As The Page Turns

I've been fascinated by mummies since I was a kid. So to be offered an illustration project about mummies was super exciting. The author, Rhonda L. Donald, has included a variety of cultures from around the world, time frames and different methods of mummification. The mummies come in all shapes and sizes, from a baby wooly mammoth, beloved pets of pharaohs, Egyptian and Asian royalty, sacrificial Inca maidens, mysterious deaths and the list goes on. Through science and technology new discoveries are made every day. Soon we might even be able to recreate the voices from some of these long dead souls.

Before researching this book my main frame of reference was from The Mummy, a 1959 classic. Check out the trailer below, it's still awesome, even by today's standards.

Researching this book has been enlightening. The more I learn the more fascinated I am with mummies. Even though I'll alway have a soft spot in my heart for the fictional movie, The Mummy, I've come to the conclusion that facts are even more interesting than fiction. 

Interior spread showing the before and after images of the chantress, or temple singer, Tamut

Cat Mummy spread with copy roughed in to check placement

Tweaking the cover art

And for something a little lighter, here's an illustration from a potential project that is very much fluid for now. I thought both the mummy spreads and the illustration of the owl silhouetted in the moonlight were fitting images for the spooky month of October.

Non-contracted artwork that I'm hoping will become real down the road...

Bookbar is having their First Annual Children's Book Festival on October 21! I'm totally honored to be presenting a workshop that starts at 11am. There's something fun going on all day from 10am - 2pm. Please stop by and say hello!

Last but not least, Baby on Board: How Animals Carry Their Young just received some nice recognition. The book is featured in the National Science Teachers Association's Learning Magazine this month! And it also won a GOLD Medal in the Moonbeam Children's Book Award in the Animals/Pets category as well as GOLD in the Mom's Choice Awards!

That's my news for October and I appreciate you taking a look. You can click the images to enlarge them for a more detailed view.

Thanks,

Cathy