Making Art

A celebration of the many ways we make art, spanning mediums, geography, and resources from author-artist Diana Ejaita.
Art is for everyone! From found objects to sidewalk chalk, from homemade instruments to breakdancing, from building with blocks to molding clay, art is natural and healing. Readers will be encouraged by the invitation to create anything, anywhere, with any materials. Inclusive and expansive, Ejaita portrays a wide cast of characters exploring their own feelings and ideas, accompanied by a poignant, yet easily understood, text. This deceptively simple and stunningly composed picture book offers children a sense of what art can be, and the ways in which it adds beauty to our lives.

Diana Ejaita works as an illustrator and textile designer in Berlin. What sets her illustrations apart is a combination of dramatically contrasting areas of black and white with soft patterns and textures that create images portraying the strength of femininity. Born in Cremona, Nigeria, her aesthetic pays homage to her lineage. "I am mostly into Central African culture; I love its literature, arts, and textile traditions. But as a child of migration and of interracial parents I am very driven by the issues of colonial/post-colonial effects, racial and gender discrimination, and identity research." She lives with her baby/muse, Mathi, in Berlin and Lagos.