Librarian's Daughter

Michele L. Mehlhorn, "but almost everyone now calls me Rey," in Richmond, VA is doing a project she calls, Librarian's Daughter (Book-a-Day). She explains, "I'd like to say this is a book illustration a day, but most of these projects aren't the traditional kind of illustration you'd actually put IN a book. There will be some paintings and drawings, because that's what I spend much of my time doing, but there are also a lot of more three-dimensional creations that still reflect characters or themes in books. Also, each post is an excuse to ramble on about a book that's inspired me and gained my love. Finding 365 books to fit that is really no problem, at all."...




Why did you decide to do this project? I've tried doing sketch/drawing-a-day before, and never kept it up more than a month, but I've dabbled in just about every art form there is and the prompts in the 365 book pushes multimedia projects. I'm an eclectic, short-attention-span person and this project seems to embrace that. Some projects can be very involved but others don't take much time, and fit days when I just have too much to do and no time to sit down and draw something. Also my friend Heidi of Puppet-a-Day was very encouraging, and since she got me the book, signed and all, I felt pressured to honor that.


How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I'm still on week 1, but I've been enjoying it. I'm a real perfectionist in my drawing, but I've found myself able to let go of that on these projects, thinking of them as more experimental. I'm currently unemployed, and that's stressful, so these projects give me something to work toward each day, and also are fun and relaxing. I'm not sure how the project will change when I do get a day job again (when, not if, I hope...), but this feels like something I can stick with and I admit I'm kind of hoping it gets a little bit of notice and helps me make some new connections. If it leads toward a job that involves art, that would be absolutely amazing.




See all of Rey's book interpretations HERE.

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