My book reading at Macy’s was wonderful! For those of you couldn’t join us, here are some pictures and even a video clip from the event:

Signage in the store! Is that REALLY me?!

Signing books for the kids!

Pictures with the kids! They were TOO cute. I wanted to take them all home with me!

The smile on my face says it all, don't you think? What a FABULOUS day!

Following the reading, the kids got to decorate cupcakes courtesy of Macy's. Based on the evidence we found, looks like some were also eaten!

This past weekend I went to The Armory Show, an international contemporary art fair and one of of the most important annual art events in New York. The Armory Show featured over 200 leading galleries from around the world displaying some of the most notable in contemporary and modern art, all for sale! I saw art that was big, conceptual, bright, awe-inspiring, innovative, bizarre and playful — a visual cornucopia of colors, textures and materials! Since my bank account can’t quite support an Andy Warhol, I went more to window shop. Here are some pieces which particularly caught my eye — hope they inspire you like they inspired me!

You can’t tell here but these photographs by Andres Serrano using silhouettes of staged toy figures were big – about 4.5 ft tall by 5.5 ft wide!

I was especially delighted to see work by one of my favorite artists, Yoshitomo Nara.

There were even pieces by Pablo Picasso!

And Keith Haring!

Believe it or not this piece is made of cast resin (looks like stuffed garbage bags doesn’t it?)!

This one is by the always bewildering Marina Abramovic, I wonder if the person comes with this piece? LOL

Andy Warhol – I’ll take 3, please! ;)

{**UPDATE** Using random.org to generate a random number, the winner is Susan who posted on February 16th. Susan, please contact me at info@wanart.com with your details. Thanks for entering everyone – I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED reading your posts! :D I will be hosting another give-away soon! xo}

I hope everyone had a nice Valentine’s Day (whether you’re a fan of the holiday or not)! Any holiday that fills the world with hearts is an awesome one in my book! I spent the evening teaching my Greeting Card Design class at the School of Visual Arts but I ♥ my students so that’s ok, right?

For those of you who missed my last give-away on the wanart facebook page, I’m going to spread a little post-Valentine’s Day cheer by throwing another one right now on this blog! Just comment below (or on the facebook link relating to this blog post) and tell me what the best thing was about your Valentine’s Day. Even if it was just sitting at home eating leftovers while watching Cupcake Wars – I want to know! I will randomly pick one winner on Friday, February 24th at 10am to win a set of my signed board books YOU ARE MY CUPCAKE and WE BELONG TOGETHER along with a set of 24 pinback buttons as in the photo! Good luck! xo-Joyce

p.s. I posted this new drawing on facebook but wanted to post it here as well because it is inspired by all of you!

Perfect keepsake gifts for your little Valentine that can be enjoyed beyond February 14th!

Order these sweet little books on amazon.com or, find them at / order them from your local bookstore!

Keep an eye on our facebook page as we will be posting give-aways leading up to Valentine’s Day.

Also, visit our website for the cutest love cards to send to that special someone.

xo-joyce

Happy New Year — again! January 23rd marks the start of the Lunar New Year as well as the Year of the Dragon (specifically the Water Dragon). This has always been one of my favorite holidays of the year as it always brings back fond childhood memories of fresh cut flowers at home, lucky red envelopes filled with cash, big family dinners, and vibrant festivals with lion dancing and firecrackers. My cultural heritage has always been a great source of inspiration for me. The very first card line I launched when I started Wanart featured my Zodiac Zoo designs which was a simpler, more stylized version of the zodiac animals and they are still one of my best-selling today.

The Dragon is the fifth sign of the Chinese Zodiac, which consists of 12 animal signs that include the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Snake, Horse, Sheep (or Goat), Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Apparently, everything is magnified in a Dragon year, there will be spectacular successes as well as crash-and-burn failures. Also, as water does not have a definite shape and it represents flow, movement, and fluidity, this will be a year of changes, adjustments, new directions, and unexpected turn of events. This is the year to try new things but be sure to tread carefully and prepare for the unexpected!

According to Chinese tradition, a person’s birth sign has a profound influence on personality and destiny. For those expecting little Dragon babies, those born under this sign are said to be driven, unafraid of challenges, and willing to take risks. While Dragons frequently help others, rarely will they ask for help. They are very strong-willed and have tempers that can flare fast. Because Dragons prefer leading to being led, they have the potential for accomplishing many great things.

For that perfect Year of the Dragon new baby gift – be sure to check out our Dragon onesies and onesie/bib sets.

May the Year of the Dragon bring good fortune to you all! Wishing you all the happiest of New Years!

xo joyce

Wow, 2011 was an AMAZING year! So many things have happened this past year for which I am beyond-words-grateful. The year also ended with a surprising bang as I was presented with a new book contract (more info below)!

Some highlights:

♥ New Mobile Apps
I was able to combine my two passions — art and technology — with the release of Kiwi and Pear’s World Adventure, an interactive storybook app, and Kiwi and Pear’s Balloon Adventure game for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. With over 25,000 downloads combined to date – I am so thrilled to have the opportunity to spread love, hugs, and happiness all over the world!

♥ New Licensing Partnerships
Collaborating with amazing companies such as Badge Bomb has enabled me to focus a little more on what I love to do most which is illustration and design! Also, I still get a kick out of running into products with my designs on them in stores! Look out for some of these cool new items in 2012:

♥ New Books Published
The release of my two latest books You Are My Cupcake and We Belong Together published by Cartwheel / Scholastic.

♥ Book Launch Celebration
All my family, friends, and colleagues in one room to celebrate the release of my new books with me — and with tasty cupcakes! What more is there to say?

♥ Last-Minute Hawaiian Getaway
This trip reminded me that we all need to take a break from work and do something fun, out-of-the-ordinary, and spontaneous sometimes. As I gazed in awe at a full rainbow that I spotted in the middle of a field while driving around the Hawaiian countryside (after having made my friend pull over on the side of the road so that I could take pictures!), it also reminded me that we should never lose touch with our childlike sense of wonder.

♥ Teaching Continuing Education Courses at The School of Visual Arts, NYC
Having taken these very SVA continuing education courses and now, seven years later, teaching them myself has been an incredibly rewarding experience. I have found great joy in helping people take their creative pursuits to the next level, and hopefully, providing them with as enriching of an experience as continuing education courses has provided me over the years. For those of you in the New York area, make good on some of those New Year’s resolutions and register for my 2012 Spring Semester course on Greeting Card Design or Art Licensing!

♥ 2011 Society of Illustrators Original Art Show
One of my new books We Belong Together was 1 of 150 books selected out of 600 entries nationwide to be featured in the Society of Illustrators 2011 Original Art Show, an exhibit which showcases the year’s best children’s books. Not only was it my first time having a piece of my professional work hanging in a gallery but to be featured alongside artists, whose books I loved as a child and still idolize today, was a dream come true.

♥ New Book Contract
Just days before the Christmas holiday (when I thought everybody had gone on vacation already — mental or otherwise), I received wonderful news from my rock star literary agent Teresa Kietlinski of Prospect Agency that she had finalized the contract for me to illustrate SLEEPYHEADS, by Sandra Howatt, a cozy bedtime book about all the places baby animals rest their sleepy heads to be published by Beach Lane Books / Simon & Schuster! What a way to close out a year!

Thank you to all of my dear family, friends, and fans for your inspiration and support. I wish you all the very best in 2012 and am very excited to share a brand new year with you.

Let me know, what were some of the best things that happened to you in 2011?

xoxo-joyce

My book We Belong Together was 1 of 150 books recently selected out of 650 entries nationwide to be featured in the Society of Illustrators 2011 Original Art Show, an exhibit which showcases the year’s best children’s books. Here’s a link to more information about the show including the complete list of all the illustrators and titles that are featured. The show had its opening reception on October 27, 2011.

I have attended this show twice before in 2009 and 2010. I will never forget when I met Eric Carle last year here where he received his lifetime achievement award from the Society of Illustrators!

The reception was a madhouse – two floors, filled wall to wall, with people and art!

Part of the fun was trying to locate my piece on the walls and there it is!

Scholastic chose the last spread from the book to be featured in the show. It was so exciting and a bit surreal to see it on the wall! My book might have actually also been the only board book in the entire show!

Out of the 150 books chosen to be included in the show, three were awarded medals-one Gold and two Silver-for best in show. There was an awards ceremony to recognize these winners.

Here is Lane Smith accepting one of the Silver medals for his latest book Grandpa Green. That’s Kadir Nelson’s head in the foreground (that’s how crowded it was LOL)! He received the other Silver medal for his book Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans. The Gold medal went to Rosalyn Schanzer for her book Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem.

The exciting evening was capped off by a wonderful dinner, hosted by Scholastic, at Park Avenue Autumn with Lori Benton, VP and Publisher; David Saylor, VP and creative director; my editor, Jeff Salane, along with other Scholastic editors and designers and three other artists, Leonid Gore, Stephen Savage, and David Ercolini, who also had books published by Scholastic in the show.

When we sat down at the table for dinner each of us were presented with a menu that read: “Scholastic Congratulates the Artists in the Original Art Show 2011″. How nice is that?

Speaking of interesting food combinations, here is one of Park Avenue Autumn’s signature dishes – Broccoli with Cheetos! I actually found a video online of the chef at Park Avenue Autumn giving a demonstration on making this dish!

What an amazing and inspiring evening and definitely one of the highlights of my life! If you are in the New York area, or will be, I urge all of you to check out the Original Art Show which runs until December 29, 2011. The show gives you such a rare opportunity to take a close look at some of the beautiful work being produced by some of today’s best illustrators.

The Society of Illustrators
128 East 63rd Street
(between Park and Lexington Avenues)
Tel: (212) 838-2560

Gallery Hours:
10 AM– 8 PM Tuesday
10 AM– 5 PM Wednesday – Friday
12 noon– 4 PM Saturday
Closed most holidays

xo-joyce

To celebrate the recent release of WE BELONG TOGETHER I’m giving away not one but two books! Leave a comment below this post or on the Wanart facebook page post regarding this give-away telling us your favorite food combination (the odder the better). I’ll have to admit my favorite at the moment is Spam with scrambled eggs over white rice. I just got back from Hawaii and that is a local specialty. You could find Spam EVERYWHERE – even at McDonalds!

One lucky winner will be picked at random on Wednesday, October 19th at 12pm EST to receive signed copies of both YOU ARE MY CUPCAKE and WE BELONG TOGETHER (along with some surprise goodies)!

GOOD LUCK! xoxo

***UPDATE***
CoNgRaTuLaTiOns Carter Higgins for winning the contest via random drawing! I will be contacting you soon for details! Thanks for entering everyone! Stay tuned for more give-aways…..xoxo

Here are some pictures from my book launch celebration on September 17, 2011 for YOU ARE MY CUPCAKE and WE BELONG TOGETHER. It was a beautiful event and I was overwhelmed by the turnout. It was held at the Magnolia Bakery on Columbus Avenue in New York City. What an amazing day!

A book launch for a book called YOU ARE MY CUPCAKE is not complete without, of course, cupcakes!

And for WE BELONG TOGETHER, heart-shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches made by yours truly!

Decorate me! Fun for kids and the kid in all of us! Download your very own cupcake coloring sheet here!

Super star editors!

So many cupcakes! This little girl ran right up to my dress and grabbed the fabric! TOO CUTE!

I am so grateful for all the support from family and friends! :)

To wish them luck, let us make a toast to YOU ARE MY CUPCAKE and WE BELONG TOGETHER. May the books have wondrous success as they make their way into people’s homes, schools, and libraries. Strengthening the bond between parent and child and enabling the wee-est of humans, those that can’t even read yet, experience the joy of books! CHEERS!

xoxo
Joyce