I try not to respond with a pep talk, such as, “Everyone has talent, just try, you’ll see.” I skirt those kinds of answers.

I do think it’s important to expose kids to artists.

I never demonstrate how art should be made or what the outcome should look like. Instead, give kids the tools and the materials to make their own art. Have them experience the process.

I visited the Museum of Modern Art and viewed the exhibition of Picasso’s sculptures, and I couldn’t help but think about what it would be like to have a room full of school children explore Picasso’s approach to making art.

If I were to give myself a pat on the back, it would be for sticking with bookmaking as my primary way of expressing myself over the span of fifty years.

I’ve always felt that if I worked hard enough and continued to refine my craft, while staying curious about our times and our world, I just might have something to contribute.

A sense of community has always been important to me. I understood very early that I could not grow as an artist or as a person without being connected to institutions and clients that served the community.

Receiving both the Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award suggests I have succeeded, at least in terms of my own goals, in my intent to make art that moves children.

I want kids to understand that making pictures is similar to making music; there are so many instruments and so many tunes that the possibilities for how you play are truly limitless.

Make it all about the work. Everything else will follow.