In Which I Talk About NYC.

(Above) The front door of the Society of Illustrators, as you may have deduced from the words above said door.

So, I went to New York last week for the 2012 Society of Illustrators student competition show. It was amazing! I loved every second of it, even though I accidentally said and did some awkward things because I was super nervous. But overall I think it went well! Ahem, anyway, I was in New York for a few days for meetings and I also did some other pretty fun things as well. 

On Day 1 Wayne and I arrived at JFK. We eventually found ourselves in Central Park where we went on a nice walk in nice weather and saw some nice dogs (no photographic evidence available). Also, for those of you who know, my husband and I recently became birders and we added three new birds to our list of birds we've seen! Woooo...! 

On Day 2 Wayne and I met up with my awesome teachers Scott E. Franson and Wade Huntsman, along with Wade's awesome wife Mary Jo! We went to a cool place called High Line. It is an old freight rail line bridge that was turned into a beautiful garden, I loved it! 

(Above) Hannah is having fun at the High Line place!

We had lots of fun there. After the High Line we went to visit the World Trade Center Memorial Site. 

(Above) Near the World Trade Center Memorial.

We couldn't get very close to it, but it was still truly humbling.

Later that evening we went to see the War Horse play, it was quite awesome and I loved it quite a lot. I recommend that you see it. But before that Wayne and I went to the Empire State Building, from which we saw other cool buildings.

(Above) Wayne looking awesome on the Empire State Building.

(Above) Hannah on the Empire State Building.

(Above) Hannah again at the Empire State Building.

Day 3 dawned unusually early (at least thats what it felt like) and I was feeling especially nervous. Today was the day of the Society show. But first we went to the Museum of Natural History, which was super fun! 

(Above) Wayne looking awesome again. Note the T-Rex in the background, it was pretty cool.

(Above) Hannah stands next to various dinosaur bones. 

After the Museum I went to another lovely meeting! Then it was back to the hotel to get ready for the show. I got dressed quickly and all went out to eat at Baja Fresh. I got some yummy shrimp tacos, but I was too nervous to eat a ton. My stomach was doing backflips as Wayne and I walked to the subway. All I could think was Don't say anything stupid, don't say anything stupid, don't say anything stupid!

(Above) Inside of the Society of Illustrators (just through the doors you saw at the beginning of this long post).

It was super crowded and hot in there but it was insanely amazing as well. If you look reeeeaaallllly close you can see my painting hanging on the wall to the right through those glass doors.

(Above) Hannah stands next to her two teachers whom are both super cool. Scott E. Franson on the left and Wade Huntsman on the Right. (Hannah is in the middle)

That is my painting up there! The one with the archer lady in the snow! 

(Above) Hannah with Scott E. Franson and Wade Huntsman.

(Above) Hannah stands next to Wayne, yay!

(Above) Smooooch!

(Above) Getting some beautiful business cards and post cards from the business card tank. 

I could only grab a few cards, I wish I could have gotten a few more, they were all so shiny and/or beautiful! Then it was time for the award ceremony. My knees were shaking the whole time and my mind was filled with Don't say anything stupid, and for the love of all that is good don't DO anything stupid!

(Above) Hannah about to strike some less than graceful poses while being awarded. Next to her is Scott Bakal, a fantastic Illustrator, it was so awesome to meet him!

It turns out that if you chant the words 'Don't do anything stupid', you will almost always do something...umm.. less than graceful shortly thereafter. But overall that part went well and it was fun anyway!

(Above) Photographic evidence of C. F. Payne shaking Hannah's hand.

One of the speakers at the award ceremony was the actual C. F. Payne. I spoke to him! Overall it was an awesome night. I ended up saying and doing awkward things, as per usual, but I think it was ok in the end. I met some great folks, saw some beautiful illustrations, and had a very fun time.

Day 4 was our last day there. We ate some breakfast, said goodbye to my teachers and Mary Jo, and went for a walk. We ended up on a ferry to Staten Island. We walked around a bit and saw the Statue of Liberty in the distance.

(Above) Wayne looking cool with the Statue of Liberty in the distance.

(Above) Wayne standing in front of the Staten Island 9/11 memorial.

(Above) Wayne on Staten Island.

(Above) Hannah on Staten Island.

So, to sum up this unusually large blog post; I had a great trip to New York for the Society of Illustrators show. I am truly honored to be part of the show and to have received the top award in this wonderful competition. For more information about the Society of Illustrators, visit their website here. To see even more photos, check out SOI's Flickr photos here.