I had a really sweet visit with first and second graders at PS 310 in the Bronx last month.
A few weeks after my visit a packet of sunshine arrived on a cold gray snowy winter day.
Beverly Manasch, the school librarian, sent a note, since the visit my books have been circulating in and out of the library. That is music to my ears. I also received a thick stack of colorful thank you notes from the students who asked me great questions.
I love my mermaid legs
Question: How do I make the lovely paint?
I buy tubes or jars of paint called gouache. They are thick paints and they glow. They also vibrate when certain colors lie side by side. I mix hundreds of colors. I use small plastic bins or even aluminum foil or tins to mix the paints. I label each tin with the colors they were mixed with. Once they dry the paint gets hard. With some water on a brush the dry paint comes back to life as a honey mix of pigment to spread on watercolor paper.
Question: How much time does it take to make a picture book?
That depends how complex the art is. It normally takes 6 months to one year to create the art for the book. Then the art goes to a printer and the pages are sewn and bound into the covers of the book. That process takes another year before you get the book on your bookshelf.
**More student letters from PS 250 BK.
**Click this link to learn about my school visits.
**Autographed books can be purchased here.
Art by the students of PS 310 BX
Photos copyright Melanie Hope Greenberg
