Blank sheets of paper waiting to be filled

I'm starting to work on the next Elsa picture book this very week (finally!) after finishing another book project. Empty papers stare at me on my desk. Some other creative projects will follow on the side, that's for certain. Sometimes it's very difficult to focus on the one thing you're supposed to work on. Mind wanders to faraway places. Like today. Luckily I have a very hard working illustrator sharing the studio with me. It makes me not to want to be an idle dreamer all day...

Spring dance

I wish everybody a happy weekend, beautiful springtime and lots of fun and funky dance moves as shown here by Elsa and her brother (our Facebook page reached 300 likes, so I drew this little picture to celebrate!). 

Here's link to our page, all in Finnish though:

Elsa Book Series 

"Sun is shining, the weather is sweet..."

"...Make you want to move your dancing feet" (Bob Marley)
 It's a wonderful, sunny winter day in Helsinki today, I can smell the spring already! Really nice projects to work on, so I'm starting with plenty of sketching and research. The guys in the picture above are part of one of them.
Well, I just better get cracking instead of fiddling on the computer...

"Illustrator as Author" mini seminar

Today we had a special treat for children's book and picture book people. Professor Martin Salisbury from Cambridge School of Art was the keynote speaker at a mini seminar organised by Aalto University's Graphic Design Unit. There were also interesting speakers from Finnish picture book field, such as Ville Tietäväinen, Kristiina Louhi and Maija & Anssi Hurme. It's such a rare thing to have something like this arranged in Helsinki. I wish that this is the beginning of more events like this for picture book enthusiasts, researchers, illustrators, authors and 'picture book makers'!

My partner, co-worker and fantastic illustrator/graphic designer Jussi made these limited palette designs below based on my pictures. We are having new business cards printed, and there was some extra space to fill in on the sheets of offset paper, with limited two-colour palette.
It's fun to see what it looks like, when somebody else has done the computer fiddling on my illustrations... The one on top is from a pencil sketch I had forgotten about. The one below is based on a piece of artwork I did for my exhibition two years ago.

 

 

It's the time for...

...the little Christmas elves to appear everywhere, so keep your eyes open! This year's seasonal card is Elsa and her brother, dressed up in costumes for kindergarten's winter play. It's a dark time of the year, so I will light up the candles and eat ginger bread (or chocolate) with a cup of hot tea...preferably in a rabbit costume because it's warm and cosy.

Supercool swimming pool!

Here are some wonderful photos from one of the kindergartens we have visited so far with Elsa-workshops.
We started the art project together with the children by reading the book about Elsa's first visit to an indoor swimming pool. Then we did some painting with marbles to create the water in different shades of blue. Also some frogs were born, ready to dive into the pool water.
We instructed the group's own teachers to continue building a swimming pool area with coloured tiles around the water and even adding extra characters and elements to the 3D-pool. And this is one of the projects finished. These children created a truly fantastic swimming pool, I'm so impressed and happy!

Multi-coloured swimming pool tiles.

This frog (bottom right) meets a surfer!

Lifebuoy has saved one swimmer...jump board tower on the right!

Swimming pool tiles in progress.

Helsinki Book Fair and Elsa workshops

Last weekend I was performing with Trio Pullakka, our band that is really a quartet. This was part of Elsa book reading session at Helsinki Book Fair children's area. Our next "gig" will be in a week's time at our local library.
We have started our 'Elsa workshop tour' at pre-schools and kindergartens with Kerttu. So far it's been really exciting. We have planned two different workshops, one for each book. Both of the workshops start with reading one of the Elsa books.
We have had imaginary trip through the winter forest to the ice-skating rink with some of the children for Elsa luistelemassa -book ("Elsa goes ice-skating"). This workshop is the one with movement, improvisation and learning about the basic skating techniques through play and dance. With others we have started to build a swimming pool by painting water with marbles and making frogs. The swimming pool project will continue so that the group can build their own 3D pool with water, frogs, tiles and maybe even slides and jump boards for the swimmers.

Workshops for pre-school children

Elsa celebrating the Wihuri Foundation's grant

Me and Elsa's author Kerttu received a grant to go to local kindergartens and teach workshops based on Elsa books. There will be two different ones, both with a book reading moment and activities. The ice-skating workshop will be the one with a lot of movement and play relating to the subject. The swimming workshop is about creating a swimming pool together with different art materials and techniques.
It means that the two of us will be as busy as bees for the next two months!

Tomorrow we celebrate Elsa's name day in Finland. Well, one day too soon, Happy Elsa's Day!

Oh yes, Elsa has a very sweet little brother!

 Here is a link to Elsa's own Facebook page (all in Finnish): Elsa books.

Elsa book launch party

I had a really, really good time celebrating the two new Elsa picture books at a book launch party and illustration exhibition's opening last Tuesday. Here are some photos from this happy event!

The exhibition wall is ready!

Interior of Toukka before it got crowded.

Musicians' family members reading.

Which one is going to win, a book or a mobile game?

Yep, the shop is tiny.

Our band Trio Pullakka quartet performing songs made especially for the event.

Elsa book delivery!

Today I picked up 7 kg of Elsa books from the post office. Next week there will be the book launch and exhibition of some of the original artwork at Toukka. We are very excited! The author of Elsa books, Kerttu Ruuska and I are also planning workshops for young children, based on the themes of the two books.
Kerttu is an expert in ice skating and especially in synchronised skating! I can barely stand up on ice, so I learned a lot while illustrating the book about Elsa going skating. I'm definitely more at ease outside the ice rink, dancing my socks off.