organic art and poetry for your health
it's the prayer book you never knew you needed
I am finishing a prayer book- it was written before AI chatbots came onto the scene, and though I considered "perfecting" my work, I feel it’s best left organic with flaws, just like us. Humans are imperfect and that is what makes us special. The book is short & sweet and focuses on giving joy & gratitude at mealtime.
For the artwork, I used autofill, the copy-and-paste feature, and relied heavily on the computer’s French curves however, I consider these the basic graphic design tools. At this point, learning or attempting to switch to AI would only cause a delay, and I feel the time is now to get my message out there, especially when people are ready to Make America Healthy Again!
spreading the word, sharing what I know
writing a poem, saying prayers, & drawing pictures
So, several years ago I started writing this prayer book and I am thrilled to be nearing its completion. It was originally intended to be a children’s book but it can be enjoyed by anyone young at heart.
I’m the first to admit I’m not much of a writer, so getting started was challenging. To expand my vocabulary, I read the dictionary. I didn’t know it was actually a thing but it seemed to make sense to go to a ‘word bank’ to build up my word stock. With balancing two jobs, raising kids, as well as logging ‘noteworthy’ definitions (which was quite often), the process took me over a year to complete. I’ve referred back to that list often. I have a golden book of extra-special terms that have proven to be a valuable source of inspiration, especially when I’m feeling stuck, as they consistently help boost my creativity.
After building the word inventory, I set out to learn about poetry, aiming to make my book easy and fun to read. My only goal was to encourage readers to feel grateful for healthy foods—not to take them for granted, and to recognize how special they truly are. It’s been several years now, so I honestly can’t remember exactly how I began, but limiting the number of syllables helped bring structure to the pages.
With the structure of the words in place, I turned my focus to the visual elements of the book. It features illustrations of about 89 different edible plants and flowers. Creating it involved extensive research, developing my artistic style, and teaching myself a graphic design program. As an art student, I learned to appreciate various styles, but I knew I needed a cohesive look for this project. While it was fun, it was also quite challenging at times. In my mind, I often replayed advice from my past art instructors—most often from Ruth Esserman, who taught at Highland Park High School and was one of the few people who never stopped believing in my talent. I am so grateful for her confidence.
Ruth Esserman explaining to me how to move from idea to execution.