Nikki McClure

Inside from McClure's book Awake to Nap, published by Sasquatch Books

Nikki McClure is a living, working artist I truly admire. Her medium is paper cutting, which is drawing on black paper and cutting out the image with an exacto knife. She just uses one piece of paper! I discovered her art at a gallery in the town of Winslow, WA. Her work is soul-stirring, it really speaks to the beauty and importance of everyday life, chores, family and the wonder of the natural world. The incorporation of text with her images adds an awareness and direction for the viewer.

Nikki is from Olympia, WA. She used to play music in a punk band and majored in science at Evergreen State College. She is a Mama to a pre-school aged son.

The photos included today are from her book Awake to Nap published by Sasquatch Books. She also has a beautiful book out called, Collect Raindrops published by Abrams. For more information about Nikki McClure, click on the link to her website in my links section at the bottom of the blog.

Happy Birthday to my big brother Brian!

Lisbeth Zwerger

From the Little Mermaid by Lisbeth Zwerger
A Crowd of People


Artist profile:

Lisbeth Zwerger is a very accomplished illustrator of children's books. She was born in Vienna, Austria in 1954 and has illustrated hundreds of books. In 1990, she won the prestigious award, the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, celebrating her lifetime achievements in children's literature.

Working mostly in watercolor, Ms. Zwerger has a very magical, dreamlike quality to her work. She has illustrated many fairy tales and classic stories. Her style is much like 19th century children's illustrator, Jessie Wilcox who did Mother Goose, among others.

My favorites books by this artist include Alice in Wonderland, Swan lake and Gift of the Magi. Here are a few photos from the books I have, enjoy!