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Every now and then at 7-Imp, I like to give the spotlight over to those who create illustrations for the wee’est<\/em> of all wee readers. One such illustrator is visiting today, and her name is Amy Schimler<\/a><\/strong>. Her bright, colorful art work all about nature, geared for the big eyes of the youngest of children, is also fitting right now, given that Spring is upon us. Here in Tennessee, Spring graced us and then pulled back a bit, so at this point, I’m ready to dive into Amy’s world and live there a bit until Spring regains her senses and descends upon us again. <\/p>\n An illustrator and surface designer, Amy studied painting and fiber arts at the School of Museum of Fine Arts<\/a><\/strong> in Boston, as well as the Massachusetts College of Art<\/a><\/strong>, and continued her studies in textile and surface design at RISD<\/a><\/strong>. She currently lives in Georgia and is here this morning to show us some illustrations from her new title, as well as some other portfolio pieces. (The spread opening this post is a portfolio piece, and the one below it is from her newest title.) <\/p>\n Without further ado, here’s Amy. <\/p>\n Amy:<\/font><\/strong> Splish Splash<\/a><\/strong><\/em> is an interactive board book, published by Little Simon. It is a “touch and hear” book, which incorporates a variety of fun materials that mimic the sounds of the animals in the book. In this case, animals which you might find along a river’s bank or by a lake or pond. My art director did a very creative job sourcing the appropriate materials to make the various sounds. I especially love the munching beaver (the reader rubs his\/her finger on a swatch of Velcro embedded in a log).<\/p>\n This book was inspired by where I live outside of Atlanta, Georgia. My house is on a lake surrounded by critters that inspire me on my daily walks.<\/p>\n I began my illustration career as a textile designer. I continue to sell my pattern designs in addition to illustrating children’s books.<\/p>\n In 2010, I was honored to find out that a book I illustrated, Why is the Sky Blue?<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, published by Ladybird Books, was chosen by Booktime.org in the UK as one of their featured books, along with Eric Carle’s<\/a><\/strong> “Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,” Said the Sloth<\/a><\/strong><\/em>. Over 750,000 book bags were distributed in the UK to first-year state school students.<\/p>\n Here are additional illustrations from my portfolio:<\/p>\n Many thanks to Amy for visiting. I hope those colors woke you up as they did me, even before I had coffee in hand. <\/p>\n All illustrations are \u00a9 2011 Amy Schimler and used with permissions.<\/em><\/p>\n As a reminder, 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks is a weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you. <\/p>\n 1).<\/font><\/strong> Spring. Even if it retreated for a bit here in Tennessee. This new image, celebrating it all, is from Shadra Strickland<\/a><\/strong>, who says the illustration will soon be available as an Etsy print:<\/p>\n 2).<\/font><\/strong> Okay. Ahem. Music kicks. Please just humor my musical ramblings here for just a wee moment (or, er, skip ahead if you’re tired of hearing about my new favorite tunes):<\/p>\n Also: Where has Raphael Saadiq<\/a><\/strong> been all my life? <\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/splishsplash1.jpg\")
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when the tab is pulled.<\/center><\/p>\n
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by flapping his claw.<\/center><\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nThe new Elbow<\/a><\/strong> CD, build a rocket boys!<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, significantly improved the quality of my days this week. Sweet heavenly poodles in hot air balloons (I don’t know where that<\/em> came from…it just came off my fingers, and I’m gonna leave it), it is GREAT. Every time I’m done listening to an Elbow CD, I just want to hang out with Guy Garvey. And his choirs. I want to be his friend and have him give me<\/em> a gentle shoulder charge and bust me out with his hacksaw (I know, I know, slightly baffling, but just get the new CD already, as you won’t be disappointed anyway) and ride shotgun in his car and pound my fists on the table with him over some beers. Yup. Anyway. The new CD is pretty much flawless. <\/p>\n