From The Open Library
Arthur Rackham’s fairy tales feel dark not because they are full of monsters, but because the trees, shadows, and strange little details seem to know something we don’t. Sign up to watch and listen for free at The Open Spread.
Field Notes
I spent time Plein air sketching at a dairy farm. It's the first one this year and more to come! Sign up for more at the spread table.
Field Notes
Good morning from The Meadow! We’ve been planting, welcoming new chickens and ducks, watching the animals enjoy the warm weather, and getting ready for plein air season in this very busy, very alive spring.
From The Open Library
A quiet reflection on May Horses, childhood daydreaming, magical realism, and blue and orange horses. Sign up to The Spread Table to read more about how wonder can enter ordinary life without explaining itself.
Long Essay
Empty space is rarely empty in picture books. It can guide the eye, slow the page down, make a character feel small or safe, and give emotion room to deepen. In this Shape & Space post on The Spread Table, I’m looking at how negative space quietly shapes the way a story feels.
process
In this sketchbook video, I’m sharing pages from my winter sketchbook and talking through color as emotion, creative block, and the way the season shaped the work.
Podcast
The pilot episode of A Slice of Illustration begins with Edmund Dulac and the value of looking closely at illustrators of the past. Sign up for free to watch and listen to the episode.
Arthur Rackham’s fairy tales feel dark not because they are full of monsters, but because the trees, shadows, and strange little details seem to know something we don’t. Sign up to watch and listen for free at The Open Spread.
I spent time Plein air sketching at a dairy farm. It's the first one this year and more to come! Sign up for more at the spread table.
A quiet reflection on May Horses, childhood daydreaming, magical realism, and blue and orange horses. Sign up to The Spread Table to read more about how wonder can enter ordinary life without explaining itself.
Empty space is rarely empty in picture books. It can guide the eye, slow the page down, make a character feel small or safe, and give emotion room to deepen. In this Shape & Space post on The Spread Table, I’m looking at how negative space quietly shapes the way a story feels.
A slow, visual blog about picture books, drawing, story rhythm, and the creative season between soil and sketch by Ginnie Hsu
Lately I’ve been obsessed with wordless storytelling, and The Hunter and the Animals is one of the books that keeps opening up for me. This post is a close look at how Tomie dePaola uses image, sequence, and empathy to carry an entire story without text. Sign up to read more on The Spread Table.
Soft shapes slow a reader down. Sharp shapes create tension. In picture books, shapes begin telling the emotional story long before the text arrives. A reflection on visual pacing and shape language in illustration. Sign up to read more at the Spread Table.
The Red Envelope is both a tradition and a design exercise. In this video, I share how I made it and the materials that brought it to life. Become a member to watch for free.
Winter sharpens attention. Working small does not feel like making less. It feels like making room. Room for ideas to stay provisional, for repetition to do its work, and for thinking to take shape before it has to decide. Sign up for free to read more at The Studio Window. :)
Borders don’t always stay still. In this final Border Play essay, I look at frames that shift with the story, using Where the Wild Things Are and What Is a River? to explore how changing edges carry emotion, time, and transformation. Read more at The Spread Table.
A new year, a new sketchbook routine. I’m sharing how I’m approaching daily drawing this year, what I’m focusing on, and what I’m learning along the way.
I’m taking stock at the end of the year. Letting go of work that’s finished its job, carrying forward what still feels alive, and noticing what’s missing. This isn’t about reinventing anything. It’s about alignment, direction, and making space for what comes next.
A video on what's on my Christmas shelf
I’ve been making greeting cards for a long time, quietly and imperfectly. This post is about returning to that work with care: Folkwell Press, small experiments, and why making things gently, without a grand plan, feels right to me right now.
If you make picture books, borders are never neutral. Sometimes they guide; sometimes they trap on purpose. In this essay, I break down what happens when the frame becomes a cage. Subscribe to The Spread Table to read more.
Every picture book hinges on a fold, the space where pacing, balance, and emotion live. An essay on how design and story meet in the quiet middle.
When frost touches the garden, the work in my studio changes too. Subscribe for free to read more.