In 2020, author and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Neil Gaiman put out a request for artists to illustrate over one of seven different photographs, to be used in his project to support refugees. The year before, he had written the poem “What You Need To Be Warm”, and he was putting together a short film which featured his narration of the poem and the art of multiple artists. My piece was one selected, and can be seen during the line “A blanket, knitted by your mother’s clever fingers, or your grandmother’s”. I’m delighted my piece was featured and helped to support refugees, and I like to tell people Neil and I have worked together. He just doesn’t know it.
In 2019, my piece won the People’s Choice award for illustration at the Marvelous Midwest conference.
In 2017, I entered SCBWI’s national Illustration contest (then called the Tomie dePaola contest). It was the last year he judged the contest, and it was my great joy that he chose my piece as “Second Runner Up'“.