Projects and ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
Jounal Making ClASS AT DIXON MEADOW NATURE PRESERVE
I was asked to teach a class where the children would design their own journal covers inspired by nature. The one day class took place at Dixon Meadow Preserve which is an astonishingly beautiful nature preserve in the Philadelphia area. I took the kids to a space outside in the middle of the preserve where they made nature inspired journal covers. Watching them take in their surroundings and blending that with their giant and magical imaginations was such an amazing experience!
PresentATION about What Makes A Good Illustration
I was asked to speak to a group of 1st graders about what makes a good illustration. We had a really great time figuring out what questions we should ask ourselves to best tell stories through art. They were so attentive and loved the group participation element. And , as we all know, you can’t meet with a group of 1st graders without someone raising their hand to talk about unicorns, candy, and um, bodily functions (as you can see from the expression on my face!). I loved creating the presentation in preparation for my visit, I loved hearing their questions, listening to their thoughts about art, seeing their limitless creativity, and watching the gears turn as we discussed and took a look at some illustration inspiration. I’d really like to do more of this type of thing in the future.
IlloStories - a group for artists/illustrators to grow their children’s book portfolios
IlloStories is group that originally began as IlloBites in 2018 with weekly word prompts suggested by members. By the end of the year I developed a wonderful connection (through the camaraderie of the MATS community where we were both taking courses) with Deborah Stein, of Bonbon Oiseau Workshop, and it grew into a really fun collaboration. Our love and desire to do more children’s book illustrations and to continue growing our portfolios felt like the natural segue from IlloBites to IlloStories. We created an awesome open-ended portal to explore the world of illustrating for kids and adults alike and to grow along with the group with both ready-made themes and prompts as well as encouraging group participation. We both felt very strongly that in order to develop artistic confidence, it’s imperative that you have a safe, positive environment to share your work and to receive feedback. That is what we truly hope the IlloStories community was to all who joined us. It has also been a wonderful place for seasoned illustrators to the Illo world along with those who are just dipping their toes in for the first time. The prompts were thoughtfully created in a way that allowed for all levels to work toward the same goal: strengthening illustration skills and portfolios in a welcoming and nonjudgemental atmosphere. Although the Illostories partnership has come to an end, our dream to make children’s books of our own along with our desire to help others find the inspiration and motivation to follow their individual artistic paths really developed into a wonderful partnership and a truly special group.
MAke art that sells: global talent search semi-finalist
In 2018 I finally decided to invest in myself by taking a bunch of the Make Art that Sells courses (seriously one of the best decisions I have ever made, more about why, here) and ended up making it to the semi-finals of the Global Talent Search - what an amazing experience! Take a look at my Weekend on Lake George submission here!
Created templates for the Philadelphia Library Funding Campaign
The libraries in Philadelphia are severely underfunded (and have been for a very long time). I joined up with The Friends of the Free Library to try to figure out a way to spread the word that libraries are so valuable to our communities. Click below to see what we delivered to the Mayor’s office!