Happy Valentines Day! This new piece was inspired by last weeks trip to snowy New York in search of the “perfect apartment” for my husband and I. About three weeks ago Jed was offered an amazing position at a company that he’s really excited to work for. This job offer was totally unexpected and we were both pretty stunned for about a week. Moving back to New York was not an easy decision for us…well actually for Jed. He loves it out here in San Francisco and isn’t thrilled about life back on the east coast. This time I’m hoping living in New York will be different for both of us and we can always move back to California in 3-4 years. After looking at fourteen apartments in two days, I found the one. It was so beautiful compared to what I had already seen (think crime scenes), that I almost cried. I realize this sounds pretty dramatic, but if you’ve ever tried to find an apartment in New York, this is totally normal behavior. The craziest thing is the landlords are both well known children’s book illustrators and one of them teaches painting at FIT! They told me they are very particular about who they rent to because they live and work on the floor above the apt., but they had a good feeling about us because I was also an illustrator. All of this seemed like a dream and I was shaking as I signed the lease and faxed a copy to Jed in California. As stressful as moving cross country (again) is, everything feels like it’s happening for a reason.What I’m determined to do is get the most out of living in New York this time around… all the great museums, the Society of Illustrators Exhibits, classes at SVA and possible portfolio reviews. This time I will not take such an inspiring city for grated, knowing for sure that nothing in life including location is permanent.

I’ve always wanted to participate in Illustration Friday but other work always seemed to get in the way. One of my goals this year is to try to get involved in the community a bit more. This weeks topic is “Chicken.” The piece above is one I did a few months ago. I was thinking about the idea of “free range”eggs and the humane setting we want to imagine our food is coming from.

**new years ski adventure/blizzard in Tahoe**

Full of quiet creative energy these last few weeks. So far 2011 has been filled with great projects and  big goals for the new year… that I’m terrified to share in case they don’t happen or I’m totally over reaching and delusional. Instead of all that self doubt, I should probably follow this wise artist’s advice (thanks Sarah!).

One of the best gifts over the holidays that I could have imagined was a call from one of my dream clients Philosophy. They asked if they could license some of my existing work for their upcoming PR launch of a new product. Not only was the design team lovely to work with, but they promised to send me a basket of their latest products (pinch me!)! Really looking forward to sharing the printed pieces and more about this fun project soon.Before the holidays I also finished the first half of pretty extensive (11 illustrations) packaging project for these creative folks. The style of these illustrations is a bit different than what I’ve been been producing and much more fashion oriented. Hopefully I will have time to revamp my website soon and add a fashion category as well as a kid’s illustration section. One of the many things on my to-do list.

Lastely I hope everyone out there is having a great start to 2011.Crossing my fingers that this year is full of little breakthroughs, a bit more kindness (especially to ourselves), risk taking endeavors, grounding perspective and maybe a couple miracles.

The last couple of months have been really busy and I’m excited to share some new projects in the works for 2011. Until then… hope everyone has a very happy holiday!

Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack in everything

That’s how the light gets in.

-Leonard Cohen

fall promo cards

Sally Kempton wrote a great article in the Nov. issue of Yoga Journal Magazine that everyone can probably relate to. It was about all the holiday gatherings coming up and strategies for navigating sometimes difficult family dynamics. Even in the healthiest families there is bound to be some tension. The best part of the article for me was the roles that we carry in our relationships with each other that we never seem to out grow. It’s like even if you’ve earned your particular title (the messy one, the late one, the difficult one, the bad driver…okay I’m still a really bad driver) in childhood it seems to stick no matter how much you’ve changed. Last month when I was in Ohio visiting my family, I put Kempton’s words to the test. It was a lot more fun to just observe the triggers and comments that can cause heated discussions (umm.. hello politics) and not get sucked into the old patterns.  It really was the best visit I’ve had in a long time. My mom even loaned me her car without the paralyzed fear in her eyes that usually accompanies someone in my family handing me their keys.

design and art direction:DonnaCatanese

logo and illustration: Aimee Sicuro 

When the lovely and talented Donna Catanese asked me to illustrate this organic granola package she didn’t even have to finish the pitch. I was excited collaborate with her on this package and to work with Otto’s Oats, a small company based in Chicago. Looking forward to seeing the printed package in Whole Foods Chicago next year! Oh… and any assignment that has to do with food is always fun. It requires a lot of “research.”