53. Zlato pero Beograd/53. Golden Pen Belgrade

VESELJE! Pet ilustracij iz knjige FINDING FORGIVENESS, Chronicle Books, ki sem jih prijavila na  53. Golden Pen Belgrade/53. Zlatno pero beograda, je uvrščenih na razstavo - mednarodni bienale ilustracije! Izjemno vesela sem! Hvala žiriji! Čestitam vsem uvrščenim na to ugledno razstavo!

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Joy! Five illustrations from the book FINDING FORGIVENESS, Chronicle Books, which I submitted to the 53. Golden Pen Belgrade/53. Zlatno pero beograda, have been selected for the international biennial illustration exhibition!
Thank you to the jury for selecting my work. I'm beyond happy! Big congratulations to all the amazing artists featured in this prestigious show!

Zalini slikanici/Zala's Picture Books

Žabici iz slikanic Kot hiša velika žaba, Ana Duša ter Srečna žaba, Mateja Sužnik, obe sta izšli pri Založba Zala, bosta skočili v naročje čeških in slovaških bralcev! Prevodi bodo izšli pri založbi Bookmedia. Na sliki pa naslovnice obeh knjig. Srečno, žabici!

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The frogs from the picture books Kot hiša velika žaba by Ana Duša and Srečna žaba by Mateja Sužnik, both published by Založba Zala, are about to jump into the laps of Czech and Slovak readers! The translations will be published by the publisher Bookmedia. In the picture: the covers of both books. Good luck, little frogs!

Delavnica Čustva na papirju/Emotions on Paper Workshop

Počasi prihajam online, za menoj je noro produktiven teden! Prebeljeno stanovanje čaka še novo delovno mizo ter krasno omaro za arhiv ilustracij. Eno samo veselje! 

Me pa že jutri čaka zanimiv dan. Sem del dogodka, delavnice v naši lokalni Knjižnici Pavla Golie Trebnje, katerega organizacijo prevzemata Patricija Tratar in Suzana Jankovič. 
Veselim se dela z učenci, tema delavnice je Čustva na papirju. Kot izhodišče nam bo služila knjiga FINDING FORGIVENESS, Chronicle Books. Skupaj bomo risali in se pogovarjali o veselju žalosti, jezi, sreči. Paleti različnih barv se bo pridružila paleta različnih čustev.

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Tomorrow I’m part of a creative workshop at our local library, Knjižnica Pavla Golie Trebnje: Emotions on Paper.

Can’t wait to work with the students — we’ll be drawing, talking, and exploring feelings together.
We’re using the book FINDING FORGIVENESS, Chronicle Books, as our starting point, and diving into all kinds of emotions — joy, sadness, anger, happiness.
A full color palette meets a full emotional palette.

Nastaja nova slikanica!/A new picture book is in the making!

Nekaj novega se pripravlja!
Nastaja slikanica za založbo Miš.
Zgodbo je napisala čudovita Tina Arnuš Pupis.
Ob taki fini družbi živali, ki v zgodbi nastopajo, mi ni prav nič dolgčas!

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Something exciting is in the works! 
I'm illustrating a brand new picture book for Miš Publishing.
The story is written by the wonderful Tina Arnuš Pupis.
With all these curious little animals in the story… boredom doesn't stand a chance!

Book Birthday: Zajec, lisica in noč

Danes je dan prazničen. Poleg hrušk sem prejela še izvode knjige Zajec, lisica in noč, ki je izšla pri založbi Zala. Zgodbo je napisala Mateja Sužnik, tehnično uredil Jure Preglau, jaz sem jo ilustrirala. Izid knjige je podprla Javna agencija za knjigo RS.

Zgodba je nežno zapisana, ganila me je s svojo občutljivostjo do življenja in z ravno pravim kančkom navihanosti. Hvala za zaupanje, draga Mateja. Rada sem bila del tega projekta.

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Today’s a special day—my copies of Zajec, lisica in noč / Rabbit, Fox and Night just arrived! The beautiful story was written by Mateja Sužnik, published by založba Zala, designed by Jure Preglau, and I had the joy of illustrating it. Published with the support of the Slovenian Book Agency.

It’s a tender, heartwarming tale with just the right touch of playfulness—it truly moved me. Thank you for the trust, dear Mateja. Loved being part of this project! 

Drobtinice iz studia/A Little Crumbs from my Studio

Ustvarjalnost in umetnost nista pomembni!

Kako velikokrat slišim, da umetnost ni pomembna. Da ustvarjalnost ni pomembna. Da smo samozaposleni v kulturi navadni lenuhi. Pa je res tako? Bi bil svet res boljši brez ustvarjalnosti in umetnosti?

Kaj nas ne spremlja ustvarjalnost, umetnost od samega začetka, če imamo srečo? Ko za naše rojstvo starši prejmejo čudovito voščilnico, za katero si je nekdo vzel čas, da jo je nekdo ilustriral in oblikoval. Izbral pravi papir in lepo natisnil.

Ko imamo lepe sobe, z ličnim pohištvom, ki ga je nekdo oblikoval, pobarval in izdelal. Ko naše omare, še posebno, če ljubimo knjige, postanejo mini knjižnice. Knjige in slikanice so izjemen portal v mnoge svetove, ki bogatijo našo domišljijo in jo ohranjajo živo. 
Kakšna bi bila šola brez slikovnega in drugega uporabnega gradiva? Učbeniki in delovni zvezki brez slik, ilustracij, brez primernega oblikovanja? 

Da ne naštevam še drugih področij, ki potrebujejo pri oblikovanju in izdelavi občutek za estetiko: radijski in TV programi, glasba, videoposnetki, oblikovanje prevoznih sredstev, oblačil, embalaža za hrano, pohištvo in drugi izdelki,  …

Ustvarjalnost nam v življenju pomaga, da na čim boljši način rešujemo probleme, s katerimmi se soočamo. Kakšen bi bil svet poln ustvarjalnih ljudi? Ljudi, ki bi iskali in našli rešitve? Ki bi svoj ustvarjalni potencial pretvarjali in vnovčili za lepši, boljši svet? Kako bi živeli? 
Bi bil svet res boljši brez umetnosti in ustvarjalnosti?

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Creativity and Art Don’t Matter!

How often do I hear it—
“Art doesn’t matter.”
“Creativity doesn’t matter.”
“People in the creative industries are just lazy.”
But… is that really true? Would the world really be a better place without creativity and art?

Isn’t creativity with us from the very beginning—if we’re lucky?

When we’re born, maybe our parents receive a beautiful card. Someone took the time to illustrate it, to design it thoughtfully. They picked the right paper, printed it nicely. That’s art.

We grow up in rooms filled with carefully designed furniture—painted, crafted, shaped by someone’s vision. Our bookshelves, especially for those of us who love to read, become mini libraries. And books, picture books, are magical portals into countless worlds. They feed our imagination, keep it alive.

What would school be like without visual materials?

Textbooks and workbooks without images, illustrations, or thoughtful design? Lifeless and dull.

And let’s not even get started on all the other fields that need a strong sense of aesthetics: Radio and TV, music, videos, the design of cars, clothes, food packaging, furniture, and countless everyday products.

Creativity helps us solve the problems we face in life in the best possible way.

What kind of world would we live in if it were filled with creative thinkers?

With people who search for solutions—and find them.

With people who turn their creative potential into something real, something that makes the world better, more beautiful.

So again: would the world really be better without art and creativity?

Zlata hruška/Golden Pear Label

Dozorele so zlate hruške!
Hvala založba Miš in Mladinska knjiga za zaupanje.
Čestitke vsem prejemnikom znaka za kakovsto zlata hruška!

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The Golden Pears are out!
Big thanks to Miš Publishing and Mladinska knjiga for the trust.
Congrats to everyone who got the Golden Pear quality label!

Drobtinice iz studia/A Little Crumbs from my Studio

Ko se ustvarjalnost rokuje z likovnimi slogi

Ustvarjalnost je lepilo med idejo in uresničeno formo. Je vitalni del v procesu nastajanja ilustracije, knjige. Polega tega pa je, vsaj kar se mene tiče, pomemben del tudi moje doživljanje sveta in odnos do njega. 

Ko rišem, to, kar me dela tako kot sem, nenehno odzvanja v mojem delu. To hkrati pomeni tudi, da ko se spreminjam, ko rastem (vsaj upam, da osebnostno rastem!), se s tem spremeni tudi moj likovni izraz. Moje delo se izraža v različnih tehnikah, včasih tudi slogih. In tega nisem nikoli zavirala. Ravno nasprotno, še bolj bi se rada odprla vsemu, kar je likovno mogoče doseči v ilustraciji. Četudi gre za majhne korake, so zame osebno veliki.

Načeloma prejmem pohvale, ker se znam preleviti še v kakšen drug slog. Včasih slišim pa tudi kaj drugega. Pomembno se mi zdi, da negujem svoj ustvarjalni plamen, sicer se bom začela dolgočasiti. Rada raziskujem, moje delo ima smisel, ko ostaja živo. 

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Where Creativity Meets Style

Creativity is a vital part of the process of making an illustration—or a book.
But beyond that, at least for me, it’s also deeply connected to how I experience the world and my relationship with it.

When I draw, everything that makes me who I am constantly echoes through my work. That also means that as I change and grow (hopefully I grow in a personal sense!), my artistic expression evolves with me.
My work comes to life through different techniques, and sometimes even in various styles. I’ve never tried to suppress that. Quite the opposite—I want to open myself even more to everything that’s creatively possible within illustration. Even if the steps feel small, to me, they’re significant.

Most of the time, I get compliments for being able to shift into different styles. But every now and then, I hear other kinds of feedback too. What matters most to me is keeping my creative spark alive—otherwise, I’d start to feel bored. I love exploring. My work has meaning when it stays alive.

Drobtinice iz studia/A Little Crumbs from my Studio

Ilustriranje moje zgodbe v primerjavi z zgodbo drugega avtorja

Ko se pogovarjam z ljudmi, me pogosto kdo vpraša, ali je kakšna razlika med tem, ko ustvarjam svoj lasten avtorski projekt in ko ilustriram zgodbo drugega avtorja. Še ne dolgo nazaj bi rekla, da ni razlike. Sedaj pa ne mislim več tako. 
Obstaja razlika med ustvarjanjem lastnega projekta in med ilustriranjem zgodbe drugega avtorja. Ko ustvarjam svoje delo, se mi zdi kot da plavam med neštetimi možnostmi iz ustvarjalne juhe, ki so na voljo. Drugače je, ko ustvarjam iz svojega jedra. Navadno še bolj vključim vrednote in stvari, ki jih cenim in so mi pomembne. Bolj sem neobremenjena pritiska ob misli, ali bom dovolj počastila delo avtorja zgodbe. Ta skrb ni prisotna, ko ustvarjam svojo zgodbo in mi daje več svobode. 
To pa ne pomeni, da mi je muka ilustrirati druge zgodbe. Sploh ne! Čutim pa veliko odgovornost do nekoga, ki mi je zaupal svoje delo v ilustriranje. Ko slišim želje uredništva in pisatelja, moram v vseh željah in omejitvah najti prostor za svojo svobodo, kjer bom lahko združila čim več želja, ohranila svojo integriteto ter hkrati počastila avtorja, ki je zgodbo napisal. Zdi se, kot da drugače okušam zgodbe, ki jih dobim v ilustriranje od teh, ki jih ustvarjam sama. Vse to me bogati. Izjemno sem hvaležna, da lahko ustvarjam.

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My story vs a story from another author

When I talk to people, I’m often asked whether there’s a difference between working on my own personal project and illustrating someone else’s story. Not long ago, I would have said no. However, I now see things differently.
There is a difference between creating my own project and illustrating a story written by another author. When I’m working on my own, it feels like I’m swimming in countless possibilities, choosing freely from the creative “soup” available to me. It’s a different experience when I create from my own core. I usually bring in more of my values and the things I care about deeply. I feel less pressure, because there’s no one else’s work at stake—only mine. That absence of concern gives me a sense of freedom.
But that doesn’t mean illustrating other people’s stories is a burden. Not at all! I simply feel a stronger responsibility toward someone who has entrusted me with their work. When I hear the wishes of the editor and the writer, I need to find a space within all those requests and limitations where I can express my own freedom—where I can bring their vision to life, while also staying true to myself, and at the same time honor the author who wrote the story.
It feels like I “taste” the stories I illustrate for others differently from the ones I create myself. And all of it enriches me. I’m deeply grateful for the trust I receive from my dear publishers and writers.

Če želite izvod knjige, so na voljo/Books available here:

- Kje si?, Miš / Every Little Kindness, Chronicle Books

- A smo že tam?, Miš

- Finding Forgiveness, Chronicle Books

- Dogodivščina v žepu, Miš

- Tam se srečava, Miš

Pozor!/Fraudulent messages!

 I just wanted to let you know that someone is using my email address to send spam and fraudulent messages (spoofed email). It's not me! 

Pozor, če dobite kakšna čudna sporočila iz mojega email naslova, to nisem jaz. Nekdo pošilja sporočila o dobitkih, dedovanju etc iz mojega emaila  oz deluje tako kot da sem pošiljala jaz. To nisem jaz!

Brothers Acrobats

This is one of the illustrations that I made for the October issue of Ciciban magazine. Two brothers love to play acrobats. The story was written by Barbara Hanuš.