"Maddy, will you come draw on the walls of our daughter's nursery?"

Why yes, I’d love to!

This spring, I was asked to do some of my wall drawing, but this time for a nursery! My first wall drawing experience was completely unplanned, the result of pandemic boredom and my unwillingness to completely remove the wallpaper bits from the walls in my home office. In that project, I did a little bit over the course of months and slowly developed a sense for what I was doing. With this project, I would only have a few evenings. Could I do it again?

It turns out, I can! I planned a bit more than I had last time, but still left a lot open to improvisation and experimentation. We decided on a color palette ahead of time, based on what is available in the larger sized Posca markers that I like to use and what would look nice on yellow walls. Once I arrived onsite, we had to establish what would go on the mural. I knew I wanted to draw a duck, a sheep, and some turtles. She asked for a hedgehog. So, that’s where I started. I sketched out a basic landscape with duck, sheep, turtles, and hedgehog, and then took to the walls.

After the first day, we knew it needed more. She requested a moose. I learned how to draw a moose, and it went up on the wall. I finished it up with some buzzing bees. Throughout the process, we critiqued and edited together, making it a more collaborative process than my first mural.

This project came after a fallow creative period for me, so it was particularly affirming to be able to stand in front of it and say “look what I made!” And when, during the baby shower, some kids appeared and started playing with stuffed animals against the drawings, I was especially glad to have created a space for that kind of imaginative play.

Minneapolis Institute of Art Virtual Family Day

Last summer, I told a friend I just wanted to design activities for kids. (I was clearly inspired by all the art and doodle activities that artists and illustrators like Mo Willems and Wendy McNaughton developed in response to the pandemic.) Somehow, I spoke that into existence. This winter, with impeccable art direction by Mia’s Natalia Choi, I designed an at-home art activity for Mia’s April Virtual Family Day: Coloring My Feelings.

Families could pick up a tote bag of simple supples from the steps of the Minneapolis Institute of Art. I loved seeing the different renditions of my little feelings blobs!

We also created a recording of myself reading The Book of Anger in my recently muraled studio space. The entire experience was just grand!

Intro MIa family day drop shadow.jpg
Mia Family Day Drop Shadow.jpg