Join me throughout November for a series of exciting book and ornament signings in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Tampa.

My new book A Magical Night Before Christmas and coordinating trim and ornaments are in all Bloomingdale’s stores nationwide.

I have collaborated with Candy Spelling on an ornament to benefit The Lange Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to saving homeless and abandoned pets. Meet Candy at the signing event in Hollywood, California on November 6 and 7th.

Look for my custom ornaments for Magnon Jewelers in Tampa and Bergdorf Goodman in NYC.

Subscribe and get the latest news, updates, and collector’s information on my blog Sketch Upon a Time, at http://www.storrings.com/blog/

Give your family and friends a unique holiday gift, signed and personalized for each recipient.

I look forward to seeing you at these events:

NOVEMBER: MARK YOUR CALENDAR.

Dee’ s Flowers with Candy Spelling
November 6   6-8PM
November 7  12-2PM
Studio City, CA

Bloomingdale’s
November 10, Wednesday 1-3PM
Century City, CA

Bloomingdale’s
November 11, Thursday 1-3PM
Las Vegas, NV

Bloomingdale’s
November 12, Friday 1-3PM
San Francisco, CA

Magnon Jewelers
Friday, November 19 11-3 PM
Tampa, FL

Bloomingdale’s
November 26, Friday 1-3PM
Lexington Ave.
New York City

Bergdorf Goodman
November 27, Saturday 1-5PM
New York City

Check out my website http://www.storrings.com/news.html
for the latest times and events.

Stay tuned for more events in December!

michael@storrings.com
Blog: http://www.storrings.com/blog/

If you will not be near Hollywood and want it to support the Lange Foundation, ornaments can be ordered by calling 818-769-3000 .

Tampa ornaments can be ordered by calling Magnon Jewelers (813) 872-9374.

A Magical Night Before Christmas available at the events or online at http://www1.bloomingdales.com/search/results.ognc?Action=sk&pageid=1&startpos=1&Keyword=michael+storrings&cKey=1&sortOption=*&resultsPerPage=96

A Very New York Christmas available at the events or online at www.amazon.com, www.borders.com, or www.barnesandnoble.com

Ornaments available at the events or online at www.s5a.com, www.bergdorfgoodman.com
or www.bloomingdales.com

2010 has been exciting  year so far and busy. My 2010 ornaments are in production and I am gearing up for  a busy Fall.  Lots of events are planned  and for those of you who subscribe to the Landmark newsletter already know that I will be doing a five city tour- including stops in Tampa, LA, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Chicago, and NYC. Stay tuned for more in upcoming blog posts.

Also  this year,  you will be seeing  a line of stationery in stores that I am launching with a  Louie Award winning company called a la cards.

For all of you that know that I also work in Book Publishing- I am now VP Creative Director of St. Martin’s Paperbacks and  continuing to work on packages for  Emily Giffin, Kristin Hannah, Janet Evanovich, Lisa Scottoline, and others.

I am excited to share that I have  also illustrated  a book on the retelling of the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem for New York Times bestselling author Donna Van Liere- who is known for her wonderful book The Christmas shoes. The book is called The Christmas Journey, in stores this fall

As I said, an exciting year for which I feel very lucky.

Looking back on 2009- what a wonderful season it was.   It was so great to see so many of my collectors at my events.  I had the energy to decorate my home withsix trees- photo highlights are posted. As you can see my pugs are always there to help me out…and they are honored with their own tree!

Soon I will be  attending the Golden glow convention in Milwaukee- I hope that I will get to see many of you there.

Until the next sketch!

Well, to start at the beginning . . . I always drew as  a kid and felt that  it might be  something I would  do when I grew up.  At first I wanted to be an architect (that’s because I was a  Brady Bunch groupie), but then doubted the whole art thing in high school — my guidance counselor advised me that I would starve.  That’s when thoughts of becoming a gynecologist or medical examiner set in.  I for sure did not want to end up a character in a Dostoevsky novel.  Yikes!

Fortunately for me I had  a wonderful art teacher who pushed me to follow my heart.

In the summer before my senior year, she helped me get into a 2 month art program in Fredonia, NY, where I was fully immersed in art school life.  After that, there was no looking elsewhere — an art  career it was.

At a portfolio day at Syracuse University, I met the admissions director at Parsons School of Design and she  loved my work and  offered me a scholarship.

So at 17, I moved to the Big Apple and studied at Parsons.

Choosing art  and moving to New York were  the greatest decisions of my life!  I feel really lucky to be able to do something that I love and to live somewhere that  inspires me.

Sometimes it is weird how life works, and  you realize that sometimes there are outside forces  and angels that push you along the way.  Always do what you love and makes you happy.

Until the next sketch!

Tinsel was strewn from the branches in my youth until we got a dog and he ate it and…you know!

With the Christmas convention coming up, I have been reflecting on the wonderful Christmas memories of my past and how much they are a part of me and my art.

Until the next sketch!

So, today is the beginning. Jeffrey Keefer has helped  me set everything all up in WordPress—many of you know him as the helper at my signings.

It took awhile to come up with a name for my blog.  At first, I tried to play off of my last name—like “Storrings Sketches,” but thought it wasn’t quite working for various reasons.  Consequently, I sat down and just brainstormed a list.  Potential candidates included—Happy Sketchbook, Color Me Happy, Sketch and the City, Night Before Sketching, and Once Upon a Sketchbook. Eventually I settled on Sketch Upon A Time. For me, it captures the fact that I am an artist reminiscing about magical moments in my life.

I hope you will continue to follow me here—either by signing up to receive email notifications or by subscribing to my blog’s RSS feed. I welcome any comments or thoughts you may have.

Until the next sketch!