Posted in Animals, Art, Authors, Books, Cards, Cats, Children's Books, Creativity, Design, Dogs, French Bulldogs, Graphic Design, Illustration, Inspiration, On the Web, Photography, Reflections, Writing, tagged author, books, chuldren's book illustrator, desugn, Frenchie artist, graphic artist, graphic design, graphic designer, illustrator, jeannebalsam on February 7, 2023| 6 Comments »
To be truthful, this is long overdue; however, I am just so happy and so grateful that it is here and up now.
With the new site, I can better share with you the work that I do, and even how some of it may help you! I’m thinking of graphic design, self-publishing, or art projects.
It’s all so shiny and new!! Please take a look and thank you for checking out my new website.
Posted in Animals, Books, Cards, Children's Books, Creativity, French Bulldogs, Holidays, Home Stuff, Inspiration, Life, Reflections, tagged calm, Change, Chanukah, children's books, Christmas, Frenchie Christmas Cards, Frenchie Holiday Cards, Frenchies, gifts, grateful, holiday season, holidays, Joy, merriment, peace, picture books on December 1, 2022| 6 Comments »
It seems that the holidays feel different every year. It’s not a matter of growing older, but maybe of seeing the world through different eyes.
Some years have seen good-sized gatherings, some years, small and intimate ones. Some years bright and merry, others quiet. There have been years where gift-buying was a big deal, others when it barely mattered at all. Years with COVID in play, years not.
The common thread? Change. Everything is always in motion, including how we spend our holidays, where, and with whom.
The other thread? Feeling grateful … for all the experiences the holidays have brought, and those they will bring.
Here’s hoping that you will not get lost in the rush, but lost in the peace, joy, and sweet calm of the season. I’ll be joining you for these.
It wouldn’t be the beginning of December if I didn’t mention that I have adorable Frenchie items for sale in my Etsy shop, or that my magical and beautiful picture book, Where Do Butterflies Go at Night?, would make a great Christmas gift.
Cheers!
Posted in Animals, Art, Cats, Creativity, Design, Illustration, Inspiration, Life, Reflections, tagged angel art, angel drawings, angels, artwork, cemetery angels, cemetery lion, Drawing, graveyard angels, graveyard sculpture, pen and ink drawing on September 1, 2022| 10 Comments »
A number of months ago I found myself sketching an angel, but not just any angel. I had drawn a stone cemetery angel. Not too much later, I drew another, below.
I have always been fascinated by the amazing angels that one finds in cemeteries. To me, they’re just beautiful and are so expressive. Sometimes holding the child who’s buried below their feet, sometimes quietly sad, and sometimes they are weeping in unutterable grief.
These angels are found all over the world, but, in my research, I find the greater majority seem to be in western Europe. When I worked in publishing some time ago, we put out a magazine called Camera Arts. They did an extensive, full color photo essay on angels in graveyards and cemeteries, many in Italy, and the extent to which these statues were carved and detailed was mind blowing.
As my life has been undergoing many changes, I want to return to drawing. For me, the best way to do that is just draw something – anything – I’m interested in; if these magnificent stone angels are calling to me, then I should draw them. As I posted the drawings on Instagram, I found people with a similar interest who also provide a rich resource of subject material. There I even found a cemetery angel who did not have wings (above.)
As I looked further, I found that angels might even be animals, like this heartbroken lion in California. And so I draw, “keeping my hand in”, as they say, re-familiarizing myself with that part of me that didn’t have much reason to express itself. And now it does. I don’t know where any of this will take me; I’m simply grateful to be finding myself again.
Posted in Animals, Art, Authors, Books, Children's Books, Creativity, Fave Blogs, Illustration, Nature, Wildlife, tagged butterflies, Ethicool Books, insect book, magical books, nature, nature books, Stella Mongodi, Where Do Butterflies Go at Night on August 19, 2022| 2 Comments »
Would you like a chance to win a signed copy of my debut picture book, Where Do Butterflies Go at Night? It’s very easy, but the deadline is August 30th!
Longtime friend in children’s books and a very talented lady herself, Kathy Temean posted a fabulous review of my book on her blog, Writing and Illustrating. She’s also hosting my book giveaway, so all you have to do is comment on her blog, or otherwise help promote it on social media (and be sure to let her know!), and she will add your name to the giveaway basket. Check here for full details and to help my Butterflies take flight!
Thanks so much, and I hope it’s YOU!
Posted in Animals, Art, Authors, Books, Cats, Children's Books, Creativity, Design, Dogs, Graphic Design, Helping Out, Illustration, Inspiration, Life, Metaphysical, Music, Nature, Photography, Reflections, Writing, tagged artwork, books, brighter future, children's books, illustration, inspiration, museums, picture books, promotion, self-publishing, workshops, writing on August 8, 2022| 11 Comments »
Sometimes it’s hard to know what to write when a month or two has passed. It’s not that I don’t have something to say – I am never at a loss for words – maybe how much to say? Or how to put it?
I’m moving into a new phase of my life. It began last November when I chose to leave the organization and work that I have done for over three decades. It was the right time and the right choice for me. I am grateful for the opportunity to have saved many thousands of lives and raised many millions of donation dollars for this organization. It was wonderful. But now, I have other things to do.
Almost all work in my life has involved healing others, whether humans or animals. I believe it’s why I’m here. I recently spent a period of time needing to take care of and healing myself after some medical procedures and the accompanying stress, but I feel myself pulling away from that period now and re-focusing on where I’m going.
In a sense, it’s a question of `what do I want to do/be when I grow up?’ from a whole new perspective. It’s challenging and occasionally a little frightening, but I feel myself, from someplace deep inside, starting to gather strength. And I am seeing myself unfolding in ways that would not have been possible those three decades ago. And it’s all good.
My first children’s book is now released, and I will be promoting that and hopefully, meeting lots of excited kids and more. I am soon starting some workshops in helping people self-publish, and plan on advancing other graphics skills I have to help people. How this will all come together is still unknown, but I trust it will be exactly as it should be.
One gift I have been given and which inspires me is, believe it or not, Instagram. I am an artist, but also a photographer, and have loved taking pictures all my life. Now I have the opportunity to be yet more inspired and post my images. All my life, I have also loved music, and over the last 7-8 months or so, this has been expanded immensely. And for a major portion of my life, I have loved going to museums, and recently I have been inspired to get out more, once again, and see art, which feeds my soul. And to do my own art, however that seems to be making itself known, and surprising me as much as anyone.
Some days feel a little shaky, occasionally outright scary, but others are just glowing with promise. All is well.
Posted in Animals, Art, Authors, Books, Creativity, Design, Illustration, Inspiration, Metaphysical, Nature, Reflections, Uncategorized, Writing, tagged adjustment, Change, creativity, enchantment, evolution, Growth, Judgment, Magic, Peter S. beagle, The Last Unicorn, Unicorn tapestry on April 21, 2022| 14 Comments »
Maybe this should be titled Finding the Unicorn Within. I’m not sure. I do know we all have that uniqueness inside us, that thing that makes us special and rare. Even while we know that at our most essential level, we are all the same.
Adapting to leaving an organization to whom one has devoted so much of her time, life, and energy after 35 years has proven a very different change than I expected. From the still-getting-used-to my not needing to be at my desk at 9 a.m. to the fact that my day is completely mine to structure, to the alarmingly slow realization that my creativity is completely mine to unearth and explore … it’s been a sea change.
I began sorting through years of accumulated work samples, tossing most, saving some, all in the interest of making my work space reflect where I am now and where I am going now. I rediscovered an Inspiration folder that I’d created for ideas, and inside it was a quote that I have always loved. So, as I continue to evolve daily into a newer and brighter self, I share the quote with you, from The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle.
“It’s a rare man who is taken for what he truly is. There is much misjudgment in the world. Now I took you for a unicorn when I first saw you, and I know that I am your friend. Yet you took me for a clown, a clod, or a betrayer, and so I must be if you see me so. The magic on you is only magic and will vanish as soon as you are free, but the enchantment of error that you put on me I must wear forever in your eyes.
“We are not always what we seem, and hardly ever what we dream. Still, I have read, or heard it sung, that unicorns when time was young, could tell the difference `twixt the two – the false shining and the true, the lips’ laugh and the heart’s rue.”
~ Schmendrick the Magician
The Last Unicorn
Posted in Animals, Art, Authors, Books, Children's Books, Creativity, Illustration, Inspiration, Nature, Poetry, Reflections, Wildlife, Writing, tagged books, butterflies, children's books, debut picture book, Ethicool, inspiration, magical children's book, picture books, Stella Mongodi, Where Do Butterflies Go at Nigjt?, writing on February 23, 2022| 6 Comments »
I started taking classes in the writing and illustrating of children’s books many years ago. Actually it was about four years after I graduated from my alma mater, Pratt, where I had also taken advance coursework in art therapy. Not sure how it came to my attention, but suddenly I was at the New School in the evenings, studying with the very well-known author and illustrator, Uri Shulevitz.
I was greatly encouraged by him, and he even sent me to some publishers, my little picture book dummy in hand, (something that would never happen today). I was so young back then, and couldn’t really grasp what it would mean to be a published author and illustrator. As a result, my life took a different path, but it has looped back to where I am now and where I am supposed to be.
Where Do Butterflies Go at Night? is my debut picture book – you’ve seen the cover in the previous post. I have a young, growing, and progressive publisher in Ethicool Books who cares about the issues that matter in the world, and who cares about their authors. They recently did an author’s interview with me, and posted it on their website. I am both honored and deeply grateful that they wrote about me in such a beautiful light, and see in me the woman who also cares about these issues.
You can find the interview here. Thanks for reading and sharing my journey.
My publication date has now been moved forward to June 22, but Butterflies is available to pre-order on bookshop.org, Amazon and Barnes & Noble now.
Posted in Animals, Art, Authors, Books, Children's Books, Creativity, Good Reads, Illustration, Inspiration, Nature, Wildlife, Writing, tagged author, butterflies, children's books, Ethicool Books, Jeanne Balsam, magical books, nature, picture books, Stella Mongodi, Where Do Butterflies Go at Night on February 8, 2022| 10 Comments »
Pictured here is our final cover for Where Do Butterflies Go at Night?, published by Ethicool Books.
I am pleased to announce that our latest/updated release date is mid-June, 2022, and it is available for pre-order now on Bookshop which supports Indie bookstores, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.
I’ll soon be meeting with one of the owners of a local bookshop to discuss my launch! Stay tuned ..
Posted in Animals, Art, Cards, Creativity, Design, Dogs, French Bulldogs, Holidays, tagged French Bulldog Valentine, French Bulldog Valentine Card, Frenchie Valentine, Frenchie Valentine card, greeting card, SendingLove, Valentine's season, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day cards on January 28, 2022| 10 Comments »
I actually like the idea that Valentine’s is a season rather than just a day. Why not celebrate and share love all year `round? Maybe a wee bit more on the designated day?
To that end, I offer my most recent valentine … two adorable French Bulldog pups who would like nothing better than to be sent out to the world, carrying a smile from your heart to another.
It could really be anyone – grandkids, teachers, partners, school buddies. Remember, there is always someone out there who would love to hear from you. Why not send them a card and say hello?
Find this sweet card, available in a pack of eight, in my Etsy shop!
Posted in Animals, Cards, Creativity, Design, Dogs, French Bulldogs, Holidays, Home Stuff, tagged Christmas, Christmas Cards, Etsy, French Bulldog Art, French Bulldog Cards, French Bulldog Christmas card, French Bulldog Holiday Card, Frenchie Art, Frenchie Cards, Frenchie Christmas Cards, Frenchie Holiday Cards, JBalsamFrenchieArt on Etsy on November 15, 2021| 9 Comments »
The time when we think of reaching out to family and friends, and putting a little something special in the mail to them.
That said, I am sharing one of my French Bulldog Christmas cards to inspire you. Although, in all honesty, I describe them as holiday cards because they are truly suitable for whatever winter holiday you celebrate.
I know you’d love to see more, so please hop on over to my Etsy shop and check out what’s there, and yes, if you were wondering, they are all Frenchie-themed. But … recipients don’t have to be French Bulldog fans; if they have any appreciation of cuteness in animals, that should do. Thanks!
Posted in Animals, Art, Authors, Books, Cards, Children's Books, Creativity, Holidays, Inspiration, Life, Reflections, Writing, tagged accomplishments, books, butterflies, challenges, children's books, Ethicool Books, Etsy, Growth, holidays, kindred spirits, life, life's challenges, picture books, Stella Mongodi, Where Do Butterflies Go at Night?, writing on October 22, 2021| 8 Comments »
Or maybe I should say `spread thin.’ There are times in all our lives when we have an awful lot of balls in the air, and I’m going to say this is one of mine. And I am juggling – or dancing – as fast as I can.
Work is a constant (for which I am grateful), and changes are on the horizon. I will be opening my heart and mind to new possibilities and it’s exciting, if not occasionally anxiety-provoking. Depends what day you ask me.
I have a children’s book coming out! – Where Do Butterflies Go at Night? One might think that once you’re done writing the story, you, as a writer, are done, but it couldn’t be further from the truth! With my wonderful publisher, Ethicool Books, we work collaboratively. The illustrator, Stella Mongodi, shares her sketches and illustrations as she goes along, and the publisher and I are able to have input. Stella’s work is beyond fabulous, but being able to share a thought or two here and there is a wonderful gift.
And then … promotion. I want this book to be an amazing success. It’s my debut picture book, and while I would want any book of mine to be so, the first is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. So I post – on my blog, website, Instagram (which I am learning and loving), and soon Facebook (which I have avoided, but no longer can.) It’s a lot!
And yes .. the holidays are upon us! Halloween is next week and I haven’t even gotten to take a tour of the neighborhood yet. Then Christmas, for which I hope to have some new Frenchie items in my Etsy shop. Oh … note to self – learn more about Mailchimp! And start thinking about that new website! Yes … and remember to breathe!
We women today are not the same as those of our mother’s generation. We can do so much more, learn so much more, just be so much more! But whew! It can get a little tiring at times. And yet we persist because the world today is a place where we can open our hearts and souls and find kindred spirits whether in friendship, love, or business. It’s a new day.
Yesterday, a quote passed over my screen and I grabbed it. It’s a wonderful word of encouragement from the inventor from New Jersey (!), Thomas Edison, for the moments when we might feel like we’re not “getting there”, wherever that is, or “getting there” fast enough. Take heart – we are all exactly where we are supposed to be at this moment in time, but in case you’re having a doubt –
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.“
Have a wonderful day!
Posted in Animals, Art, Authors, Creativity, Inspiration, Life, Metaphysical, Poetry, Reflections, Writing, tagged courage, inspiration, Persian poet, potential, Rumi, Rumi Poet, Rumi Quotes, wings to fly on September 9, 2021| 8 Comments »
There are so many wonderful quotes by Rumi, a 13th Centure Persian mystic and poet. Here’s one I hope enlightens your day.
Still A Dreamer 