I’ve just finished a wonderful collaboration with a brilliant poet who just happens to be my dear friend, Joe Flara. “Play Onwards” is a book of poetry and short stories that have evolved from Joe’s life experiences. My illustrations are done in pencil, darkened a bit with the magic of Photoshop…there’s a cat and mouse who appear repeatedly throughout this delightful, rollicking tome. A kitten at first, our cat grows throughout the book, eventually…well, you can guess what happens to the mouse. Each illustration has it’s accompanying poem.

 

This is the first book I’ve illustrated. My prior experience includes magazine and newspaper illustration, but a book is a game changer; it’s an excuse to create a whole new body of work.

 

The reason there’s an ironing board on the cover is as follows, and I’m quoting Joe: “When I was a kid, I’d wake up in the middle of the night with a story in my head that I knew HAD to be written. I’d quietly sneak down the parts of the stairs that didn’t creak, and get out Mom’s ironing board to use as a desk. I’d awaken the following morning, clutching scribbled pages in my hands, frantic that I had forgotten to put up the ironing board, and would be found out. Mom knew, or course, but for my sake she didn’t let on; she’d only hint at it, sometimes. I remember her smiling once and saying, ‘Life will get a lot simpler, Joseph, once you get past the ironing of it all’.”

 

I think the above paragraph hints at the magical quality of Joe’s writing. He’s working on two new books, and has several more in his head…I hope I get to illustrate all of them!