Hello Winter

Ahh...the snow is here in Minnesota. Here are a few new illustrations I created for a holiday calendar for Santa's Traveling Workshop, a non-profit organization. They do wonderful work for our military families during the holidays. It was a collaborate project along with illustrators: Barb Bjornson, Cori Doerrfeld, Erik Christenson, Anna Kaiser and Jeff Byrd. I was honored to be a part of it. Check out the work of Santa's Traveling Workshop here... http://tiny.cc/botka

My Mouth Is A Volcano, gets a little plug in the New Yorker

My first picture book that I illustrated, My Mouth Is A Volcano, received a nice mention in the New Yorker in an article by Daniel Zalewski. It is a great article about parenting and how in today’s picture books, the kids are in charge. Too true. Check it out: http://tiny.cc/tA5Qd .


My Mouth Is A Volcano, National Center for Youth Issues, 2006.

New Book Release! The Clock Struck One

My newest picture book that I have illustrated was released this month from Lerner Publishing. It is titled, The Clock Struck One - A Time Telling Tale, written by the talented author, Trudy Harris. It takes the traditional nursery rhyme, Hickory Dickory Dock, and gives it a modern retelling. Mixed throughout the book are an assortment of clocks, to help children learn how to tell time. It was super fun to work on. It has a lot of energy and things flying all over. It was my kind of book. Here are a few images from it.

MN SCBWI Conference - Great Event!

Quick little post, with a photo of me giving my presentation to the MN SCBWI conference a few weeks ago. It was a really great conference. It was so fun meeting the attendees and talking to them about their writing and/or their illustration work. There was creative energy in the air... I was honored to be able to speak at the event.

MN SCBWI Conference

I am so excited to have been asked to be one of the speakers at this years annual Minnesota SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) conference. The conference will be on September 12th, 2009 in St. Paul, MN. In addition to giving a lecture to the attendees, I will be critiquing portfolios and I will be on a panel with my agent, Deborah Warren of East/West Literary Agency. It will be a great time. http://www.minnesotascbwi.org/

Studio Tour

Craig, my wonderfully talented architect husband, designed and built me a beautiful new studio to work in. It is truly an inspiring place to work. I thought I would post some photos for all to see. Lerner Publishing did a write up about it along with a few photos on their blog. Check it out: http://tiny.cc/vZw09 .

New Project -- Twirl Girl Bracelet Book

Here are some samples from a new book I illustrated, Twirl Girl Friendship Bracelets Book, that was recently released. The book was for Sterling Publishing in New York City. It is a cute book that shows tweens how to make cool and snazzy friendship bracelets. For some reason, I am completely unable to make these bracelets. I must not have the attention span. My two daughters love making these. They were so excited when the publisher sent me a sample of each finished bracelet so that I could draw them for the book. They were a hit!

Recent Exhibit

Yes, I know I am behind in all this news but I am really going to try to stay on top of my blog. Call it a belated New Year's resolution. In May, I had the privilege of being a part of the Hope Festival of the Arts exhibition. Also in the show was the oh so talented, Derek Anderson, Mike Wohnoutka, and Sara Weingartner.

ND Reading Association Conference

I thought I would post a few quick snaps from a recent event I attended. In April I was a guest author/illustrator at the North Dakota Reading Associations annual conference. It was a really great event. I always enjoy meeting teachers. My family and I had a wonderful time.

April 23, 2009

I have finally decided to start my blog. I have unfortunately had the 'coming soon' tag on my website for almost a year. This will be short and sweet. Only because I feel like the image above at the moment.