Happy New Year and 2011 Recap January 4, 2012 02:04 2 Comments

Wow, 2011 was an AMAZING year! So many things have happened this past year for which I am beyond-words-grateful. The year also ended with a surprising bang as I was presented with a new book contract (more info below)! Some highlights:
♥ New Mobile Apps I was able to combine my two passions — art and technology — with the release of Kiwi and Pear's World Adventure, an interactive storybook app, and Kiwi and Pear's Balloon Adventure game for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. With over 25,000 downloads combined to date - I am so thrilled to have the opportunity to spread love, hugs, and happiness all over the world! ♥ New Licensing Partnerships Collaborating with amazing companies such as Badge Bomb has enabled me to focus a little more on what I love to do most which is illustration and design! Also, I still get a kick out of running into products with my designs on them in stores! Look out for some of these cool new items in 2012:

♥ New Books Published The release of my two latest books You Are My Cupcake and We Belong Together published by Cartwheel / Scholastic.



♥ Book Launch Celebration All my family, friends, and colleagues in one room to celebrate the release of my new books with me — and with tasty cupcakes! What more is there to say?

♥ Last-Minute Hawaiian Getaway This trip reminded me that we all need to take a break from work and do something fun, out-of-the-ordinary, and spontaneous sometimes. As I gazed in awe at a full rainbow that I spotted in the middle of a field while driving around the Hawaiian countryside (after having made my friend pull over on the side of the road so that I could take pictures!), it also reminded me that we should never lose touch with our childlike sense of wonder. ♥ Teaching Continuing Education Courses at The School of Visual Arts, NYC Having taken these very SVA continuing education courses and now, seven years later, teaching them myself has been an incredibly rewarding experience. I have found great joy in helping people take their creative pursuits to the next level, and hopefully, providing them with as enriching of an experience as continuing education courses has provided me over the years. For those of you in the New York area, make good on some of those New Year's resolutions and register for my 2012 Spring Semester course on Greeting Card Design or Art Licensing!

♥ 2011 Society of Illustrators Original Art Show One of my new books We Belong Together was 1 of 150 books selected out of 600 entries nationwide to be featured in the Society of Illustrators 2011 Original Art Show, an exhibit which showcases the year’s best children’s books. Not only was it my first time having a piece of my professional work hanging in a gallery but to be featured alongside artists, whose books I loved as a child and still idolize today, was a dream come true. ♥ New Book Contract Just days before the Christmas holiday (when I thought everybody had gone on vacation already — mental or otherwise), I received wonderful news from my rock star literary agent Teresa Kietlinski of Prospect Agency that she had finalized the contract for me to illustrate SLEEPYHEADS, by Sandra Howatt, a cozy bedtime book about all the places baby animals rest their sleepy heads to be published by Beach Lane Books / Simon & Schuster! What a way to close out a year! Thank you to all of my dear family, friends, and fans for your inspiration and support. I wish you all the very best in 2012 and am very excited to share a brand new year with you. Let me know, what were some of the best things that happened to you in 2011? xoxo-joyce