Classroom Visits

I had such a great time sharing my new book, "We Eat Food That's Fresh", written by Angela Russ-Ayon, with two classrooms yesterday!

After reading the story and listening to the fun bouncy sing along song we had fun making art projects.

In Mrs. McMath's 1st grade class each student decorated their paper "I'm the Chef" hat and cut it out. With a little help and a little tape they were fit to size and ready to wear.

We all worked together to decorate an eight foot banner with our favorite fruits and vegetables using soft pastels, my favorite art medium ;)

Here's a picture of the colorful banner made by Mrs. McMath's talented 1st graders:


In Mrs Rios' kindergarden class we also worked together to make a mouth watering banner with loads of fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, I left in a rush and forgot to take a picture.

Summer picnics must be on the students minds, because watermelons were definately a favorite in both classrooms!

Thank you Mrs. McMath & Mrs. Rios for sharing your students with me!

Click here for more about
"We Eat Food That's Fresh"

Thank you CHEMERS GALLERY for supplying paper for the banners!

Appreciation for Children's Books 7 Illustration is Thriving

This is the 7th year that I've been involved with the Chemers Gallery Children's Book Illustration Show in Tustin, CA. I have to say, the enthusiasm of our community is amazing! Visitors came from all over LA and Orange County. It's always a popular event, in fact we have customers ask as early as July if we've chosen the illustrators for the December show yet. I look forward to this event too. The illustrations are new, exciting and inspiring every year. It's always such a pleasure to meet the artists and observe as they happily meet their peers & fans and how they admire one another's original artwork with awe. Art buyers eagerly anticipate this time of year too, and are tickled to find treasured illustrations that speak to them and become part of their collections.

Melissa Sweet signing for a delighted fan (photo by yours truly)
Beth Krommes, Holly Meade, Elisa Kleven & Zachary Pullen were also present

At the opening Saturday, I couldn't help but notice, more than ever, what a grand celebration this event is for so many different kinds of people. It is a celebration of the craft of storytelling through illustration, a celebration of children's literature, a celebration of the love of reading, learning, and exploring our world. It is a celebration that is enjoyed by children and their parents and/or grandparents, together. Educators, librarians, children's book enthusiasts, art collectors, artists and writers all love viewing the original art, reading the stories, and listening to the artists as they share their insights. And, of course, giant piles of big, fat delicious cookies and Ronald McDonald magic tricks help add to the fun too!

Ronald McDonald entertaining visitors. (photo by Jennifer Geisert)

The impression I come away with is that even with all the razzle-dazzle of modern media, a love and appreciation for a good old fashioned "hold in your hand" children's book, and hand drawn illustrations are alive and well!

More about the Show

More pictures

IF - Similar

I met these three pals while experimenting with black lines on a not so long plane flight.

My Current Book Project

I'm very happy to say that my first picture book is going off to the publisher this week! Soon, I'll have a better image of the cover to post... the color is off on this one.

The working title is "We Eat Food That's Fresh" by Angela Russ, published by Our Rainbow Press. It is a book for preschool and elementary age children to encourage healthy habits.

More info to come!

This illustration was done for an SCBWI Westside Illustrator's exercise. All members were given the text to a story about an arctic fox to illustrate. Then we brought them to the meeting to share. It was very interesting to see the many different ways the story was illustrated. No, sorry, the little arctic fox didn't catch the fish.

The original is 10x9 pastel.

Welcome to my illustration site.

Please take your time and enjoy browsing.

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