2011 is Year of the Rabbit

Last week I was shopping around for a bilingual Chinese + English children's book for my future niece. It's technically my first cousin's daughter but in my family we call practically every female relation and non-relation 'cousin' or 'aunt'.

I came across a wonderful and unique story Monkey and Rabbit Together retold by Dr. Mike Lockett and illustrated by Ming-Jen Hsu.

The story is based on an African folktale about two friends faced with each other's bad habits. A monkey and rabbit have a contest to see who can sit still the longest without exhibiting any of their bad habits. Monkey has a bad habit of scratching while Rabbit sniffs constantly. While telling stories to pass the time, both Monkey and Rabbit can't help but fall back into their old behavior. By the end of the story the two friends learn to accept the other's 'annoying' habits with humor. The tale is a simple and genuine lesson about friendship.

Hsu's illustrations are wonderfully drawn. The animals' facial expressions crack me up. I especially liked his addition of animals joining in during their contest.

An audio CD comes with the book to help kids follow the story on their own. Monkey and Rabbit is in a bilingual format with English on one side and when flipped over, Chinese is on the other side.

Nobody's Fool

Last week I went to Yoshitomo Nara's exhibit, Nobody's Fool, at the Asia Society Museum in the UES. This is his first extensive exhibit in New York - it made up 2 floors at the museum and included more than one hundred works. Besides his drawings and paintings, I never realized he made sculptures, ceramics and large scale installations.

My favorites, and I'm sure many people feel the same, are of the little girl with attitude. They are so often humorous and expressive, but always honest and insightful. He's influenced by punk and rock music and like that genre, his work conveys feelings of frustration, anger, and loneliness of the generation. I loved going up close and examining his paintings - the colors are so lush, almost edible, and they have such a smooth, creamy texture.

His installations are very inviting. The one of a dollhouse, I wanted to crawl into the space and look at everything on each wall! In another room, the installation was of a Japanese style home. He had murals blocked off by a wooden wall with windows cut out at different heights and locations along it. At certain distances, the cut outs give only a small window view of the entire painting. Another memorable installation was comprised of small rooms with doors. Behind every door was a painting or object inside. Each was a surprise and evoked a particular emotion for me. I thought this was very well done.

If you have time please go and check out Nobody's Fool - it is worth the trip. The exhibit will be up until January 2, 2011.

Nara also has a wonderful children's book, The Lonesome Puppy, which you can find in the museum shop.

Drawn In Brooklyn Exhibition

Over the weekend, I went to Brooklyn Public Library's central library branch for their latest exhibit, Drawn In Brooklyn. I was not only inspired by all the wonderful varied styles of work, but also encouraged to keep drawing and stay passionate about what I do. Each artist was so unique; they all used different interesting mediums to complete their work. I highly recommend going - I will be heading back again since I didn't get a chance to view everything in the Youth Wing.

The exhibit includes 34 featured children's book illustrators, all of whom live and work in Brooklyn. The original book art is displayed in the library's Grand Lobby, where you first walk in. On the 2nd floor, balcony cases include installations from the illustrators. Each case holds a different illustrator's handmade work of art. I love that they created 3 dimensional pieces because they probably work in 2D most of the time. In the Youth Wing, displays of their sketches, models, and tools allowed me to see their process. Needless to say, it was very educational for me.

Drawn In Brooklyn is curated by John Bemelmans Marciano and will be on display until January 23, 2011.


Daniel Salmieri - Those Darn Squirrels!


Pat Cummings - Carousel


John Nickle - The Ant Bully


Paul O. Zelinsky - Aweful Ogre Running Wild


Keith DuQuette - Little Monkey Lost

Quentin Blake: Book Art to Wall Art

I found these wonderful and fun wallpapers at Fabrics & Papers. The patterns are designed by one of my favorite British children's book illustrators, Quentin Blake. He's written many of his own stories, but growing up I remember his drawings from his collaborations with author, Ronald Dahl. His work is exaggerated and humorous, but thankfully never cross the line into cartoony art. Check out his official website here.

It's A Book!!!

Check out It's A Book by author & illustrator Lane Smith. I grew up reading and loving his hilarious storybooks (The Stinky Cheese Man & The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs) with Jon Scieszka.

This new title is about a bookish monkey and a techy jackass. The two characters have a funny exchange over what a book can and cannot do. The donkey uses words like 'text, blog, scroll, tweet' while the monkey just says 'no, it's a book'.

Smith chooses his earthy tones well and I've always liked his dry brush, outlined style and textured shapes.

I can really appreciate this book because of its simple message and adorable characters.

Are You Afraid Of The Dark?

Children's book illustrator, Suzy Lee, has just released a new book through Chronicle Books! I mentioned Ms. Lee's Wave some months back in my 'Favorite Books' entry.

Her newest picture book, Shadow, is another beautifully drawn wordless story. It centers around a little girl in a dark attic well-equipped with her light bulb and imagination. On each page, the girl has a fun time playing with light and shadow.

The illustrations are full spreads with just two shades - black and yellow. The color choice is obvious and the result is simple, straightforward and stunning. Lee perfectly captures the innocence of a young girl content with her own creativity.

You can buy Suzy Lee's Shadow here.

Here are sample pages:

Decorate Your Desktop Wall

Check out the latest Design*Sponge desktop wallpaper from Betsy Walton of Morningcraft. Ms. Walton created the August 2010 wallpaper. The artist resides in Portland, Oregon and has been painting since 2006. Her wallpaper design is so feminine and soothing to the eye. The design is fluid and has a dream-like quality to it. She included geometric as well as natural elements to the abstraction. I took a few minutes to stare at it and picked out so many shapes, lines, and silhouettes in the layers!

I really like the artist's use of color in her projects. When used, the colors really pop from the painting. The layers and textures in Walton's works make me want run my fingers across the surface. Yet the paintings still maintain a folk art feel. They are reminiscent of Paul Gauguin's paintings, especially the ones he completed while in Tahiti.

I will definitely download this D*S wallpaper - it'll come in handy when I need to give my eyes a rest =)

125 Birthday Candles

Today I'm reminded of Josef Frank's wonderful contribution to textile & interior design. I opened up my laptop and a vibrant, carefree 'Google Doodle' jumped out at me in celebration of his 125th birthday.



The Austrian/Swedish designer was born in 1885 and created over 200 patterns from 1909-1950. While he seamlessly transitioned between architecture and furniture design to glassware, lighting and metalwork, I think his textiles are what really set him apart. While the predominant aesthetic included geometric, non-representational designs during his career, Frank's use of free form, organic patterns defied convention. His patterns are so fun, crafty and beautiful without being over the top. I can't imagine him not smiling as he worked!

Here are some examples of his patterns in use as wallpapers.

Illustrator Erin E. Stead

Recently, I came across a newly published children's book, A Sick Day For Amos McGee, by illustrator Erin E. Stead and written by her husband Philip C. Stead while browsing at the book store.

The story centers around an elderly man named Amos McGee and his friends at the zoo. He takes time out of his day to take care of them. Amos plays chess with the elephant and he races the tortoise. Amos sits calmly with the shy penguin and he lends the rhinoceros his handkerchief when the rhino has a runny nose. At the end of his visit, Amos reads stories to a nyctophobic owl. One day, Amos catches a cold and out of concern, the zoo animals take the city bus to his home to take care of him.

Philip Stead's story is thoughtful, gentle, and delivers a wonderful message to children. Erin Stead's wood-block illustrations are delightful. I enjoyed looking at the quiet beauty of each page. The textured imperfections from the wood-block added a touch of homemade craft, which I loved. Her style and color choice are simplistic (in a good way). She knows just how much detail to add into a character's feature or the siding of a house while leaving certain pieces a solid hue, like the trees.

Check out Ms. Stead's illustration process from the link above. It's always so insightful to see others' way of working out their ideas to sketches to final drawings.

Larger than Life and Full of Details

I came across artist, Charlotte Mann, while looking for examples of very detailed wall drawings. She's a London based artist with a background in fashion, who made the shift to designing murals in 2006 when she created the back drop for Peter Jensen's Spring/Summer 2007 show.

As you can see, each hand drawn back drop, using black markers, is filled with details. Every mark is thought out, whether it's the image on a postcard or cross-hatching to create shadow. Even with all the intricacies, the artist still never loses a sense of spontaneity and reportage drawing in her work. I don't know how she begins her process...does she make small sketches beforehand on paper?...or maybe she just starts on the left and works her way across the room!

Regardless of her process, the result is beautiful and a true work of art.

(Most Likely) Wallpaper Designs Not Found In Your Grandmother's House

Trove Wallpaper Designs are currently on exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Triennial in the Upper East Side. The company, founded in 2006 in NYC, are comprised of Jee Levin and Randall Buck. Both designers have a history in fine arts and photography, which is evident in their wall covering designs.

Their unconventional designs using organic themes are breathtakingly beautiful, especially seen spanning an entire wall at full scale. Gone are the tightly, repetitive patterns usually found on wallpapers. Instead, the designs are open, natural, and spontaneous. Rather than flat, geometric patterns that scream 'I Am Wallpaper', I get a sense of perspective and depth from the forms. Not only that, but they're eco-friendly as well!