I often get asked where my illustration ideas come from and I’ve always struggled with the answer. Yesterday, while on the phone with Tara Gentile, I had a breakthrough. I realized that it all comes down to my beliefs. Not religious ones or political ones or even the belief that my boyfriend IS capable of putting his clean laundry away within 3 days. Instead, it’s the beliefs I have deep down inside, somewhere between my heart and my lungs.
I believe that the world is full of wonder and if you look for it, you can find joy and magic everywhere! I also believe that YOU feel that same wonder, though it may just be a small ember, and you see it reflected in my work. I believe that my work can rekindle your wonder and make your world (and outlook) more magical.
I think the best way to illustrate this is to share an embarrassing story from my childhood. Every year my family took a vacation to the Black Hills of South Dakota. I was born there and we all love the scenery and history, from Wild Bill Hickok to Crazy Horse. Over 18 years, we visited every tourist attraction, nearly every restaurant, and certainly discovered every possible way to cross the state (though we never discovered a route that didn’t involve 8 hours of grassland).
In addition to all the natural beauty and history, some of you may know that in South Dakota lives the mysterious jackalope. Part bunny, part deer, these furry creatures roam the plains and pose for postcard photographers. Since the jackalope postcards, plushies, magnets, and taxidermied trophies were in every single shop we visited, it never occurred to me they might be fake.
I never told my parents but every time we took our yearly vacation, I kept an eye out for the jackalopes. Every rest area trip ended with me peering out over the horizon like Captain Ahab, hoping to spot a rack of antlers. The jackalopes proved to be very elusive.
Eventually my parents told me the antlered bunny wasn’t real. It had been created as a tourist ploy (and it has certainly worked). I don’t want to tell you how old I was but let’s just say I was closer to high school than grade school.
After learning that, I was crushed! I just couldn’t bring myself to believe the jackalope wasn’t real. Then I remembered what I’d read in my fairy tale books: just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it isn’t real. Just because no one had ever seen a REAL jackalope didn’t mean they didn’t exist. Rabbits are very good at hiding, after all.
To this day, I still look for the jackalope, now matter where I am traveling. (Who says they only live in South Dakota?) The world would be such a sad place if antlered bunnies didn’t live somewhere, don’t you think?
This desire to find the unusual amidst the usual is what drives me to create my quirky illustrations in the traditional media of my favorite fairy tale books! It also drives me to have fun every single day and I hope that it drives you to have fun too!
If you want to rekindle your wonder, if you want to brighten up your home, if you want to inspire a friend, child, sibling, or spouse to wake up to the joy and magic of the world we live in, take a look through my shop. I have so many stories to share in there and one (if not two) is bound to speak to the little voice inside of you that believes in jackalopes.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
Sew a New Story!
Newest Print In The Shop
Grab a Widget!
