"Blue-Bicycle Fantasies"

     This is my submission, titled "Blue-Bicycle Fantasies", for the 2009 Competition & Exhibition by the Minnesota Society of Children's Book and Illustrators (MNSCBWI) and the Minnesota Center for the Book Arts (MCBA), Participating artists and illustrators had five poems to choose from, these poems were the winners of a May 2008 Children's Poetry Contest.

     I chose to illustrate the poem "Two-Wheeler" by Jane Thomas Noland,  because riding my bike was one of my favorite things to do when I was little. I have the battle-scars on my knees from learning how ride my bike on our gravel driveway.

     Our quiet neighborhood provided my friends and I many happy hours of leisurely coasting through the one street and half-a-dozen cul-de-sacs. The return trip back to my house required going down a steep hill. This provided me many exhilerating opportunitues to test my abilities and skills at speed without breaking my neck in the process.

     I am honored that my entry was chosen from over 50 entries for this juried show, "Reflections". There are many excellent submissions. Show dates: Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis, MN; March 20 - May 2, 2009.