Claudia Rohling

I am an illustrator of cards, children's books and a hopeless creator of things!

My father ran an office supply and printing company. The endless possibilities of pens, papers, paints and inks captivated my imagination for as long as I can remember. It was a place of great wonder. I walked the aisles, touching the crayons and paint tubes, dreaming about all the creative possibilities. The smell of newly printed ink on paper and the sound of the printing presses always lured me to the back rooms where the printers did their work. I loved watching the images magically appear with each pass of the press arm. I learned to love the power of images, color and pattern. I always knew I wanted to create art.

After school I would sit among the stacks of picture books at the Public Library. I would lose myself in the images on the pages. I was loved the magic of the old drawings of artists like Palmer Cox, Harrison Cady, Hilary Knight, Amy Millicent Sowerby, Beatrix Potter, Cicely Mary Barker, Bessie Pease Gutmann, Jessie Wilcox Smith, Ruth Mary Hallock, Margaret W. Tarrant, Kasha Tudor and many others. I spent most of my free time drawing. My parents were very supportive since I was otherwise a very active child. I think I was only quiet when I was drawing. I was a child full of questions, possibilities, and ideas. I learned visually and I always knew that if I continued my education it would be in the field of art. I went to college thinking I would go into commercial art and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in art. I married and raised a family shortly after graduation and I never stopped drawing with and without my children.

My work became child and home oriented and sold throughout the United States and Canadian gift markets. It was featured on the covers of Leisure Arts: The Magazine and Celebrations, and on materials published by the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse. I opened Rohling Studios, where I oversaw the production, distribution, and creative development of my work as prints and greeting cards. My dream was always to do a children’s book that helped children to believe in themselves. The results are the award winning children’s books, “Just Because I Am: A Child’s Book of Affirmation”, “A Leader’s Guide to Just Because I Am: A Child’s Book of Affirmation”, “We Can Get Along: A Child’s Book of Choices”, and “A Leader’s Guide to We Can Get Along: A Child’s Book of Choices”. In addition, I now work as a psychotherapist in Racine, Wisconsin.

My work now includes a speaking and consulting service which offers training, workshops, and seminars on a variety of topics including healing and art, creative parenting, self-esteem for children, tapping into your creativity, creativity and women, change as a creative challenge, stress management, and many others. I have the best of both worlds. I am still the active child I was so many years ago. I still find my quiet time takes me to the drawing board, which will always be my first love. And, I am still childlike, full of questions, possibilities, and ideas. I enjoy working with people and helping them to tap into their own creativity.

About five years ago I took a trip out West. The rocks, canyons and caves held the images that Native American Indians created centuries ago. These petroglyphs tell the ageless stories of their spirit and truths and have been passed to us through time. It moved me deeply that these simple images were a part of their everyday life stories. Today we create images on subway walls, streets, fences, magazines and books. There are images everywhere we look. We still strive to tell our stories through art. In our cities we may call it graffiti, advertisement, or decoration. In our museums we call them paintings, sculpture or jewelry. In our souls we call it art. Art is story telling. Art is a process. In my art I have tried to tell my stories by linking images of my heart with the images of the past and present. I thank you for sharing in my process.

Warmly,

Claudia Rohling