Last year at this time, I was standing at a journey’s beginning, taking deep breath after deep breath, and contending with doubts, “Can I do this? Can I uphold the integrity of the oracle so beautifully brought to life by the authors? I can think of several other mama artists who could do this better. [...]

I just created a page “FOR KIDS” (and parents, teachers, big kids…) — it is now in my menu above. I think it’s super fun, and I hope it will inspire young authors and illustrators. At the top is an interactive page with 27 different “clicks” that shares some of my writing & art process [...]

So last week, I spent a whoppin’ 48 hours in NYC. It was sort of a blur, as it sounds, and I have to admit, very strange without Tulsi with me (she stayed in St. Louis with grandparents she adores). Still, The Original Art Show (the initial motivation for my excursion) was an awesome experience! [...]

Four months ago, I said I would post on the 13th of every month, in a countdown celebration for the release of my new picture book, Same, Same but Different. Um, while my excitement did not diminish, Summer took over. Hee. Here’s an update: After the smoke and wild winds left, the bears came. Patrick [...]

The bottom photo was taken by Colin Dullaghan back in October, 2010 — paradise on a clear, Fall day! The top photo was from last week. Ahhh, it’s been awhile. There is a big fire in New Mexico, about an hour and a half south of us, and the winds have filled our valley with [...]

One of the most interesting things about picture books is the story behind the books — where the seeds of ideas came from and how they grew. As promised, I am posting about how my new book, Same, Same but Different came to be. I hope it gives you some good book-energy and that hearing [...]

I recently created this illustration to represent the Birth Center in Taos where Tulsi was born. The midwives wanted something that felt “nurturing, supportive, magical, compassionate, gentle, spirited, mother&baby centered…” and that read as “northern new mexico” — mesa, mountains, desert wildflowers, butterflies, hummingbirds. I think we succeeded! I had fun dreaming this image up [...]

The countdown has begun! :) My next book will be in bookstores in just FIVE months — September 13th. And I just got the go-ahead to share the cover art and 3 interior spreads. WoooHOOOOOO! The two boys become friends thru the mail…with their drawings and musings…and discover beautiful surprises in their “same, same but [...]

I can’t believe I’ve been illustrating for children this long, and this is the FIRST princess piece I’ve ever done. Hee. The commission was to create an “exotic princess” art with a Taj-like building. My client wanted it to have a wood-cut-print sort of feel, like on fabrics from India and the Middle East. As [...]

When we were in India the last time, we collected discarded matchboxes on the roads. There are so many, and it’s sorta like trading cards among travelers. These, along with the countless, amazing retro designs from India’s past (recorded in the beautiful book, LIGHT ON INDIA by Warren Dotz), inspired me to create chai spice [...]