Simona & Simone

I've been wanting to take some photos of these beautiful volumes since I bought them 

at the Bologna Book Fair, but only now I've found the time to actually do it.

Last year I had already posted about Topipittori, one of my favorite Italian publishers

of illustrated children's books, and this time at the fair I had a chat with its founders,

Giovanna Zoboli and Paolo Canton. Turns out that Paolo and I knew each other

when we were teenagers! Anyway, I really love what they do, and was very happy

to get a copy of the wonderful Vorrei avere signed by the artist SImona Mulazzani...

GIovanna Zoboli's Vorrei avere (I wish I had) is an ode to the beauty and wonder of animals

sung through the poetic words of a child enamored with nature. Mulazzani's enchanting

 illustrations interpret every verse with great sensitivity and a richness of visual inventions.

Love the endpapers with the illustration sketches!

I have also previously featured the works of SImone Rea, one of Italy's brightest young illustrators. 

His elegant paintings illustrate this new translation of Aesop's Fables with warmth 

and a wonderful sense of color and composition. 

Coincidentally, I have already posted the equally sophisticated Aesop interpretation 

by Jean-François Martin which won the Bologna Ragazzi Award this year.

To each his own, I love them both!

Christian's Creatures

I love Christian Montenegro...

The works of this Argentinian illustrator have so much character,

such rich colors, bold shapes, beautiful textures, and they 

are inhabited by such funky animals and monsters!

Illustration for Pets magazine

Cover and spreads from the book Quatro Gatos Negros Flacos 

written by Didí Grau and designed by Laura Varsky

Two illustrations from the 2004 book The Creation, 

a contemporary visual interpretation of the book of Genesis

Two illustrations from Spooky calendar

Lemurs for Media Vaca's book Mis Primeras 80.000 Palabras 

Illustration for Varoom magazine

Illustration for Bestia magazine

Two creations from the Imaginary beings series

Christian has recently illustrated a series of sacred Indian animals

for the group exhibition Animania curated by Divya Thakur.

The show also featured works by Lokesh Karekar, Leandro Castelao, 

Ingela P Arrhenius, Josh Brill and Seijiro Kubo.

Try a Little Tenderness

 I have recently fallen in love with Kyoko Okubo's small sculptures, 

delicately handcrafted from traditional japanese washi paper.

Okubo is a self taught artist who began playing with washi as a child, 

and in her mid-30s began making dolls for herself. After sharing 

her works with family and friends, she first exhibited them on a 

sidewalk Tokyo’s Harajuku district. Since these humble beginnings, 

she has gone on to show internationally and is currently represented 

by Mobilia Gallery in Cambridge Massachusets.

Okubo's miniature scenes realistically portray intimate moments from her poetic 

dream world, a soft universe inhabited by gentle and enigmatic wild animals

mysteriously bonding and interacting with lovely girls and young children. 

"Washi, meaning “Japanese paper”, is a crisp, sturdy material created from fibers 

from the bark of the gampi tree, the mitsumata shrub or the paper mulberry. 

While today the material is often mass-produced, it is still handmade 

in rural communities throughout the country."

From an article about Okubo at American Craft Magazine.

You can also read a nice post on her work at Art Found Out.

Stay tuned for more January in Japan findings!

Nothern Soul

Klaus Haapaniemi

It's time to dedicate a post to two favorite Finnish folk inspired artists-designers: 

Sanna Annukka and Klaus Haapaniemi. Both work as illustrators with the award winning

 graphic design studio and agency Big Active. You are likely to have met them before, 

since they have been very busy creating beautiful, magical designs for prints, 

fabrics, cards and much more... 

Klaus Haapaniemi, throw  from his first signature collection

Sanna Annukka for Marimekko

Klaus Haapaniemi, plate from the Taika series for Iittala

Sanna Annukka, cd packaging for Keane's Under the Iron Sea

Klaus Haapaniemi, Rabbit limited edition letterpress print for Wilkintie

Sanna Annukka, Call of the Cuckoo print

Klaus Haapaniemi, Oravat

Sanna Annukka, Soul Bird wooden sculpture

Klaus Haapaniemi, Peacocks from his signature collection for Cacharel

Sanna Annukka, Sunbird postcard at 1973

I love this warm and friendly Finnish folk vibe, it's just what I needed 

to put me in the Christmas spirit... now, I'm ready for some snow!