Tandem Activity Book: Snap Doodle, Clocks, and Wishing Well


Here are some more spreads from the illustrated book I worked on for Lea Redmond through Chronicle that is coming out this September. It’s a Tandem Activity Book – a journal you complete with other people.

Find someone to make a quick sketch of the two of you together.
Find someone to make a quick sketch of the two of you together.
Guess what time it is right now. (No peeking!) Block your friend's view of an empty clock on your page, fill in the time to show your best guess. Reveal your guesses to determine who has the best sense of time (at least at this time today).
Guess what time it is right now. (No peeking!) Block your friend’s view of an empty clock on your page, fill in the time to show your best guess. Reveal your guesses to determine who has the best sense of time (at least at this time today).
Toss a penny into this wishing well and silently make a wish. Write your wish at the bottom of this page, tear it off, and tuck it in your pocket. Keep it a secret.
Toss a penny into this wishing well and silently make a wish. Write your wish at the bottom of this page, tear it off, and tuck it in your pocket. Keep it a secret.

It’s good for just about anybody who can read and like to be creative, although I’ve had reports of non-reading children enjoying looking at the pictures and having the prompts read aloud to them. Pre-order the Tandem Activity Book.

Summer Simples


While this outfit might seem a bit fantastical in coloring, I owned a pair of shorts in the mid-90s that are very similar to this illustrated pair. What is even more amazing than that pair of shorts is the pride with which I wore them because they were so cutting edge in my pre-teen mind (the same mind that thought it was ok to wear sweatpants tucked into cowboy boots because A) sweats are comfy and B) I like cowboy boots).

summer-simples

Free Typography


Over the years I’ve worked on pairing type and pattern together in my illustration in various levels of complexity. Of all the kinds of typographic illustration and tests that I do, this is the style I keep coming back to when given carte blanche. Here is the latest iteration of what I am finding rewarding in this realm, and a sidebar story on how it was put to the test in public at the Portland Art Museum’s monster drawing rally.

Hand drawn typography of the word free, filled with patterns and textures including stripes, dots, clouds, diamond universes, funky flames and swirling stripes.

Tandem Activity Book


I am so excited to share a project that I worked on last fall and winter through Chronicle Books. SO EXCITED! Combining creativity, illustration, and a test of my design stamina, this is the kind of project my ilk live for. It’s a Tandem Activity Book – a type of journal you complete with other people.

I love this book because it is good for all ages, and is the exact opposite of going to a coffee shop to “chat” and then surfing on your iPhone for an hour next to the person you came with. This book should be an iPhone replacement in 90% of coffee shop interactions! It also reminds me of my childhood when we made up activities for ourselves that entertained us for hours and days and weeks – it’s a series of mini-games that don’t have a winner or a loser, just fun. Does it sound like I enjoyed this project? I DID.

Tandem Activity Book - cover with sleeve.
Tandem Activity Book – cover with sleeve. Art directed by Brooke Johnson.

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