a snail of very few words

Dreaming up new worlds and characters again.

a few new paintings

Getting lost in this new nighttime world…

Weekly Inspiration: mouse sized art

There is so much to be inspired about out there. This is a spot to record and share my favorite things… for this week at least!

Yes, things suck in the world right now. But teeny tiny guerrilla art in Sweden makes me feel a little bit better.

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-38262857

 

Weekly Inspiration: Train Puzzle

There is so much to be inspired about out there. This is a spot to record and share my favorite things… for this week at least!

I love this puzzle! It’s the All Aboard Train Puzzle by Marc Boutavant and Chronical Books, and each piece is a fantastic little  illustrated world.

I think that this kind of project might be my dream assignment. And of course it’s a big visual inspiration for my new story, Mari and the Library Train.

Chris’s cousin Sarah gave this to Lucy a few years back- she always gives the best gifts, most of which have the cool kitchy sensibility of classic golden books. So maybe this is a gift to consider for any small puzzle aficionados in your life.

 

Voldemort elected in 2016

Well, the worst happened. About a week ago He Who Must Not Be Named was voted into the White House running on a platform of fear, racism, xenophobia, sexism, homophobia, ignorance, and the list goes on. It feels a bit like a fantasy-based young adult novel, but sadly it’s real.

I admit that I’m a Harry Potter nerd and I’ve read the series several times. I’m actually taking a break from re-reading them again until Lucy and Aki are old enough for us to read them together. So I was excited to read the play that was published recently, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and that is currently running in London. But reading this book as the election was happening made clear the unfortunate parallel between the Dark Lord and Donald Trump. Apparently I’m not the only one- the internet is full of side by side images of the two of them.

Anyhow, one thing that made me happy in this week full of unhappiness was learning that in the play Hermione Granger is played by a black woman. It made me think of this fan art and this Huffington Post article from a few years back.

DELLBELLE39.TUMBLR.COM

http://crowry.tumblr.com/

jimmymm-ilustra.tumblr.com

Maybe it seems like a leap, but reimagining the popular narrative is hugely meaningful to me as an artist, as a person of color, and as a parent. Maybe it’s imagination that can help us SEE the water we’re swimming in… in other words, the white supremacist patriarchal culture that surrounds us so completely that most Americans don’t even recognize that it’s there.

 

Weekly Inspiration: Mister Cloud

There is so much to be inspired about out there. This is a spot to record and share my favorite things… for this week at least!

I end up listening to a lot of kids music- whichever three or four favorite albums or songs the kids happen to be obsessed with at the moment.

Right now one of those songs is Mister Cloud by Caspar Babypants. Love these lyrics!  Especially “a rainy rainstorm fell out of your bottom; and into rivers running rampant in autumn…” So genius. It always gets a laugh from the kids.

Weekly Inspiration: The Sound of Silence

There is so much to be inspired about out there. This is a spot to record and share my favorite things… for this week at least!

Have you read, The Sound of Silence, by Katrina Goldsaito and illustrated by Julia Kuo? My friend Meg sent it to Aki, all the way from DC, because he loves music so much. Hopefully, like Yoshio in the story, he’ll learn to love the silence between the notes too.

Although most of the story is made up of full-bleed spreads (images that extend all the way to the edges of the page), I love the white space in this first image when Yoshio is walking out the door.

Such an interesting perspective!

Check out more of the illustrations from this book and more of Julia Kuo’s work here. Have a great week!

 

happy day

Today I got to paint.

meet Mari and the Library Train

Just wanted to share a few drawings for a new story.

I can’t believe a whole summer has flown by since I last posted. In a very full nutshell I was traveling abroad, taking on a new leadership role at work, running a half marathon, being a mom, and just letting this new story idea slowly take root.

I have this quote on my wall by some wise Icelandic person:

Many creative people fill their heads during summer. Winters are more for sitting down at your table, taking those things you gathered in your mind during the summer, and making something from them.

Certainly a reason to celebrate the shorter days 🙂

return to painting

It’s been a long long time but I finally sat myself down and painted something new: mouse girl and her cozy little house, although she prefers fall rain. I’m considering submitting this for a mailer that’s being put together by my agent et al. and it’s supposed to be an illustration for the fall season. But somehow it’s hard to get in the mindset of sweaters and tea and woodsmoke when we’re on the brink of summer.