This past weekend was the inaugural Japan Day Parade! The Japan Day celebration in Central Park has been going on since around 2012, but it was on hiatus for the past two years. This year was the first for a parade. The Grand Marshall was George Takei and the parade featured Hello Kitty, Sailor Moon, among other iconic Japanese personalities.
I was honored to be in the company of a group of artists whose designs were selected by the poster contest committee. To read more about the artists, visit here.
This was my submission for the poster contest. I created it using the techniques I’ve been using for my book work: watercolor and ink painting layered and finished digitally in Photoshop.
This coming Saturday, May 21 at 3:00 pm, I will be at the Barnes and Noble in Park Slope to read Gigi and Ojiji at Storytime! I will also do a drawing activity and have activity sheets for the kiddos. Please come if you are in the area. I posted this Hidden Objects sheet that I created for the book on Instagram. Do you think you can you find all of the objects? Pick up a copy of it the event!
Then on Sunday at 1:00 pm EST, I will be on a virtual Books of Wonder panel as part of their celebration of Asian Heritage Picture Books! The panel includes me, Misa Saburi (Bearnard Writes a Book), Hye Won Yum (Lion Needs a Shot), and Tao Nyeu, The Legend of Iron Purl. Reserve a spot here.
May is flying by– before we know it, it’ll be June! Currently, I am busily working on the final illustrations for the second Gigi and Ojiji book, What’s In A Name, which are due next month! The story explores Gigi’s relationship with her name---her given name, her nick name, and her Japanese middle name—and how it shapes her identity. I’m excited to share it next year.
I hope everyone’s rest of the month is filled with warm days and well-being!