Newsletter
Studio Letter: July
A studio letter from Ginnie for July.
Ginnie Hsu
Hi, I’m Ginnie, author, illustrator, flower farmer, gardener and teacher of picture book storytelling. I split my days between the studio and the flower field, where stories and seasons often meet.
Sketchbooks
If You’ve Ever Abandoned a Sketchbook Halfway Through, This Is for You
A reflection on unfinished sketchbooks, strange guilt, and the tenderness of returning to abandoned pages. Sign up to read more from The Studio Table.
Farm Life
The Seed Packet
The first issue of The Seed Packet is ready. Sprouting / 初芽 is a 2-color riso printed seed-packet-inspired art object about beginnings, the meadow, making home, and a little bit of missing home in Taiwan.
From The Open Library
A Slice of Illustration Ep.2: Arthur Rackham and the Dark Side of Fairy Tales
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
Plein Air Sketching at a Dairy Farm
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
Our Farm in May
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 Simple Dream in May: May Horses by Jan Wahl and Blair Lent
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
Negative Space Guides (Shape & Space #2)
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
The Blue Period: Notes on a Winter Sketchbook
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
A Slice of Illustration: The World of Edmund Dulac
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.
Thinking Picture Book
Pictures Can Think: On The Hunter and the Animals by Tomie dePaola
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.
Thinking Picture Book
Shape Language: Soft vs Sharp (Shape & Space #1)
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.