trail today. I love the spot here where the trail runs in and around a maze of massive boulders. The best way to wind your way out the other side is just following the blazes.

It's been above freezing for a couple weeks now (and reached 80 degrees this afternoon!), but the area received so much snowfall in February that the spots between the boulders that don't get much sun are holding onto their last bits of winter.

More illustrations for Jack & Jill

I did a few more spot illustrations for Jack and Jill's March/April issue, and I'll post a couple of them here. The illustrations were part of their Earth Day article that suggested things kids could do to "go green."

First, they encouraged kids to open a window when the weather was warm enough. I had to play with the "wind" a little bit before I was satisfied. It needed to be transparent enough to show the window behind, but opaque enough to be able to see it in the places where the background was white.

They also encouraged kids to throw their trash away in cans rather than littering.

The throwing trash picture wasn't the only spot where I had to draw hands for this issue. I hung out at the small cafe in our local grocery store one morning and just sat and drew different angles of my hand to give the art director and editors a choice to pick from.

They ended up picking #2.

Illustrations for Jack & Jill Magazine

Here are a few more of the illustrations I did for Jack and Jill's March/April issue. These ones were spots that were scattered in and around some "how to go green for Earth Day" suggestions.

This first one encouraged kids to ride their bikes to school. I played with that iconic "school zone" street sign showing kids walking to school by adding a bike rider to the mix.

This one explained the importance of turning off the lights when you leave a room. I worked on some of these while I was on an Amtrak train to Philadelphia with my laptop and a 4"x6" Wacom tablet. The setup worked out surprisingly well.

And this last one suggested bringing your lunch to school in a reusable bag. I just pictured one of those ones with the canvas strap and Velcro closure, and I added a retro 60s flower shape so it could be used by either girls or boys.

New business card design

I've finally redesigned some new business cards for the graphic design offshoot of my freelance work (the white cards below). I had redesigned my Web site over a couple years ago, but until now I've been using the old business cards with all the old fonts and graphics and abrasive attitude (the black card to the right). I guess I thought I could use them up or something. The problem was, I wasn't handing them out at all. They just weren't where I was coming from anymore.

That was dumb.

So I've updated the new cards with my new branding, and I designed the back of the cards to mimic my Web site's navigation and portfolio rollover buttons.

And I'm also finally in the position where I can get the cards printed on recycled paper (and did), which satisfies me a great deal.

Jack and Jill Magazine

Jack and Jill's March/April issue is out, and here is one of the illustrations I did for it.

All the illustrations were for an article about going green for Earth Day (April 22). I painted one big illustration (the one here), and a bunch of smaller ones (I'll post those over the next few days).

Crocuses

Crocuses snuck out of the ground while I was watching the snow melt and flood the yard.

Less than a day after this picture, our local bunnies ate every one of these down to the stem. It looked like a baby lawnmower went through.

"Read" poster illustration

I've only gotten so far as a sketch for my next "Read" illustration, but here it is.

The idea was mostly for the teachers and librarians who are using my previous "Read" illustration in their classrooms and libraries. I wanted to gear this one toward those "reluctant reader" types (boys).

I'll be painting the whole thing in Painter, and uploading it for posters and note cards on Zazzle and CafePress when I'm finished.

Paintings I did 20 years ago

I've posted a few scans of paintings I did around 15 and 20 years ago as a photo album on Facebook. If you've seen the scans of drawings from around that time, you'll know these were all finished before I went back to school for art.

I used to use really tiny brushes at the time, and it took me forever to finish a painting. The first image in the album is 9"x12", and it took me around 58 hours to complete it.

I don't do that anymore.

My illustrations on somebody else's blog!

Isn't it the coolest thing when you run across your work on the Internet in a place where you didn't put it?

I was doing some site submissions to Google when I ran across a blog from last September that shared some of my work, and the blog wasn't mine. It belongs to Jennifer Daniels, a Brooklyn-based graphic designer and illustrator. Take a look at some of her work. Looks like a very talented lady!

On the blog, she says she likes the way I show the sketch of an illustration right alongside the final version of the piece on my Web site. You can see what she's talking about on one of my online sketchbook pages. If you drag your cursor back and forth across the arrows, you can see before-after-before-after. Even I think it's still fun to do.

Drawings I did 20 years ago

I've scanned in photos I found of some old drawings I did a long, long time ago. These are way before I ever went back to school for art, so everything you see in this album was self-taught.

You can tell I was still tight with my lines and basing everything on realism, but you have to get that part down before you should ever try to move on. I didn't know that at the time; I was just feeling my way, and I think art school came along to loosen me up at just the right time.

You can see more current drawings at www.norathompson.us. Click on the "portfolio" link on the left and then "drawings" right below.

Animal tracks in the snow

As you probably know, those of us in the northeast got wolloped three times (so far) this winter with buckets of snow. It's always cool to get up in the morning and see what's been in the yard overnight. Because we try to keep our property as natural as possible, we tend to attract the wildlife that used to call this area home. And the neighborhood's domesticated life seems to find it attractive, too.

This time I took a few shots of some of the tracks our visitors left behind.

A friendly bird made his way the whole way up to our back door stoop. We've seen a bunch of different species at our bird feeder this winter:

• Northern Cardinals
• Black-capped Chickadees
• Bluejays
• Mourning Doves
• Dark-eyed Juncos
• Tufted Titmouses (Titmice?) and
• House Finches

One of our many bunnies who make their summer nests in the bushes in our front yard.

We also have a lot of white-tailed deer wandering through all year long. They like the crabapples and any new tree or plant growth we have going. When we find a sapling we'd like to keep, we have to protect it with a wire fence until it's big enough that the deer won't destroy it.

This is likely our neighbor's cat. He's black and a very funny hunter; he never catches anything. He does the crouching down and wiggling his butt thing and then he pounces. Within a few seconds he emerges from the tall grass and walks away as if he meant to miss.

This one we're still working on. We do have skunks, but they would still be hibernating right now. We've seen a weasle run through the yard once, so we're expecting this was him (or possibly a friend). The track was about the size of a cat's track, but the five toes makes it very distinctive.

We're not too sure about this one.

New business card design

I've been working on a lot of graphic design projects for Adventure Foods (based in Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania) including Firefly Chocolates, their shop at Westmoreland Mall in Greensburg. We wanted their business cards to reflect the same look and feel we've already established for this arm of the company, specifically the posters and signage I had designed for previous projects.

These images show the front and back of their new cards.

Dexter in color

I finished Dexter (here's the sketch), and he turned out somewhat close to what I originally had in mind. I was hoping for more dramatic lighting, but that seemed to leave him too dark in the shadows, so I lightened him and the whole scene up a little.

The glowing green and purple colors took some getting used to since most of what I do uses colors that are closer to earth tones than flourescents. But I knew I had to do it, so I put the painting aside for a couple weeks, hoping it would look better later. When I finally came back to it, the color didn't seem as garish as when I had left it.

I like him enough that I'll probably use him for my next postcard promotional mailing in May.

You can click on the image to see him larger.

New photography portfolio images

I've updated my photography portfolio with several more landscape images and photos from Banning No. 3 Mine. Click on "portfolio" and choose "photography." These are all silver gelatin prints, made the old-fashioned way with film, chemicals, paper, dodging and burning.

My portfolio site URL: http://www.norathompson.us

Banning No. 3 Mine operated just outside Van Meter, PA and is off the Yough River bike trail, part of the Great Allegheny Passage. You can read in more detail about the Darr Mine history and explosion at http://patheoldminer.rootsweb.ancestry.com/darr.html

Rough sketch for kid's illustration

I so lied about making you wait. Here's the sketch of Dexter in the setting I came up with for him. He's in just a little bit of trouble, but I think he'll be O.K.

His puppy's name is Poindexter.

New banner design for Etsy shop

Here's a new banner I designed recently for The Dreaming Owl's Etsy shop, along with the matching identity icon. The Dreaming Owl sells handmade mittens, scarves, jewelry, bookmarks and purses, and requested a banner to reflect the shop's personality. We went with this hand drawn and stylized owl and banner.

Sneak peek at a new sketch for a promo illustration

Everybody, meet Dexter.

He got here because of a doodle that was originally meant just for me. I started drawing one night, and consciously convinced myself not to censor. I finished him and turned the page, but I found that I kept turning the pages back to take another look. I couldn't figure out what it was, but he kept getting cuter every time, so I decided to do something about it.

The biggest problem I had was trying to figure out what he was looking at, and it took a long time before I finally finished a sketch of the scene. I had lots of ideas, but I liked him so much, I didn't want him to get hurt in the process of telling his story.

And, oh yeah, sorry. You'll have to wait until I finish him in color to see how that turned out. I'll post him after the digital paint dries.

Lots (and lots) of snow

It must be February.

Yesterday we got more snow in one snowfall than we've had in the last 17 years. The unofficial estimate in the backyard would be around 18 inches, but it snowed more after that.

Earlier this winter, we had a January that didn't get above freezing until late in the month, so the snow we were getting just kept piling and piling. This is an image of our birdfeeder from that January stretch of weather.

Newsletter subscriptions to the Nora Thompson Illustrations Newsletter

I will be upgrading to a professional newsletter client prior to the next newsletter cycle, and I need current subscribers to re-submit their information. I don't have access to email information, so I'm not able to transfer from one mailing list to another.

And if you're not yet a subscriber, feel free to jump in at any time! Newsletters are scheduled quarterly throughout the year.

Electronic kid's illustration portfolio

I've put together an electronic portfolio on issuu.com (relatively easy!) to send out to those great publishers who are looking to go green (way to go!). Issue makes your pdf look like you're flipping through a portfolio (or magazine) right there on your computer screen.

Molly Leach

Few designers actually get recognition in the world of book publishing, but thankfully Molly Leach seems to be getting at least a little of it.

Molly is the brilliant designing mind behind many children's books including The Stinky Cheese Man. We're used to books breaking the rules these days, but The Stinky Cheese Man expanded the boundaries of what was considered acceptable in children's book publishing at the time (1992). She rearranged where parts of the book were traditionally placed; she melted type (pre-computer enhanced); she ran text off the page; she used several different fonts on a single page; she used extreme type sizes. The list goes on and on.

Probably the most important thing to remember about her work is that everything happens for a reason. Yes, it looks really cool when it's finished, but it certainly isn't random. (Please see some specifics in the Horn Book link provided below.)

The interesting part of the story of The Stinky Cheese Man is the fact that she is the wife of Lane Smith, the illustrator, so they were able to work on the look of the book together. Until Jon Scieszka (the author) presented the text he had written to publishers accompanied by both Smith's illustrations and Leach's design, he was turned away. The March/April 1998 issue of The Horn Book contains an article written by Scieszka that illustrates this specific situation as well as how the design of a book helps relay its message.

Barnes and Noble sat both Leach and Smith down for a short video interview which they posted on their site. I've shown it to my typography classes, and I've embedded it here.

Illustrators I Greatly Admire: Exhibit D

Lane Smith

My first encounter with Lane Smith's illustrations was because of my kids. Through their book club at school, they bought The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs as told to Jon Scieszka. And then they made me sit still and look at the illustrations.

Those darn kids.

When they thought themselves too old too keep the book, they gave it to me. It was the paperback version, and is well worn. I just received the hardback from Amazon two days ago, and I'm oogling all over again.

Of course, Smith and his wife, graphic designer Molly Leach (unfortunately, no "official" Web site for her work), broke the mold of how a kid's book was allowed to be told in The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales. It's hard to mention Smith's work without a nod to Ms. Leach. Both are fantastic. Both are inspirational. And both make me oogle.

Barnes and Noble made a video of the couple's process and posted it on their site. I've embedded it here for convenience.

The Bald Soprano=Tim Burton @ the MoMA?

The Tim Burton exhibit at the MoMA included a free, take-home brochure that I promptly and eagerly grabbed up last Thursday. The evening prior, I and my fellow museum goers had a bite to eat at a firehouse-turned-brewery in Philadelphia. In the entrance space, you could peruse various postcards and announcements for upcoming local events, and one in particular caught my eye. It was a large postcard for "The Bald Soprano," all in line art with a spiral on the front and hand-written text on both sides. I mentioned that it reminded me of Tim Burton, and so I took a copy for myself.

When I returned home with both the postcard and the MoMA brochure, I soon realized I wasn't far off in my initial assessment at the restaurant.

I've included here both the front cover of the Tim Burton exhibit brochure, and the front image on the postcard I picked up last week at the firehouse.

Strikingly similar.

 

Alma

Here's a beautiful video by Rodrigo Blaas. Just beautiful.

Alma from Rodrigo Blaas on Vimeo.

British un-things

Have you noticed the books out semi-lately with "un" things as main characters?

• The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall, published in 2007 (un-Space and the Un-Space Exploration Committee)
• Un Lun Dun by China Miéville, also published in 2007 (Un-London and pretty much everything else)
• And not quite, but along those same lines: Coraline by Neil Gaiman, published in 2002 (Coraline had an "other" mother)

The link between them might be in the water; all of the authors are currently living in or were originally from England. That and, whether you like the books or not, critics have widely agreed that at the very least these authors have created unique worlds and ideas and display incredible imagination in their writing.

Illustrators I Greatly Admire: Exhibit C

Gris Grimly.

Incredible talent, this guy.

Currently working on Frankenstein, and has set up a blog to share his progress. First noticed him through his Edgar Allan Poe book, Tales of Mystery and Madness, published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

Keri Smith

For any creative type who needs a little humor and a gentle nudge in a productive direction, take a look at Keri Smith's Web site. For the most fun and a lot of creative ideas, choose the "Play" link, and don't forget to check out her portfolio while you're there.

Great work, great ideas and a great inspiration to the creative community.

Illustrators I Greatly Admire

Exhibit B:
Pablo Bernasconi

I first became aware of Mr. Bernasconi's work in The Wizard the Ugly and the Book of Shame. That one was published by Bloomsbury. Fantastic collage-type abilities and great characters. I wonder if people kept telling him he would scare the children. And I wonder if, even though they told him that, he kept doing what he was doing anyway.

There's a lesson here.

Firefly Chocolates @ the Mall

My friends down at the Firefly have opened a new shop at Westmoreland Mall in Greensburg, and they've included more of my signage. All the posters hanging in the shop were also part of our branding campaign. Included here are both the outside signage as it was designed, and a shot of the shop from the mall interior.

Illustrators I Greatly Admire

Take a look at Kirill Chelushkin's work, represented by Shannon Associates.

First came upon his illustrations in The Elves and the Shoemaker as retold by John Cech and published by Sterling Publishing in New York.

Incredible work.

Snow @ twilight

Our first-ish snow of the season of any consequence.

Twitter

Finally moving on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/NoraThompson

Combination of all the work I do: fine art, kid's illustration, graphic design and The Rots©. Kind of a daily updating of my working life.

Jack & Jill

Here are a few of the spots I did for Jack and Jill's November/December issue. I have to be a little more careful about the colors next time; they printed pretty dark. And I have no excuse...I used to work for a newspaper, and I know how things print on absorbant paper like that! Never forget to learn.

Women in Art 2009

I had two pieces juried in to the 2009 Women in Art exhibit at Harlan Gallery, Seton Hill University, Greensburg, PA. Titles: Thirteen (shown here) and Eleven (shown below, bottom). Both are in the portfolio section of my fine art Web site: www.norathompson.us. The show runs November 1 through November 22.

Fairview Elementary

As many of you know, by day I'm a guide at Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic masterpiece, Fallingwater, near Mill Run, Pennsylvania. A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of playing tour guide to some great students from Fox Chapel's Fairview Elementary, and they were fantastic! They were telling me about organic architecture!

This is us at the end of the tour, and yes, one of them even bought a copy of Yikes! at the museum shop.

Just want them to know, they can come back anytime!

New design

Just wanted to let everybody know about a new design I've uploaded to CafePress. It uses the line drawing version of the White Rabbit I did for Alice in Wonderland, and combines it with a quote from the book:

"and what is the use of a book," thought Alice,
"without pictures or conversation?"

It's on:

• Organic Kid's T-Shirt
• Note Cards (pack of 20)
• Large Poster

Westmoreland Art Nationals

Two of my digital images were juried into the Westmoreland Art Nationals this spring. They are both photo montage giclee prints, and attached. The show ran May 30 through July 5, 2009.

By the way, Harpers Ferry is a fantastic spot to collect photos. Textures and tombstones seem to be popping up all over my images lately.

Jack!

So I found about a gazillion little Jack Skellington heads in the bubbles on our shower curtain yesterday. I suppose that goes along the same lines as seeing things in peanut butter.

I've posted two of the Jacks here. Now, go watch the movie. It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Web address change

I'm not really sure who is still using the old URL for my site (apparently somebody is), but I just want to make it clear here that the address for my kid's illustrations site has been changed to:

http://www.nora-thompson.com/

The old address at www.nora-jayne.com still works only as a referral page to the current address.