Yuko Shimazu Yuko Shimazu Yuko Shimizu

Award winning Japanese illustrator based in New York City and instructor at School of Visual Arts.

The Original Art Founder’s Award for Barbed Wire Baseball

The Original Art exhibit opened last week at the Society of Illustrators. This is an annual competition for children’s book that was published this year.  The book I illustrated Barbed Wire Baseball was honored to receive Founder’s Award, which is given each year to an illustrator who is new to children’s book.
I know, I have been illustrating for more than ten years now, and I have to be honest I was feeling a bit guilty receiving the award for ‘new’ artist. But the jury members and the Society reassured I fully qualified to receive this because it is, in fact, my first children’s book.
I always knew working on a children’s book is a ton of work and it is a pure labor of love. I became ill under huge pressure and stress while I was working on the final images two falls ago (to the point I had to rush to ER. No worries I have fully recovered!), but looking at this shiny medal, I feel all the work was worth the effort!
Thank you very much for the founder of The Original Art Dilys Evans, as well as everyone who was involved in the show. Also big thank you goes to AD Chad Beckerman at Abrams, editor Howard Reeves, and the writer Marissa Moss,
You can see all the original art works accepted into the show at the Society of Illustrators till December 21.
See pages from Barbed Wire Baseball here   Purchase from Amazon here

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