Print and Color!

Pssst … 
Try printing this on white resume paper, or something with a little texture!

The Dreidel Shop

Pssst … One of the reasons Boris and Stella is so special to me is because of the personal details I included in the illustrations. The pretty colored lamps hanging in the dreidel shop are from one of my favorite restaurants, a tapas bar in Waltham, MA called Solea. The tapestry on the wall was woven by my mother, who is reknown for a kind of weaving called, Bound Weave.  I chose it from among her other designs because the row of red brick townhouses reminds me of the town house where I grew up in Brookline, MA.  I also like the way it repeats the city theme. The little wood box in the shape of an upside down ice-cream cone comes from Africa and sits on my nightstand.

Tapestry by Eileen Goldman

The Research

At the RISD Nature Lab in Providence

Once I've finished all my thumbnail sketches and picked out my favorites, I'm ready to draw the full size sketches. This part requires LOTS of research.  When I first started making children's books, I used to have to go to the library to search for reference material.  The internet has changed everything! However, there is nothing like drawing from the real thing!

Newbury Street,  Boston