ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY ~ HATCH

©Ginger Nielson

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY ~ CONTAINED

From the book I illustrated and written by Michele L. Fisher, here is Zachary with is tiny friend Cali, the caterpillar. Actually she is a tomato worm that he rescued in California and transported home to Florida in a salad on a passenger plane.
Visit Cali's own website, .The Adventures of Cali.

The BugCatchers

Now that I am happy with this version there is a point where I started...
and I still like this one. It has a simplicity that is perfect for some types of stories. But it evolved a bit to this one next....
and this one is fun too, but it needed something and I also wanted to get a closer view of the children... so that is the first image on the top.

Signs of the season

This is also the time of year that the monarch butterflies are getting ready for their trip south.

I took photos of the field of milkweed plants where I found the caterpillar and a newly emerged butterfly.




  This caterpillar is a bit late getting started on his chrysalis, but he will soon be enclosed in a gorgeous turquoise shell and emerge as a stunning flying creature.  Up here we have many adults and students that gently tag the butterflies so that their progress can be followed from season to season.  You can learn morehere.

Be sure to visit the amazing site above and check all the links for some fantastic views of the caterpillar metamorphosis in still and animated images. It is a great science lesson for kids and adults.

The Adventures of Cali

Finally available at AMAZON THE ADVENTURES OF CALI, are also featured on a new website. Take a peek and look for more to come. Cali has some surprises in store for her young and young at heart readers. Suggested for children 5-8 it is a lovely story that children enjoy hearing over and over.

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY ~ CAMOUFLAGE

These illustrations are from 'THE ADVENTURES OF CALI' by Michele Lallouz Fisher, featuring my illustrations. On his flight home from California to his city apartment a young boy 'HIDES' his caterpillar friend in an airport food stand salad..... Naturally it is a bit surprising to the other passengers on the plane.

School Visits

I spent a wonderful day with the children of Pierce Elementary School in Bennington, NH. We had a great time getting to know each other and I had a chance to show the students some of the ins and outs of digital artwork. Along the way we read from 'Princess Caitlin's Tiara' and 'The Adventures of Cali.' I brought along my own Princess Tiara to wear, just (well almost) like Caitlin's, and each child who listened to the story about Cali got to take home a Cali finger puppet. The one that I made is from cardstock, but the one that will be presented when the books come out later this summer will look like the fuzzy one shown here next to Cali's book cover.

I was really impressed with the attention, interest, and teriffic good manners of all the children!