New Year, New Sketchbook Routine

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.

Portfolio Reset: Clearing Space for the Work Ahead

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.

The Christmas Shelf 2025

A video on what's on my Christmas shelf

A Small Press for Small Joys

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.

Border Play #2: When the Frame is a Cage

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.

The Fold (Gutter) Between Pages

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.

First Frost in the Garden, First Pause in the Studio

When frost touches the garden, the work in my studio changes too. Subscribe for free to read more.

My Autumn Sketching Kit + Sketchbook Process

Changing my palette to Fall (Video) Subscribe to read and watch at The Spread Table to receive new essays, insights and PB notes.

Silent Storytelling: How Silence Lives on the Picture Book Page

A long-form essay on silence, space, and storytelling in picture books — from the PB studio and the field. Subscribe to read more at The Spread Table to receive new essays and PB notes.

Drama in the Garden

I tripped over dahlias that had toppled into the path this morning. In the studio, I pare things down. But the garden keeps teaching me ... Subscribe to read more for free at The Studio Window tier to receive new essays and field notes.

September Sketchbook: Evening Page & The Flock

Hi all, I’m writing this from the garden. I’ve been finding a rhythm here - three posts a month and it’s been amazing to notice ... Subscribe to read more at The Spread Table tier to receive new essays and PB notes.

Border Play #1: When the Frame Holds the Story

Some mornings, the drawing feels like it could spill right off the page. The lines wander, the characters stretch, and the scene hums with motion.... Subscribe to read more at The Spread Table tier to receive new essays and PB notes.

Summer at The Meadow

We moved to The Meadow in June. The boxes are still stacked in corners, the walls half-painted, the floors waiting for their turn. Every day, we step over tools, buckets, and dust, learning the rhythms of a house that is still introducing itself. It’s a work in progress — and so are we.

How to Begin Again (While Everyone Is Watching)

There’s a specific kind of silence that happens when you begin again. Not the quiet of starting fresh, but the kind that comes when you return ...older, more uncertain, and aware that someone might be watching. I’ve felt it at the start of a new sketchbook. On the

Welcome

Start here.

A welcome to those who found their way to The Open Spread. Hi, I’m Ginnie. I’m so glad you’re here. I illustrate and write picture books. I teach storytelling at a university. I grow flowers — and sometimes, they grow me. The Open Spread is the place I