It’s not often one gets an opportunity to meet and spend a couple of hours with a famous author. Thanks to the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, artist and illustrator Alexandra Day flew in from Seattle for a brief visit. She is best known for the childrens series based on adventures of a baby and “Carl” the Rottweiler. “Good Dog Carl” was the start of it all. During her visit to the area she met with over 500 children on Wednesday, attended a book signing at Grass Roots Books, and came to the Arts Center for a talk and signing.
Alexandra brought along her 7 yr old Rottweiler companion Zuby (he does respond to the name Carl too!). He is a certified therapy dog that visits children’s hospitals in the Seattle area. This distinction also gets him a ride in the main cabin on airlines. No baggage kennel for him! Zuby enjoyed his time wandering around the new surroundings at The Arts Center. He checked out all the garbage cans, attempted to feed himself people snacks and really wanted to drink out of the toilet. Alexandra had him perform for the audience of 50+ with mathematics. Yes, Zuby can add, subtract and even obtain a square root! What an impressive dog! The kids that attended, both young and old, enjoyed every minute.
Besides Zuby, Alexandra talked about her background in art, inspiration for the Carl series, and how self-publishing proved to be the right way for her endeavors. Creating the book images has changed over time. Oil paints, watercolors, and pencils have all been utilized but she still prefers oil when it comes to Carl. No acrylics! The background material started with canvas but now she uses watercolor paper. One audience member asked if her other artwork sells. She responded that unfortunately not that often. She does produce a variety of work, but the paying customers want something with “Carl”. Maybe she should work under a different nom-de-plume!
Many thanks to all who participated!
Cell phones really don’t take the best images but they can be handy when nothing else is available.
Alexandra talking about her background.
What will Zuby do for old cheese or a hunk of cinnamon roll?
Joni King and her new friend Zuby!
Woof! WOOF!
Now a photo from a REAL camera
Me & Zuby
Alexandra’s websites are http://www.laughingelephant.com and http://www.gooddogcarl.com
Sticks, Stones, and Paper Stew Blog 
Great story! Also, I’m relieved to hear that even the famous and best-trained dogs like people snacks and prefer toilet water!
Yes, makes my dog look positively glowing! He never even attempts the toilet trick, well, not to my knowledge. 🙂