Earth Day and everything…

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

I hope fans of Ornithoblogical aren’t too disgruntled, but I haven’t had much time for birds lately. However—lucky me—on this Earth Day, I’ll be painting a bucolic setting for an upcoming picture book full of mountains and trees. I might even go out and hug a tree for real later, before the rain starts.

I’ve also been working on a few new pieces for Kiwi Magazine’s regular “Cooking with Kids” feature. Last issue, we learned how to prepare an artichoke for slaughter…

In the next, we learn how to shuck corn, or in my anthropomorphized version, perform a cornhusking striptease. You’ll have to wait a few months to see that full frontal, but if you want a little teaser, I do share details and sketches of what I’m up to over on Instagram.

Speaking of Instagram, here are two sneak peeks at some details from the same book I’m working on today (sorry, Facebook and Twitter friends—old news to you)…

Okay, it’s back to the picture book trenches for me. I hope your Earth Day is full of sunshine and daffodils.

cooking with kids - kiwi magazine

It’s three years and counting for my relationship with Kiwi Magazine, illustrating  their “Cooking with Kids” section. The other day, the new editorial director got me caught up on tear sheets, pictured above.

We’ve done so much the last few months—made crackers, breadcrumbs, and rolled sushi. I just finished another series of cooking spots this week, so more on that when the next issue is out.

eternal twinkie

a new hope

death of the twinkie

rolling sushi (with avocado and squash)

It’s autumn, and what better way to enjoy this season’s harvest than with a homemade batch of vegetarian sushi? Uh...yeah...

If you need a lesson in rolling, look no further than the current issue of Kiwi Magazine. Better yet, learn how with an avocado and a butternut squash leading the way.  

This was my last issue with Art Director Ridge Carpenter, who’s moving on to bigger and better things. It also marks the my three year anniversary illustrating the “Cooking with Kids” section of Kiwi. 

It’s been a terrific and challenging stint, and hopefully will continue, even with the changing of the guard. 

In the next issue, we’re making breadcrumbs, but to find out which of the recipe’s ingredients shows you how, you’ll have to wait a few months. 

Okay...time to get rollin’!

the official Sylvia’s Spinach book trailer!

Here she is, in all her glory! As I mentioned in my previous post, the pub date for Sylvia’s Spinach has been moved up a few weeks. In anticipation, I made a book trailer. 

Written by Katherine Pryor and published by Seattle-based Readers to Eaters, Sylvia tells the story of a picky eater who learns to try something new through the experience of her school garden. 

Despite a steep learning curve with Adobe After Effects, I had a great time making the trailer and hope it captures Sylvia’s spirit. Speaking of which, in my next post, I’ll share a little bit about the evolution of the main character.

sylvia’s spinach...almost here!

Hey! It turns out Sylvia’s Spinach will arrive in bookstores a little earlier than expected! In fact, books will be available in time for Food Day on October 24th. Yes, I know what you’re thinking, “But Anna, everyday is food day!” Anyways......

In social media news, author Katharine Pryor has set up a Facebook page which may be to your liking. There you’ll learn about events scheduled around the publication of the book by publisher Readers to Eaters, as well as see a few things I’ll be sharing, such as my first, ever book trailer! Coming soon, to a screen near you. 

ny times: the picky eater who came to dinner

I have another piece in the Sunday New York Times—this time in the Sunday Styles section. The story is about how difficult it is to entertain these days with all the restrictive diets Americans impose upon themselves. You can read the full article here.

Just for the record, I’ll eat everything pictured, aside from the milk and table settings. 

eat your peas...

April is the cruelest month, if you are a chicken-hater, and aren’t a fan of fresh peas. Despite all that, this month, in a series of spots in the latest issue of Kiwi Magazine, I show you how to shell the latter. And you will like them!

of potstickers and sleep apnea

A changing of the guard always brings with it the potential for growing pains, but I’m pleased to report my delight with the tear sheets that arrived in my mailbox today. The current issue of Kiwi Magazine on newsstands marks my first collaboration with their new creative director, Ridge Carpenter. 

As usual, my illustrations are featured in two sections: accompanying the essay on the last page, and in a series of spots for their “Cooking with Kids” section (above). The latter is now much more cleanly designed and, lucky me, my images are larger.  

So for the latest techniques on how to fold a potsticker, and to learn how a dad copes with the dangerous mix of parenting and sleep apnea...Well...you know the drill.

kiwi magazine - august issue

We’re all told not to play with our food when we’re little. But when it comes to the Cooking Class section of Kiwi Magazine, I can’t seem to restrain myself. This month is no exception, so in the off chance you need to teach a little one how to properly empty a muffin pan, you know where to go...

And as usual, you can also find one of my illustrations on the last page of the magazine, accompanying this month's essay on homeschooling.

cabin fever and other adventures in illustration

When I was asked to illustrate a 4-page special section for the March issue of Kiwi Magazine called “Beat Cabin Fever,” little did I suspect I would come down with a serious case myself! 

This plum assignment—in addition to the regular cooking class spots and end-of-the-book essay pieces (see Measuring Up, above) that I’ve been illustrating for over a year—kept me furiously busy at my drawing board for a few weeks.

The feature includes games, puzzles, a recipe, and a pull-out fortune teller (above) to help kids decide what to do when the weather (or illustration assignments) forces them indoors.

Unfortunately, one of my favorite spots wound up on the cutting room floor, but I’m showing it here in all its glory. It was to go with a piece on recycling household materials into cool craft projects.

And finally, that athletic troupe of dried beans you see is part of this month’s cooking class: How to Measure Ingredients. It’s always a challenge to find an adventurous twist in what can be a pretty mundane subject. Speaking of which, this month we’re washing spinach!

not just for the birds...

By the look of this blog over the last month or so, you’d think all I’ve been up to was corralling a loony menagerie of birds. Today, I’m happy to share several recent projects that involved nary a winged creature.

My work for Kiwi Magazine continues. Pictured above is the essay piece for their October-November issue about an unreligious family who find value in saying grace, and below, two spots from their Cooking Class section which I turned into a cookie crust construction site. (Yes, the workers are building a pie crust out the pieces of their brethren.)

This month I designed my first app—a game developed by Little, Brown and Company to promote a young adult novel they will be publishing this winter. More details to come once the app is released.

I was also hired by my pals at Vibrant Design to create a logo for their new offshoot company, GreenGripGear.com, promoting more environmentally-friendly, theatrical lighting equipment. I’m hoping to score some pretty photos of their shiny, black “trucklette” sporting both the GreenGripGear and Vibrant logos soon. As far as I recall, my work has never before appeared on a moving vehicle.

And last but not least, my newest client is Lake Isle Press, “Publishers of Books for Cooks.” They will be celebrating their 20th Anniversary at the Rubin Museum of Art here in New York City in November, so I was thrilled to be asked to illustrate and design their invitation to the big event, a detail of which is seen above.

That’s all for now. Happy Halloween!

kiwi magazine - august/september 2010

The people at Kiwi, the magazine of organic parenting, have been keeping me busy with another back page essay piece (above), and five spots for their cooking section (below) in the latest issue. Their recipe for “chicken fingers minus the chicken” looks delicious. I had a great time working on these—it’s not often one gets to draw a block of tofu shimmying in a bowl of eggs, or wearing a winter coat.