JEANETTE CANYON NOT YOUR NOT YOUR ORDINARY ORDINARY ILLUSTRATORILLUSTRATOR. .

Illustrator Study by Sondra KeckleyIllustrator Study by Sondra Keckley

Notable Quotable

“What I probably love most about creating picture books is how much I get to learn when I’m working on a project.  Whether it’s researching the subject matter of a story, designing a book—or creating the art itself, it is always exciting!” ~Jeanette Canyon

Biography: Background Info Born in November of 1965 Grew up along the windy

shores of Lake Erie in Willowick, Ohio.

She met her husband, Christopher, who is also an illustrator, when they were art students at the Columbus College of Art & Design. 

They have been married for over 20 years, and live and work from their historic home studio in Columbus, Ohio. 

They have no children, but lots of pets: 3 kitties, 3 Koi fish, 7 goldfish, and many neighborhood squirrels that keep them company.

The Canyon home in Columbus, OH

Insights Into the Illustrator

“I’m continuously fascinated by stories, ideas, dreams and discoveries.  Our creativity and imagination give us the power to explore our world in our own unique ways—and the artsprovide us multiple languages to shareour thoughts with others.”

~Jeanette Canyon

Influences & Career History

Received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Columbus College of Art & Design.

Inspired by the philosophy and schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy

Career as a picture book artist and early childhood arts educator for over ten years.

I took my daughters to meet Jeanette last spring.

Major Artistic Turn of Events

“One of my most exciting creative discoveries was when I began exploring an art material called polymer clay.  I’ve always loved painting with lots of colors—and I’ve always loved sculpting and making things with my hands.  When I started working with polymer clay, I realized that I could enjoy both of these artistic experiences with this one material!  I create all of my book illustrations with polymer clay.”

~Jeanette Canyon

How She Performs Her Art

“Polymer clay is not an earthen clay—it is actually a plastic material. You can mold, shape and sculpt just about anything you can imagine with it. The illustrations I create for my books are relief sculptures. I sculpt my pieces on a flat board, then I bake them in an oven to make them hard and permanent.  It often takes me many hours, days (even weeks) just to create one illustration.”

~Jeanette Canyon

Tools of Her Trade

“My studio is actually a lot like a kitchen. In a refrigerator I often store my [polymer] clay.”

“I have a variety of shaping tools including a pasta machine, food processor, cake decorating tools, and a variety of recycled objects I fashion into sculpting and texturing tools.”

“And there is even an oven in which the clay is baked after the pictures are pieced together.”

“The relief sculptures are [then] photographed (with careful attention to lighting).”

“Here I am using small knitting needles to sculpt the face of one of the howler monkeys.”

~Jeanette Canyon

Samples of her Work…Amazing!

Research in Preparation

“Research is often an important part of creating my art. I go to libraries, museums—and anyplace I can go to learn about the subject matter in my pictures. I also do a lot of research using my computer, but my favorite way to do research is going out in nature.”

~Jeanette Canyon

Books Illustrated by Jeanette Canyon

Her First Book: Over in the Ocean in a Coral

Reef“Eye-popping artwork is the star

of the show in Berkes's lively, oceanic counting book, based on the classic children's song Over in the Meadow… Canyon uses polymer clay to create arresting visuals. In one spread, a sea anemone, its hot pink base crowned with rosy-tipped, lime-green tendrils, bursts from the page while mother clownfish darts after a trio of young ones. Their textured scales and vivid patterns stand out against a swirling blue background of coiled clay and small, bubble-like spheres.” Kirkus Review (September 2004)

Won several awards, including the Publisher's Marketing Association's Benjamin Franklin Gold Award and Learning Magazine's Teacher's Choice Award.

Her Second Book: City Beats: A Hip-Hoppy Pigeon Poem

“Constructed from zillions of small polymer clay pellets in every imaginable hue, Canyon's illustrations create dizzying, very close-up, pigeon's-eye city views for which Rammell's short, similarly semi-abstract verses provide well-tuned accompaniment.”

Kirkus Reviews (February 2006)

Received rave reviews from Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal, and was selected

by the New York Public Library as one of their Top 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing.

Her Third Book:Over in the Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme

“Of particular note are the brilliant color illustrations, created as textured relief sculptures in polymer clay by extraordinarily talented artist Jeanette Canyon. Readers of all ages are sure to enjoy studying the amazing, vividly colorful artworks; the last few pages of Over in the Jungle offer some fun facts about rainforest animals, as well as tips from both the author and the artist about the process used to create the book. Highly recommended.”

Children’s Bookwatch (April 2007)Received both the 2008 International Reading Association's Teacher's Choice Award and the 2008

Publishers Marketing Association's Benjamin Franklin Gold Award.

Works CitedBerkes, Marianne. Over in the Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme. Nevada City, CA: Dawn

Publications, 2007.

"Berkes, Marianne: Over in the Ocean: in a Coral Reef." Kirkus Reviews. 72.17 (1 Sept. 2004): p860. Literature Resource Center. Gale. INDEPENDENCE HIGH SCHOOL. 23 Nov. 2009 <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=LitRC&u=bake99912>.

Canyon, Jeanette and Christopher Canyon. Children’s Book Illustrators Jeanette & Christopher Canyon. 23 Nov 2009. <http://www.jeanetteandchristophercanyon.com/OfficialWebsite/Welcome.html>.

“Jeanette Canyon”. Dawn Publications: Sharing Nature with Children. 23 Nov 2009. <http://www.dawnpub.com/shopping_cart/index.cfm?do=AuthorIllustrator&id=61>.

"Over in the Jungle." Children's Bookwatch. (Apr. 2007): Literature Resource Center. Gale. INDEPENDENCE HIGH SCHOOL. 23 Nov. 2009 <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=LitRC&u=bake99912>.

"Rammell, S. Kelly: City Beats: A Hip-Hoppy Pigeon Poem." Kirkus Reviews. 74.4 (15 Feb. 2006): p190. Literature Resource Center. Gale. INDEPENDENCE HIGH SCHOOL. 23 Nov. 2009 <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=LitRC&u=bake99912>.

“Search Results for Jeanette Canyon”. Pipl. 23 Nov 2009. <http://pipl.com/search/?FirstName=Jeanette&LastName=Canyon&City=&State=&Country=&CategoryID=2&Interface=40>.