I think this is the first time I have reviewed a children's picture book. To me, the writing in those books does not matter much beyond its clarity and brevity. A lot needs to be said with as little as possible. I have not read the book to a child yet, but I think it would fit the bill for a 5- to 6-year-old. Too much text for younger. As for the pictures, which are arguably more important than the text, hers were a bit dark but are probably fine. Again, I need to read it to a child to be sure.
Here's what was printed in the paper, with a couple words added here and there.
A beloved analogy in the Bible is found in Isaiah 64: “Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”
When I think of this analogy, I think about how stressed out I can get sometimes and how those hard times have helped sculpt me into the person I am today.
Mercy McCulloch Hasselblad, of Nampa, looks at it a bit differently. For her, it wasn’t about the pain, but about the confusion.
“Everybody always said I should be a nurse because I can handle blood and guts and everything and I patch people up,” she told me when I paid her a visit. “But I wasn’t sure, because I really like doing art and writing, and I wasn’t sure what I should do. And I was praying a lot and just trying to figure it out (during college). … If God made me adept at certain things, should I do those, or should I do other things?”
The conundrum: Mercy wanted to serve God. By being a nurse, she could do mission work; by becoming an artist, what could she do that would mean as much?
Mercy, I’d like to suggest that you have served God admirably with your book “The Artist and the Clay.” There is more than one way to serve, and you have found one that suits you well.
This children’s book was printed in India while Mercy and her husband were there doing work with their charity, Covenant Media.
The book tells the story of a clay figurine who wants to be beautiful like the stained glass window in the Artist’s house. The Artist has other plans, though, and by the end, the clay figurine is something special, indeed.
The text is simple and carries a memorable lesson: You are made the way you are for a purpose. It’s a message our world could hear a little more often, in my opinion. Think of how many more people would reach their potential if only they thought it was a possibility and of worth.
I haven’t taken an art class since the sixth grade, but Mercy took me on as a student during our interview so she could show me the program she uses for her art, Adobe Illustrator. We made an evergreen tree … that looked a whole lot better after she worked her magic on it. Wish I had the tree to show you, but I don't. Sorry.
Mercy has been working with the program since she was 15 years old (so of course her trees look better than mine, but who’s justifying themselves?). Familiarity didn’t necessarily speed up the process much, though; she told me one scene took her 10 hours to make. Thankfully, with the computer program, she can re-use images. Repeated images in the book include ivy leaves, books and wood patterns, among other images. See if you can scout them out when you get a copy.
Mercy said all these illustrations started as scribbles of kindergarten caliber. That gives her a basic image to work off of, and she improves it from there. Luckily, she can try and try again on the same picture without running into physical problems like a stray pen marking.
If you want to get your hands on a copy of the book, she’s selling it on Amazon.com.
I just realized she never signed my copy. Dang it.
A beloved analogy in the Bible is found in Isaiah 64: “Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”
When I think of this analogy, I think about how stressed out I can get sometimes and how those hard times have helped sculpt me into the person I am today.
Mercy McCulloch Hasselblad, of Nampa, looks at it a bit differently. For her, it wasn’t about the pain, but about the confusion.
“Everybody always said I should be a nurse because I can handle blood and guts and everything and I patch people up,” she told me when I paid her a visit. “But I wasn’t sure, because I really like doing art and writing, and I wasn’t sure what I should do. And I was praying a lot and just trying to figure it out (during college). … If God made me adept at certain things, should I do those, or should I do other things?”
The conundrum: Mercy wanted to serve God. By being a nurse, she could do mission work; by becoming an artist, what could she do that would mean as much?
Mercy, I’d like to suggest that you have served God admirably with your book “The Artist and the Clay.” There is more than one way to serve, and you have found one that suits you well.
This children’s book was printed in India while Mercy and her husband were there doing work with their charity, Covenant Media.
The book tells the story of a clay figurine who wants to be beautiful like the stained glass window in the Artist’s house. The Artist has other plans, though, and by the end, the clay figurine is something special, indeed.
The text is simple and carries a memorable lesson: You are made the way you are for a purpose. It’s a message our world could hear a little more often, in my opinion. Think of how many more people would reach their potential if only they thought it was a possibility and of worth.I haven’t taken an art class since the sixth grade, but Mercy took me on as a student during our interview so she could show me the program she uses for her art, Adobe Illustrator. We made an evergreen tree … that looked a whole lot better after she worked her magic on it. Wish I had the tree to show you, but I don't. Sorry.
Mercy has been working with the program since she was 15 years old (so of course her trees look better than mine, but who’s justifying themselves?). Familiarity didn’t necessarily speed up the process much, though; she told me one scene took her 10 hours to make. Thankfully, with the computer program, she can re-use images. Repeated images in the book include ivy leaves, books and wood patterns, among other images. See if you can scout them out when you get a copy.
Mercy said all these illustrations started as scribbles of kindergarten caliber. That gives her a basic image to work off of, and she improves it from there. Luckily, she can try and try again on the same picture without running into physical problems like a stray pen marking.
If you want to get your hands on a copy of the book, she’s selling it on Amazon.com.
I just realized she never signed my copy. Dang it.
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