2018

Erin Balzer

Erin grew up in a family of woodworkers, sewists and painters, crafters who greatly influenced her chosen illustration medium, printmaking. Erin enjoys the process of carving her characters into the wood and seeing how their quirky and whimsical identities come to life through the ink in the prints. If she could choose where and how to spend her time it would be carving and doodling endlessly beside some lake, or trailblazing through the woods with her husband and our German Wirehaired Pointer, Freya. Erin works in her home studio in Vancouver, B.C. Canada, where she was born and raised.
Website | Instagram

Zahra Marwan Zahra grew up in two deserts which vary drastically and have many similarities in culture. One close to the sea, the other close to the mountains. She studied the visual arts in France, and continues various pursuits to further educate herself. She currently lives in the Barelas neighborhood of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and works in her studio at the Harwood Art Center, where she incorporates Kuwaiti tendencies into her daily life. Website | Instagram

Chad Hunter
When Chad and his wife were just married, they visited a used office furniture store. They purchased a gigantic 1960s drafting desk so he could draw at home. Now, Chad makes his children’s book illustrations from his Northern California home-studio on that colossal retro desk. He loves being a husband and father of four. He has a deep liking for exceptional watercolor brushes, engaging stories, racquetball, lovely type and 72% to 84% dark chocolate. He was honored with the Mentorship Award at SCBWI LA 2018. Chad has a BFA in Illustration from BYU (Brigham Young University) and an MFA in Visual Arts from MU (Marywood University). Chad currently teaches Illustration, Graphic Design, Drawing and other similar classes at California State University Stanislaus.
Website | Instagram

Gail Buschman
Gail creates whimsical art using pencils, pastels, brush pens, ink, watercolor, and other media. Her characters evolve from exploring the world while traveling and experimenting with drawing wacky shapes. She has a Bachelor of Science in Art from California State University, Northridge in 2006 with emphasis in both graphic design and illustration and has continued her professional development at the Animation Guild in Burbank, CA. She has illustrated for Reading A-Z. She currently works as a senior graphic designer for SAGE Publishing.
Website | Instagram | Twitter

Sara Gavryck-Ji
Sara Gavryck-Ji lives and makes art in Berkeley, CA. In her previous life she worked in US-China relations. She lived in China for over 5 years, is fluent in Mandarin, and took many classes in Chinese calligraphy and painting during her time abroad. She has two young boys who have filled her life with much joy and inspiration.
Website | Instagram

Michelle Mee Nutter

Michelle is an Illustrator from Boston, Massachusetts with a BFA in Illustration from MassArt. She wanted to be an artist the moment she realized she could buy a box of colors. Years later, she is even more passionate about art and creating work to inspire the next crayon-lover. If she isn’t furiously drawing in her studio, you can find her getting lost in corners of book stores.
Website | Instagram | Tumblr