My blog has a NEW home!

Hi- check out my new blog’s home at www.creativesouldesign.com/blog

Easy to subscribe on my new site!!

My Brand-Spankin-New Website!

Please check out my new website AND new blog’s home!  Visit www.creativesouldesign.com

Same address. New look! Also, if you want to keep following my blogs, you have to subscribe AGAIN (sorry!) Just visit my BLOG page and “Follow My Blog” at the top right.

I’d love to have you continue!

Happy New Year!

“A Silent Night. All is Calm”

With the kiddos now back at school, I’m back at work and I wanted to wish everyone a very Happy New Year!!

This piece was done for my holiday card entitled “A Silent Night. All is Calm”. I wanted to use past years’ characters (Old Man Winter and Mrs. Old Man Winter) and develop their personalities and interaction. I figure that after so many years of creating winters together, their love and commitment toward one another must be so grand. As I find affection and kindness in gifting food, I played off that with a simple act of kindness by the Mrs., warming their hearts and bellies over hot cocoa, while enjoying a quiet moment together at a most amazing spot possible, on top of a mountain.

May you find much kindness from those around you, and pay it forward in 2014!

Tomie dePaola contest

As a member of SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators), I entered the Tomie dePaola contest – due last Friday. It is a long shot, but the winner gets admission paid to the NY conference in Feb 2014 and lunch with Tomie!! (Wouldn’t that be cool?!) The assignment was to illustrate the “Sneeze” poem below with an audience of 2 mos-2 yrs. Here is what I came up with:

“Sneeze”

A sneeze
is a breeze
in
your
nose.

Sneeze in Your Nose

Fingers and toes crossed! 🙂

Children’s Hospital paintings finished!

It has already been a week an a half, but I officially finished the Children’s Hospital commission that began in 2010! I was actually brainstorming and sketching when we were on our way to Korea to bring our Benjamin home. “Great timing!” I remember saying. It was a bit of a roller coaster with deadlines, but what an honor for me to create art that heals.

Attached is the final piece that was specifically commissioned as a dedication piece. It hangs in the Mpls Children’s neo natal unit near a plaque. Moose, duck, sheep and frog are my original characters in the 22-painting series on that floor. This series depicts a story of these characters traveling to my favorite MN places doing outdoor activities together. This piece needed to match the others but be reflective of the neo natal unit, with only two specifications: include the moose and a rocking chair. I felt as a finalé, it wouldn’t be complete unless I included moose’s friends.

Like most of my work, it has underlying meaning–holding a baby in the rocker singing “Twinkle, Twinkle.” Once again, when I developed these characters we were on our way to meet Benjamin. He didn’t know English and we knew very little Korean, so one way to show him that I was his new mommy, that he would always be safe and loved was to hold him close and sing to him. I sang “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” (over and over and over…).

I guess in a way, it also represents my saying, “good night” to this job and quietly tucking it away.

Twinkle Little Star

SkADaMo #26

You asked what how Ele gets out of this mess? Oh, no! You nasty bird. Or was Ele in the wrong?  The saga continues…

Ele’s goin’ D-O-W-N!

SkADaMo #25

I’m continuing with the elephant theme from Thursday to figure out this little elephant’s personality. We find Ele in a very precarious situation. Mama toots from below.

What on earth will he get into next?!?

Hang on, baby!

SkADayMo – Day 22

Sometimes you just have “those” days and you get off on the wrong foot in the morning. All day I’ve been feeling down because of a discussion that happened with my daughter. I can’t wait ’til she comes home.

I need a hug

SkADaMo #20

Posted for yesterday’s sketch.  Trying out a personality for the little elephant.

Little Ele

SkADaMo Day 19

So I spent a couple hours painting this elephant today. Quickly laid in color. Not taking too much time. Thinking about my color, mixing it on my pallet, then placing it on the paper. No need to go over and create layers and layers of paint. It feels fresh and extremely loose.

I feel the rhythm of their strut, feel the warmth of Africa, and enjoy the swing of their tails. “Tails”. Done.

It is just how I imagined it to be.

This feels like the last page in a picture book. I think I’ll write its story next.

Ele & Mom (finished)