Merry Christmas

I don't have a lot of art from when I was a kid. There's no "here is the first book I wrote and illustrated." Not too many drawings or paintings. But I do have a few "project" pieces that I treasure. One of those projects came from when I was about 8 or 9 years old. Christmas ornaments!

They still hang on my tree. (So do the ones my sister made. As I got older I always pointed out how much nicer mine were than hers. But then again, she was only 5 when we made them. And hers are still displayed along side of mine, on my tree.)

I marvel at the fact they have held up over all these years. You see, they were made out of Elmer's Glue with food coloring, and navy beans, and other embellishments. And we live in Phoenix. (We can melt candles in the summer without lighting them. Just leave them in the garage or outside.)

One of my favorite parts of Christmas is decorating the tree. Each ornament bringing along a memory or story from the past.

Merry Christmas!

Friday Studio Links Featuring...

Wendy Watson's Winter Studio

 

Magical Tree
Click here to purchase an archival Giclee print.

Early this year I featured the summer studio of award winning author/illustrator Wendy Watson. Today we get to see where she creates her wonderful books during the winter. How lucky she is to have two places to work. Wendy has written and illustrated twenty-one children’s books, and illustrated more than sixty children’s books by other authors. Just look at this list of books she's written or illustrated!

 

 

I recently had the opportunity to visit Wendy's home and see her studio. The one thing that stood out, was the artwork that covers the walls of her home. Wendy is a third-generation author and artist. Many of the pieces on display were not only hers, but those of her father, Aldren Watson and grandfather, Ernest Watson.

A few of their many accomplishments were teaching at Pratt Institute, co-opening one of the first summer art schools - the Berkshire Summer School of Art, and founding and editing American Artist magazine, which remained in publication for 75 years. These three generations have written of illustrated over 275 books combined.What a fascinating family filled with talent!

Plus, she has a pretty darn cool collection of old chairs and desks.

Be sure to follow Wendy Watson’s Blog. Also, Wendy recently opened up a new online studio shop! So head over to do some holiday shopping at her Esty store.

Thanks so much for sharing your studio Wendy!