Jenny Mattheson has illustrated eight children’s books, including “The Mouse, the Cat and Grandmother’s Hat,” “Mrs O’Leary’s Cow” and “Tooth on the Loose.” She earned a BFA in Illustration from the Art Institute of Boston in 1999. She currently lives with her husband in Berkeley, CA. Her newest book, “The Old Blue Pickup Truck,” written by Candice F. Ransom, came out in Spring 2009. What is the link between your spirituality and your creativity? I can’t honestly say that there’s ahuge connection between my spirituality and my creativity, since I mainly work on commissioned assignments. But I will say that the beauty of the natural world is what inspired me to seek a religious practice, and that is definitely something I focus on in my artwork. Where do you draw your inspiration from? I grew up in a semi-rural area of Pennsylvania and my father & grandfather operated a French antique store. As a result, I think my artwork has a quaint, cozy, somewhat old-fashioned feel to it. What will you be hoping to take away from the CSP event? I’ve been itching to find a way to use my artistic skill for an Islamic/spiritually-themed project in a way that feels genuine to me. I hope this event will get the juices flowing and hopefully give me some inspiration. |
