ABSTRACT ART

Dear Friends,

I sometimes like to create abstract pieces using my painted tissue paper sheets, as well as other materials such as silk fabric, plate glass, plastic sheathing and aluminum foil. I continue to create pieces in my studio, little works that for one reason or another capture my attention. I thought you might like to see an example of this kind of art including an Ingo Maurer ceiling lamp in my home that I decorated using pieces of my painted papers!

Eric Carle

LA Times Books Festival

Dear Friends,

While I've cut back a good deal on the number of book signings I do, I still make a few scheduled appearances each year. Recently, I signed copies of my books and gave a presentation at the LA Times Book Festival, an event for which I also created art for the program and other publicity materials. It was a very well-organized festival and I was delighted to meet readers and fans of all ages who were there. I hope you enjoy these photos of the few days in California.

Eric Carle

A Day in My Life

Dear Friends,

I thought you might enjoy a small view into my daily life in Florida. I have said it often and it remains true that I very much enjoy the quiet days at home in my garden,



playing solitaire,




spending time with Bobbie,



watching the crabs,



feeding stray cats,



and Iguanas who frequent our property.







I still spend time in my studio but am very happily doing little else.



Soon we will leave to spend the summer in North Carolina. I love it there too, but have enjoyed this time near the ocean immensely.

Eric Carle

Around the world

Dear Friends,

I wanted to share some of the stories and photographs of international celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.



The Very Hungry Caterpillar has been translated into more than 47 languages and it has been wonderful to read about and see photos from events in Russia, Taiwan and London among other cities and countries.



We heard there were hundreds of events at schools and libraries in Germany; that The Very Hungry Caterpillar himself came to celebrate on the streets of London.




We received photos from two days of celebrating at a fun fair in Taiwan that more than 3000 people participated in! And in Moscow, art classes were held in libraries and bookstores as well as a program on making a cartoon at the Cancer Department of the Moscow Children's Hospital.





These stories and pictures have been a true delight to receive and I am thankful to be able to share them with all of you.
Best wishes,
Eric Carle

Gratitude

Dear Friends,

My wife Bobbie and I are sending our best wishes to all who are celebrating the 40th Anniversary of The Very Hungry Caterpillar today and our heartfelt gratitude for all of the messages from readers from around the world.

We have heard of celebrations taking place in Japan, the Netherlands, Germany, England, Puerto Rico, New York, California, Hawaii, Wisconsin, Singapore and in other cities and countries around the world.

It is a wonderful day!

Eric and Bobbie Carle

On Making a Mess

Dear Friends,

A group of kindergarten students from Michigan visited my web site recently and watched how I painted a mural on a large piece of Tyvek that I rolled out on the floor of my studio. They were wondering how I could step on the painting while the paint was still wet. While I tried not to step on the wet paint when I was creating the mural, you can see from the photo here that I do sometimes get paint on my shoes when I am working. Making pictures and creating art can sometimes be a messy job. But that’s ok. I’ve grown to enjoy the spots and dots that my work sometimes leaves behind and occasionally, without even realizing it, the inadvertent mess or the “mistakes” I make, end up seeming more interesting than I ever would have expected. I have even made art out of the materials I use to create my pictures such as these yogurt container lids saved from my lunch that served as my paint tray.




But a good smock or apron can help keep your clothes clean while you use paints or glue or colored chalk.

Keep up the good work!

Eric Carle

P.S. I am a yogurt fan and am happy to have my work featured on Stonyfield YoBaby Yogurts!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Pop-Up Book

Dear Friends,

I hope you will enjoy these wonderful pictures of the new Pop-Up edition of The Very Hungry Caterpillar being read by a group of children.

These photos make me happy as a starred review.

I hope you too will enjoy this new edition of my story.
Eric Carle

Photo credit: Vu Phan