sneak peak at my new children's book

 

I wanted to share a little preview of a children's book series, I just wrapped up for Capstone Press. Each of these stories are centered around a quirky origami character, and offer a fun take on the science of our everyday world. The samples here are from the first book, in which a 'dirt diggin' pup and his earthworm friend, explore the ecosystem of a traditional Japanese garden. More info and samples to come!

While working on the project, I came to rely on some great origami resources online. Check out the following links.

http://en.origami-club.com//animal/index.html

http://www.origami-instructions.com/origami-dog.html

National Trust for Historic Preservation

full landscape

west coast

east coast

 interior scene

 farm scene detail

 Golden Gate bridge detail

 western scene detail

NTHP Promotional Materials: folders, business cards, note cards, and banners

design: Mila Arrisueno

illustration: Jamey Christoph 

 

We also developed a storyboard concept with an animated version of the NTHP logo for internal use. I'm hoping we will develop it further, down the road.

This was a very cool job for an organization very near and dear, The National Trust for Historic Preservation.  Collaborating with Mary, Creative Director at NTHP and Mila, Art Director at Grafik here in Alexandria, we created a collection of 'bright and sunny' scenic illustrations to freshen up the NTHP identity. The challenge was unique, to design a sort of super landscape composed of historic elements from the eastern shore line, the interior, and west coast of the country. It was designed to work in its entirety (potential mural) or as individual scenes for use in publications and promotional material. After a lot of hard work,  I'm happy to share our efforts here today - heartfelt thank you to Mary and Mila for the incredible opportunity.  

Let's save and treasure our beautiful historic buildings and sites!

Workbook 2012

 

Just got the Fall Workbook in the mail and wanted to share here, along with my page from the Spring Workbook.  Very nice page design and layout Pat and Piper! I like how the script lettering contrasts with the clean design, kudos to graphic designer, George Zipparo!

morning views of Washington

August 19, 2012
I wanted to share a few other photos I recently shot of the Washington skyline. My day began insanely early that morning, thanks to my restless dogs.  Rather than watch tv, I grabbed my camera and headed out for a morning drive.  I'm not usually an early riser, but this felt like a special occasion and I would soon discover why.  As I walked up the hill to the Netherlands Carillon and looked down at the view of the city, all I could see were clusters of colorful flowers everywhere! Jackpot! Minutes later, I was almost giddy, laying in the slick grass to get the best angles. Visually, it was almost overwhelming, the way foreground colors and textures were relating to the day breaking sky. Each flower seemed to lend something different to the iconic DC skyline.  Sure it was way too early in the morning and the white polo (I was wearing) will probably never be as bright white, but these pics made it all worth while. : )

Cursive Writing: Around the World in 26 Letters

Royal Yacht, Britannia

 

The Acropolis, Athens

 

The Great Wall of China, Bejing

 

The Temple of Heaven, Bejing

 

Tokyo Subway

Gandan Monastery, Ulaanbaatar

 

Jeepney Street Scene, Manilla

Olmec Head

Ha' penny Bridge, Dublin

Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh

Uspenski Cathedra, Helsinki

National Monument of Pakistan, Islamabad

The Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall, Jerusalem

Prague Castle and Charles Bridge, Prague

Hundertwasserhaus Apartments, Vienna

St. Mark's Church, Zagreb

Yay! The georgraphy themed handwriting book I mentioned a while back, was just released!  You can find it on Amazon here.  So much hard work went into it, it's a treat to see in print.  BIG THANK YOU to Merideth at Sterling for this opportunity! You can order copies here.

skater boy stickers

It's been a super busy Summer and as it begins to wind down, I'm reminded that I have a lot of catching up to do here on the blog. First, I'd like to share a recent collaboration with Peaceable Kingdom Press. I got these samples in the mail a few months back and was so happy with how they came out. Kinda funky cool right? I guess little skater and bmx boys/girls want stickers too. : )

Papa's Day 2012

Happy Father's day to all the Dads, Papas,  & Pops out there!
This was a kinda funky-cool card series I developed with card planner Christine Wierzbicki for American Greetings. I liked their unconventional styling and feel, different from the usual mix. As you can see, each layer of the scene is cut out and assembled like a shadow box. I'm not sure where they were sold, or if they even made it out there, but I had fun with them and wanted to share here.