The project: Illustrating my first children's book

In February of 2012, I submitted my own manuscript and illustrations to Bronze Man Books.  It was my first illustrated manuscript and my first submission to a publishing house.  Two weeks later, Bronze Man Books asked if I might be interested in submitting sample illustrations for Marcy Blesy's manuscript, Am I Like My Daddy?, scheduled for publication by Bronze Man Books in Decatur, Illinois in December 2012.  At the end of March, Bronze Man books extended a contract to me, and I began a whirlwind 45 days in which I completed eighteen 8x10" color illustrations for the book.  Having wanted to illustrate children's books since I was a child, it was an offer I could not refuse!

Marcy's poignant story follows Grace, a girl whose father passed away a couple years before.  Through conversations with family members and journaling, Grace begins to piece together who her father was and the ways in which she is similar to him.  The story was very personal for Marcy, who also lost her father when she was younger; she details more about the story on her blog:  

http://marcyblesy.com/2012/07/10/am-i-like-my-daddy-my-search-for-answers-in-my-life-story/

and on her Pinterest Board:

http://pinterest.com/mablesy/am-i-like-my-daddy-grace-finds-answers/

My process of illustration for Am I Like My Daddy? began with conceptual drawings and photographing models for Grace and her mother. 

I hand-drew the illustrations with pencil and subsequently inked them with Pigma Micron pens. 

Each intersection between lines is contoured to resemble leading between stained glass panels. I then scanned and completed the illustrations in Photoshop.

After photographing the windows of Grace Episcopal Church in Anderson, South Carolina, I used the computer to "paint" the colors and textures from the stained glass into each "pane" within my drawing. 

The backgrounds of the illustrations are watercolors that I created with my children.  The one below on the right was painted by my two year old daughter.

Illustrations of Grace's "constructed memories" were then printed onto canvas, treated with watercolor crayons, sewn with a sewing machine, and re-scanned into the computer. 

In depicting Grace's personal and hopeful journey of discovery, I explored the support system of grief, in which parent and child support each other. Physical artifacts from her father surround Grace, and I used Grace's journaling to comprise the form of her father as she learns about him through loved ones' memories.

Interested in more information about the book?  Visit:

http://www.bronzemanbooks.com/books/AmILikeMyDaddy/index.html

The following information is reprinted courtesy of Bronze Man Books:

Am I Like My Daddy? - $12
by Marcy Blesy
illustrated by Amy Kuhl Cox
ISBN 978-0-9819591-3-9 • 40 pages (6" X 8”) paperback © 2012
publication forthcoming in December 2012

Am I Like My Daddy? is an important book in the children's grief genre. Many books in this genre deal with the time immediately after a loved one dies. This book focuses on years after the death, when a maturing child is reprocessing his or her grief. New questions arise in the child's need to fill in those memory gaps.

Grace is a little girl who wonders if she is anything like her daddy. She uses the process of journaling to discover more about her deceased father.

The 40-page book is available for $12 plus $2.50 postage. This is a pre-publication order, with your book being shipped asap.
(Contact rbrooks@millikin.edu for special orders or quantity discounts.)

Tutorial for Shrinkable Plastic Christmas Ornaments: A Perfect Project for the Kiddos

Three-Year-Old Self-Portrait: "Me with my hands in my pockets"
"Emerson-partner-Maggie in a crazy shirt"
"Mommy with a sixth invisible finger"
"Daddy in a tie-dye shirt" (he has glasses and facial hair)

I've posted on Shrinky Dinks before (I love them by the way), but now my son is getting into the action.

I had some Grafix ink jet printable shrinkable plastic (available on amazon.com) that I cut into squares and allowed my son to decorate with Sharpie permanent markers.  He decided to draw a portrait of each member of our family.  How perfect - and priceless - will these be as Christmas ornaments on our tree!?!

Be sure to punch holes in the plastic before baking (with a regular hole punch).  Follow instructions on package for oven temperature and baking time.  This is a fast project that can be completed in under a half hour.

My son also used this technique to make bookmarks and ornaments for his teachers as a holiday gift.  As he was only three years old at the time, I took the liberty of writing his message to his teachers onto the back of the shrinkable plastic before shrinking it in the oven!

Have fun with your holiday gifts this year; after all, you can't start too early!

Designing custom fabric for educational quilts

Over a year ago in August 2009, I posted about my desire to find a company that would print onto fabric. I had just discovered www.spoonflower.com, the answer to my wish. It is difficult not to get carried away designing fabric! I even hope to use some to make dresses for my little girl, and I used some of my test swatches to make her soft, fabric blocks for Christmas (pictures to come in a future post).

However, my initial desire stemmed from the amount of time I spent piecing together individual educational quilts for classroom teachers. Finally, I have designed fabric, had it printed, and made a new line of quilts that will be more affordable for teachers and for parents! My color wheel quilts have the vividness of my collage quilts, but without the laborious job of piecing them together or edges that might come up over time and with years of use.

I FINALLY posted my first one on Etsy!!!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/19444116/color-wheel-categorization-quilt-without

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With this activity, the child selects items that you provide to them (in a container or basket); the items are of different colors/shades/tints, and the child categorizes them on the matching portion of the color wheel. This material is designed so that you, as a parent or teacher, may provide your own materials from your house or classroom as objects. You may also wish to change the objects often or encourage your children to find objects to add to the box. Although I designed this educational material for a Montessori classroom, it is appropriate for lessons within a Montessori classroom or your home. Even very young children are curious about our colors in the world around them; this lessons capitalizes upon a child's interests. In Montessori primary classrooms, young children receive lessons in the primary and secondary colors with Box I and Box II of the Color Tablets. Although Maria Montessori, a pioneer in early childhood education, designed beautiful materials which are still relevant today, the Color Tablets are a rare exception of materials which were potentially more attractive to children in Montessori's culture (than they are today). In my experience as a Montessori Primary Directress, children rarely choose to return to these materials after their initial lessons. I this designed this Color Wheel Categorization Quilt as an extension of the traditional Sensorial curriculum. In using this material in my own classroom, I find that it draws children back to the color materials; children choose the color wheel quilt on their own, thereby giving the teacher continued opportunities to explore primary and secondary colors with the students. Included in this set: Color Wheel (measuring approximately 10.4" from flat side to flat side and 12.25" from point to point across) - there is quilt batting inside and the back is solid black; BOX AND OBJECTS ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THIS PARTICULAR LISTING. Please note: Materials are an original design and cannot be reproduced for sale. Images and Text - Copyright 2010 by Amy M. Kuhl Cox

Dinosaur Love

In my quest tolearn to sew, I've been tackling progressively more challenging projects over the past two weeks (with baby steps). A year ago, I could only list a "straight stitch" on my sewing resume confidently. Still scared of store-bought patterns, I bought a few small, "beginner" pdf patterns from online artisans. One such artisan's website is:

http://www.bitofwhimsydolls.com/

And so I was eager to take the next sewing step by creating bitofwhimsydolls dinosaur pattern. Less than 24 hours later, my dino was finished, and my son named it "Stinger".

Welcome to our family, Stinger. May you be a guardian dinosaur over my projects to come...

Custom Thank You Notes & Matching Return Address Labels

Custom Thank You Notes with Images of Family & Pets
Matching Return Address Labels

Artist's Bio

A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Amy Kuhl Cox received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Art Therapy and Photography from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, and a Masters degree in Modern and Contemporary Art History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Amy has served as an artist-in-residence at a Montessori Infant-Toddler Community and Preschool in St. Louis, an adjunct instructor in Modern Art History at a university in Anderson, SC, as well as the Education Director at the Anderson County Arts Center. Amy received her American Montessori Society Primary certification from Lander University in Greenwood, SC, and served as a Primary Directress at a Montessori school in Simpsonville, SC. Amy has presented on children’s creativity and handmade classroom materials at American Montessori Society and South Carolina Montessori Alliance conferences.

In 2008, Amy launched several websites with her colorful designs to promote peace, an appreciation of diversity, and an awareness of Montessori education. Merchandise with her designs is available at:
www.zazzle.com/peacemontessori*
www.cafepress.com/peacemontessori
www.printfection.com/peacemontessori
These designs abound with bright, fun, bold colors to appeal to primary-aged children whose creativity is the source of her inspiration.

Amy has exhibited her photography in national juried exhibitions and has completed several series of self-portrait photography, exploring the varied sides of a single personality. She has enjoyed black and white photography in a traditional darkroom setting, creating Polaroid transfers of color slide film, as well as digital photography. In college, Amy used liquid emulsion to apply her photography to ceramic vessels. Most recently, she has combined her original photographic images with polymer clay and resin to create pendants and earrings.

Amy’s jewelry and hand-made fiber accessories, including scarves, hats, and felted purses, can be found at her website www.amykuhlcox.etsy.com as well as at Bay 3 Gallery in Anderson, South Carolina’s Anderson County Arts Center Warehouse and Blue Connection Gallery in Decatur, Illinois.