Rohling Studios

Ed Emberley

When my children were young I picked up a cute little book by Ed Emberley that taught ways of using shapes to drawing the most adorable little things.  We drew trucks, cars and boats.  Then we drew cats, dogs and people.  We got hooked on drawing the little figures!  I have to wonder how many children grew up learning how to draw because of Ed Emberley.  As you can see.....this post and the new banner was done to pay tribute to a man who has gotten people of all ages to pick up pencils, fingerpaints, and crayons.....to cut and paste and color their hearts out!  Ed Emberley has gotten parents all over the world to play with their own creativity while teaching their children to draw.  I designed my current banner using the Ed Emberley Drawing Book of Halloween.  Be sure to check it out on Amazon.  And while you are there buy one or two of his books and try drawing the Emberley way!

Illustration Friday ~ Visitor

This week's topic for Illustration Friday is "Visitor".  These children are visitor's to the children's petting area in the zoo.  I loved taking the kids to pet and feed the goats.  Sometimes they (the goats) got a little too pushy and I had to lift them (the human kids) out of harms way...but, it was always something we all looked forward to!  I love going places with children!  I love children!!!!  I have several more child clients at work.  They are so great!!!  We played with Play Doh and made everything to dinosaures to cakes!  Little kids can use clay to express themselves so well! 

My Book House Series

Take a look at this great present I recently got!  It's a full set of The Book House books. There are twelve in the set and each cover is more beautiful than the next. 

Inside it just gets better!

and better....

and even better.......

I have spent hours and hours pouring over page after page of wonderul illustrations, poetry and stories.

I strongly recommend trying to locate a set to share with one of the children in your life....or just by yourself with the child inside of you!

Illustration Friday ~ Rejection

This week's topic for Illustration Friday is "Reject".  This illustration is from my book, We Can Get Along.  The book deals with ways for children to make healthy choices.  The roots of "rejection" of our ideas or of ourselves, comes in early childhood.  Fortunately we can learn to deal with rejection.  Today most schools have great programs about Bullying and how to deal with it so that there is a sense of belonging for all students.  Free Spirit Publishing offers many good books that offer ways to deal with Bullying.  It is important that we teach our children the difference between leadership and bullying.  It is increasingly critical that we provide our children tools to learn how to take responsiblility for themselves and for their actions.  They also need to be given an example of how to react calmly, confidently and effectively.  Remember the old, " think before you speak or act and treat others the way you want to be treated"? 

Camp Heaven and Max Haynes

This is my most favorite artist's website to visit!  Max Haynes is a wonderful illustrator, photographer, and writer who has captured the magic that many envision as HEAVEN.  Or as he calls it CAMP HEAVEN. 

This link also takes you to his site called The Indestructible Spirit. Be sure to check out his home page when you have a bit of time.  And..... View his photography site.  It is refreshing,inspiring, and fun!  Oh...and by the way, Max also has a site called Heart2Art. 

It's a community of artists' and writers' sites designed by...who else but... Max Haynes! To get a site designed for you, click here.
To contact him directly- max@maxhaynes.com

Library Memories

Do you remember spending hours going through the card catalogs at the library?  Sometimes I lost myself in titles and words.  I remember thinking, "All these books!  How will I ever read them all?"  I'd look up an author, a topic, or a title.  Then I would take one of the small wooden pencils and the little sheet of paper from the top of the drawers and write down the numbers that would lead me to the books I wanted.  It was before Barnes and Noble...and before Amazon.  The Mead Pubic Library....a refuge at the top of marble stairs on Seventh Street.  Growing up in the city of Sheboygan, WI, I was fortunate to have a wonderful children's library to go to after school.  There were stacks and stacks of picture books.  I would get lost in the stacks.  I spent hours sitting on the floor in an aisle with a pile of books to pour over.  It was the librarian in the children's library that I innocently asked for, "a book about the birds and the bees".  She was a wonderful older woman (at least older to me and, remember, I barely looked over the counter then).  She smiled...barely concealing her amusement and distracted me by showing me how to check in books that had been returned to her.  Back then, we just signed our names to a card that was in a pocket glued to the back of the book.  For each book I printed my name (very carefully) on the card.  The librarian would stamp the date it was due to be returned next to my name.  Later, I could find books that I had checked out previously...and there...on the card was a time capsule.  There was my name...printed by me...weeks, months and in some cases a year before!  Sometimes my name was on it twice.  I'd look to see if anyone I knew had read the same book.  Once or twice I would run across a book that my brother, or uncle (he was only two years older than I) had checked out.  That was a strange and wonderful feeling to pull out that card from the pocket and trace their handwriting with my finger...It was almost magic to me that a piece of them from that day was right here in my hands.  I am now thinking I was a slightly strange kid...but those are things that made me feel connected to something bigger than myself.  Those were beginnings.  Maybe my love of books began there, sitting on the floor of the library....always in the stacks rather than at the kid's table or the rug provided in the middle of the room.  That was too far from the beloved picture books.  Remember Flicka, Ricka and Dicka,

Snip Snap and Snur,   

    

          

       

The Happy Hollisters, Nancy Drew,

   

and, Mike Mulligan And His Steam Shovel? 

And one of my very favorites has returned!!!  Curious George!!!! 

Do you remember being able to go up the stairs and entering the adult library for the first time?  It was so BIG!  The first time I was in there alone I walked up and down the stacks just looking at all the book covers.  They were new and old....and some so old they barely had a cover on them.  I learned how books were bound by seeing the bared pages.  I learned the smell of the library.  I learned that I would never....ever read them all.  I remember touching the bindings as I walked up and down, looking from the top to the bottom of each stack of books.  I even stopped to look at the ones sitting in the cart to be put away again....and again....and again.   Some how I had to at least SEE all of the titles.  I think I grew up in the library.  Images and words are powerful things.  I could have never imagined things such as blogs, ISBN numbers....or my very own illustrated books.  It is fun to find them on the shelves of libraries and bookstores.  I could never have dreamed that would come true.

My daughter is taking her children to library story hour.  I remember taking my own children to story hours.  Three generations...I wonder...what do their little minds think of it all?

If you would like to make your own library card catalog go HERE.  Just for old times sake.

Sunday Night~Tina Davis New Book

Isn't this the cutest book cover?  I can't afford it right now but I can't wait to peek inside of it at the bookstore to see what the rest of it is like.  It is one of those images that conjure up memories of being warm inside on a weekend and cooking with my children. Tina Davis has several books that can be purchased on Amazon.

I love her little sewing book. (Amazon)  I learned to sew from my mom, great aunt and grandmother.  I had a little book of sewing that  I poured over the pictures to practice my stitching.  The first things I learned to do were to sew on buttons and to darn socks.  I don't think anyone darns socks anymore....do they?  I still have an antique wooden form to put into socks for darning them.  I wonder if they are even made anymore.  When my grandkids are old enough to learn to sew I hope I get to help teach them.

Stupid Sock Creatures:  Making Quirky, Lovable Figures from Cast-off Socks by John Murphy looks just as adorable! It occurred to me that this is what is happening to the undarned socks of the world.  Click on Amazon (HERE) to order.

I found Flea Market Baby  by Berri Leiner and Marie Moss interesting.  I would like to see the images inside of it.  It looks very fun for drawing ideas.  I'm sure it is ever so charming.  It can also be found on Amazon.

Plush-O-Rama: Curious Creatures for Immature Adults by Linda Kopp makes me want to run straight to my sewing machine and create!!!!!!!!  I love these goofy little dolls!  They are so colorful and funny!.....and cuddly too!  It can be found Here on Amazon. 

Some Sunday's are fun to check out what is being published lately.  I find lots of new interesting books to look at and make a list to peruse them on my next visit to Barnes and Noble.  (They also have a wonderful on-line selection of books.)  These are just a few that piqued my interest today. 

Change~Illustration Friday

This is my pick for Illustration Friday's theme this week.  The topic was change.  I picked this from an illustration I did for We Can Get Along published by Free Spirit.  The boy decided to change his words and actions (and his sign).  The book based on making positive choices so I felt this illustration was really appropriate to the theme this week. 

Illustration Friday ~ Safe

For this week's posting for Illustration Friday I selected a page from my children's book, Just Because I Am published by Free Spirit Publishing.  The page talked about the need for children to feel safe when they were scared.  When it came time to illustrate this picture I thought about my brother and I when we were little. We protected each other when we were scared of the dark, of dreams and of sounds in the night.  It made me think of my own kids sneaking into our bedroom in the middle of the night to feel safe.  I knew I needed to capture that for the page on children and needing to feel protected by someone they trust. 

Play ~ Illustration Friday

Oh!  I realized that I have been so bad about sending work into Ilustration Friday.  I have been enjoying my summer!  This week's assignment is play. This illustration comes from my archives.  It was done for the book We Can Get Along .  I liked playing alone when I was a child.  I enjoyed the company of other kids but when others were around it never allowed me to go to the magic place my imagination.  Thats what still happens to me today when I get into my art work.  It's important to play...no matter what age you are at!