News from the Studio
From THE DARK WAS DONE to AN ABUNDANCE OF LIGHT!
In the fall of 2022, my picture book, THE DARK WAS DONE was published. My story brings the Dark to life, as an entity or being with feelings. When the Dark realizes that everyone is afraid and wishes the world were without the Dark at all, the Dark feels unwanted…
“And so…
the Dark decided to go.
All the world over,
continent by continent,
ocean by ocean,
the Dark left and did not return.
The Dark was done.”
What happens in a world with constant light and no shadows or darkness at all? In my story, after enjoying the pervasive light for awhile, people start to miss the gifts of the Dark. Gifts like crickets singing, owls hooting, stars twinkling, flying bats, shadows to hide in, mysteries for poems, and the scent of night-blooming jasmine. It takes the courage of a small boy to overcome his fears of the Dark, to go and look for the Dark and persuade the Dark to return.
I have just finished the illustrations for a my next book, AN ABUNDANCE OF LIGHT, The Story of Matisse in Morocco, to be published by Beach Lane Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Fall 2025. In this book, I continue my exploration of light and dark, but through the eyes and experiences of the artist, Henri Matisse.
Because Henri Matisse was an artist who needed light to paint, he might have been very happy living in the world filled with constant light portrayed in THE DARK WAS DONE. But I am certain he would have missed shadows and night-blooming jasmine. Henri Matisse used bright colors to paint shadows and light in his landscapes, still lives, and figure paintings. And he loved to paint flowers. However, in AN ABUNDANCE OF LIGHT, Henri Matisse does not go in search of the Dark, like the small boy in THE DARK WAS DONE, but instead travels in search of the light.
At this time the entire team at Beach Lane Books, from editor to designer to copy editor are working on my story and illustrations to turn them into a picture book. The cover is not yet ready to be revealed. I cannot wait to share this book with you!
Painting a Book During the Pandemic
Here in my studio sits a 48 page picture book. THE DARK WAS DONE. The story was written during a writing retreat on a small island on Rainy Lake where Minnesota meets Canada, two years before the pandemic began. Other picture books were finished and published before the illustrations for this story were begun. When I began making small sketches in January of 2020, I had no idea what was coming…
I found out a few things about myself. My imagination and creative spirit, both necessary for painting a book, do not function well during a pandemic. Especially a pandemic happening during a polarized election year in the U.S., and especially a pandemic happening during the tragedy of George Floyd here in my hometown. My heart and mind were so often elsewhere, slaves to my “lizard brain”. Finding the calm space for experimenting, inventing, and painting often eluded me.
Thus, a year and a half later, the 22 paintings are finally matted and stacked in my studio, ready to be packed and shipped to my publisher, Beach Lane Books. This is a time of celebration and grieving. Celebrating the birth of a new picture book and grief at having to say good-bye to the art often go hand-in-hand at this stage, for me. I have been having a conversation with these paintings for a year and a half. Sometimes they are very noisy— calling out to me what they need next. Other times, they are silent and I need to prod them back to life. By the time I paint the cover, I feel as if I finally understand how to paint the book and wish I could start over from the beginning.
THE DARK WAS DONE will be published in fall 2022. I am excited to share this story and pictures with you!
5 Minutes & a Book that will make you LOVE Stravinsky!(and Nijinsky!)
Today, the NYT’s offered a brief 5 minute listen to The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky. You can listen to it here. Their byline is: “Dive into the composer who changed music history and gave Mikhail Baryshnikov “my first heady sniff of the West.” What they don’t tell you is that Stravinsky composed the music for a ballet, by the same name and worked in tandem with the choreographer, Vaslav Nijinsky, who changed dance history at the same time! In fact, the first time the ballet The Rite of Spring was performed at the Theatre de champs élysees in Paris on May 29, 1913, the audience was so outraged by the sounds of the orchestra and the dance movements of the performers that they began to riot! Can you imagine? If you want to know more, please read my picture book all about that fateful night: WHEN STRAVINSKY MET NIJINSKY, Two Artists, Their Ballet, and One Extraordinary Riot.
Book birthday!
Today is the official publication date of my new picture book, LOOKING FOR SMILE.
Happy Birthday to Bear and Smile!
When the story begins you learn that Bear and Smile are always together.
But one day, Bear wakes up and Smile is nowhere to be found.
We have all had days when our smiles are hard to find. (Especially lately!) On those days when I cannot find Smile the world loses its color and that is what happens to Bear. Without Smile, Bear’s world becomes colorless.
In a starred review, Kirkus Reviews said: “A tenderhearted, life-affirming exploration of the depressive cycle through simple language and a rich visual vocabulary…. Invaluable in this moment and beyond.” I hope you find a copy of LOOKING FOR SMILE today, or any day, at your library or local bookstore and read the words and pictures to learn what becomes of Bear.
Will he find his best friend Smile again?
To learn more about how I illustrated LOOKING FOR SMILE, go here
To meet the author, Ellen Tarlow, go here
An afternoon of art
Come join me and these other gorgeous illustrators with their beautiful new picture books for An Afternoon of Art, hosted by Booklist and Simon & Schuster on Friday, September 25th at 1pm CT. You will hear and see presentations from each of the illustrators about their craft, inspirations, processes, their newest publications, and more! The illustrious illustrators will include: Jillian Tamaki, R. Gregory Christie, Lita Judge, Amy June Bates, Cozbi Cabrera, and me.
Mark your calendars for Friday, September 25 at 1 p.m. central for this free, one hour webinar that is sure to inspire all young artists and readers! Moderated by Books for Youth senior editor, Julia Smith.
To register for this webinar go here.
My first book
Recently I was cleaning out my paper storage bins and came across the final art for my first illustrated book, Come Home Before Dark, published in 1993. I had been working in the schools as an artist-in-resident for a couple of years, rolling art supplies on a cart from classroom to classroom, teaching drawing and painting skills to grades K-12. I was listed as a visual artist on the roster for COMPAS Writers & Artists in the Schools; a program that helped bring professional artists and writers into the schools to share their experience and enthusiasm with the students. Every year the students who had worked with the poets, playwrights, and storytellers were asked to submit their work for possible inclusion in an anthology of works selected by one of the writers in the COMPAS program. And every year COMPAS selected a visual artist from their roster to illustrate the cover and six interior sections or themes. In 1993 I was selected as the illustrator and the sublime author, Sheila O’Connor was the editor. The title of the book Come Home Before Dark, was quoted from one of the student’s writings. There were six themed sections, also named from the student’s writings: I. Childhood Was Like This, II. If You Want To Know Me, III. A Key That Can Open My Heart, IV. So I Tell You Right Now, Good-Bye V. Where Magic Can Secretly Happen, VI. My Place In The World.
When I created the illustrations for this beautiful anthology, I was a new mother and a sculptor, as well as an artist in the schools. I had no idea that a year later I would illustrate my first picture book, Mud, published with Harcourt, Brace & Co. in 1994. Nor did I imagine the experience of creating pictures to illustrate the words of others and eventually my own words would become what I loved to do most in the world. And it all began with this first book.
Thank you to COMPAS and to to the editor, Sheila O’Connor and most of all, to those brilliant and inspired young writers!
The Sunday pancake with coffee
Each and every Sunday, I look forward to reading The Sunday Pancake - a newsletter that arrives in my email, just on time to read while sipping my morning coffee. It usually begins with musings on the art process or life in Morocco or the complexity of living a compassionate life or letting go in a time of change, or a great number of other philosophical thoughts and impressions. My Sundays become days of thoughtfulness and ideas. And it is written by my talented and thoughtful daughter, Ruby Josephine, a contemporary dance artist and host of the podcast, Process Piece.
One of my favorite sections of The Sunday Pancake is The Good Stack. It always offers an inspiring list of links to dance and theater performances, podcasts, poems, artists to discover on Instagram, or articles that inform and inspire. At least one delicious recipe is offered up and there is always a link to a particular song that must be played over and over, and ends with a good book recommendation.
Every week, The Sunday Pancake features a drawing, painting, or a photograph of a cup of coffee. This week’s newsletter features one of my coffee drawings— and since I have made many drawings of coffee cups over the years it was hard to choose just one. If you are an artist who loves to start your day with a cup of coffee and frequently sketch your dose of caffeine, I recommend contacting Ruby Josephine to see if it might be featured in her newsletter— and while you are at it, why not subscribe to The Sunday Pancake? I recommend pouring a cup of coffee and settling in for an excellent way to start your Sundays!
Welcome!
Hello and welcome to my new website! Allow me to give you a tour. Let’s start with….
BOOKS (of course!)
Click on any of my books and you will find yourself on a new page featuring illustrations from inside the book which you can scroll through by clicking on the arrows to the left or the right. Once you have enjoyed the pages from inside the book, you will find out where you can buy a copy and read what other people have said about the book! Many of the books have activity guides you can download and some even have recordings of the author’s reading the story with music by my talented husband, Matthew Smith. Enjoy!
Next, click on….
Read a little about who I am, what I like to do, how I spend my time. When you scroll down you will also find links to interviews and blogs that will tell you even more about my books and my writing and me. And if you still haven’t had enough and you want to see more pictures, (because you can never get enough pictures,) you can follow me on Instagram!
Next is where you are right now….
I will be updating this page with news about books, events, school visits, drawing and writing prompts, or simply just what’s up in the studio. NEWS will be an active page. Visit often!
For more pictures, (because we all love pictures)….
This is new. I have always painted, sketched, created theatre sets and sculptures, but have not featured them on my website in the past. Now I am bringing you more from my studio— past and present. Art created when not creating books. And like any gallery you walk into, the art is for sale. If you see something you like, contact me and I will be happy to let you know the details.
And speaking of art for sale….
Books and Art Prints!
The books you will find in the shop are two that have gone out of print— but as long as my supplies hold out, you can purchase signed copies here!
And the art prints, also known as “giclées” are from three of my books and come in different sizes to fit your home, office or classroom. They are sustainably printed. Read more in the shop!
And if you have questions or ideas or thoughts, please do not hesitate to….
Please write to me! I love hearing from you.