hello

I am  a painter, a writer, an illustrator of picture books, a set designer, and a public speaker. I was born in Great Falls, Montana, but grew up on the beaches of southern California, the woods outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the redwoods of northern California.  After graduating with degrees in art and art history, I moved to the east coast, where I  lived for a brief time in Washington, DC and Boston, before settling in NYC. 

I now live and work in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and share my home, located on Dakota land, with my writer-composer-painter husband and two extraordinary cats, Millie and Marcel. As often as possible I visit with my daughter, a dancer/choreographer and her husband, who tries to teach me Arabic so I can speak with his mother in Tangier next time I visit. And whenever possible I travel to Canada to visit my son, a composer ,  circus artist, actor, and film lighting technician. When I was very young my favorite books were Millions of Cats by Wanda Gág, Veronica by Roger Duvoisin, and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. At the age of six I decided to become an artist.

a little bit about my book life

I am the author and illustrator of 4 celebrated picture books: Winter is the Warmest Season, When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky, Yellow Time, and The Dark Was Done. I have illustrated many award-winning picture books including Scarecrow and Snow written by Cynthia Rylant, Tell Me About Your Day Today written by Mem Fox, Mud, Red Rubber Boot Day and Deer Dancer written by Mary Lyn Ray, Fold Me a Poem written by Kristine O’Connell George, The Princess and Her Panther written by Wendy Orr, and the nonfiction picture books, Our Family Tree, An Evolution Story, written by Lisa Westberg Peters and The Shape of the World, A Portrait of Frank Lloyd Wright, written by K.L. Going. My most recent illustrated picture book, Looking for Smile, written by Ellen Tarlow, was published in Fall 2020. I was awarded the McKnight Fellowship for Artists in 1991 and the McKnight Fellowship for Writers in 2012 and 2020. My illustrations for Castles, Caves and Honeycombs won the SCBWI Golden Kite Honor Award in 2002. My paintings and illustrations have been exhibited in museums and galleries all over the country, including The Bronx Museum in NY, the Plains Art Museum in Fargo, ND, the Society of Illustrators in New York, the Mazza Museum, University of Findlay, OH, and the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature in Abilene, TX. I have  presented nationally and internationally at schools, libraries and conferences.

I am represented by Victoria Wells Arms of Wells Arms Literary LLC in association with HG Literary.

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