Hello! I'm glad you stopped by. Come sit with me and have a cup of tea and some lemon scones. I'm a children's book author & Illustrator, artist, and designer living in Brooklyn, New York.
I live in a tiny apartment in Williamsburg Brooklyn that I renovated with salvaged finds. I designed the apartment around this twelve foot table. Everything happens at this table: manuscript sorting, book illustrations, editorial illustrations, hand-lettering, fabric collections, daydreaming, birthday cakes, and dinner parties.
MEMORY:
I am thinking about when I knew I'd be an artist. I remember around age nine tacking a drawing of a bear on the door and being satisfied. But even earlier, (maybe when I was seven or eight) I found these illustrated wondrous posters. I remember loving the color and design of these images and everything else faded in comparison. I started noticing color and form differently from that moment on. Who would think that seeing a poster could set a life course? And I think the poster was of kittens or bunnies. Discernment set in—if you can imagine.
PHILOSOPHY:
I've used a computer since I was a student at Pratt which I attribute to my color obsession. I work and re-work images until all the colors and forms relate to each other in a thoughtful way. I take care to see that no form is overpowering another or crowding out some little form. All the forms and color have the space to uniquely express themselves. It's inclusive design, creating a world of equality, consideration, celebration and beauty.
WORKING WITH YOU:
I've always had a vision of what I wished a home to be and the urge to design every little thing in it. I love working in different materials—ceramic, wood, stone, metal, and fabric. The combination has made me fond of considering design, function and production when creating an object.
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I love collaborations and am happy to work with you on your project—whether it's wallpaper, bedding, rain boots, baby clothes, airplanes, swimming pools, or public space installations.
My two wonderful children are grown and off in the world which gives me more time to create.
—Kristen Balouch
PODCAST:
It was an honor to be interviewed by William Harvey
at the Harvey in Williamsburg.
Here is the podcast.
Exhibitions
Two Doors Down, Solo Exhibit
The Gallery at Hague Creek, Solo Exhibit
The Goatshed Gallery, Solo Exhibit, Connections
Society of Illustrators Original Art Exhibit, Multiple Years
Society of Illustrators Annual Exhibit
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Awards, Honors, & Press
Charlotte Zolotow Commended
CCBC Best Book of the Year
Middle East Book Award
Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year
The Golden Kite Honor Award, Illustration Category
Publisher's Weekly, Flying Start
Print's Regional Design Annual
39th Annual of American Illustration
Print's Digital Designt Annual 5
Designer's Handbook of T-shirts Promotions, RC Publications
Communication Arts Design Annual
Great Design with Non-traditional Materials, North Light Books
Print Magazine, Mini-portfolios
The Best of Business Card Design 2, Rockport Publishers
Computer Graphics III, Rockport Publishers
Print's Best Typography 2
How Self-promotion Annual
Fresh Ideas in Promotion, North Light Books
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Children's Books
Listen to the Storyteller, Viking Children's Books 1999
The King & the Three Thieves, Viking Children's Books 2000
Mystery Bottle, Hyperion Books for Children 2006
The Ghost Catcher, August House, 2007
Baby Polar, Houghton Mifflin 2009
Feelings, Simon & Schuster 2011
The Little Little Girl with the Big Big Voice, Simon & Schuster 2011
Thank you, Trees! Kar-Ben Publishers 2013
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