I love encouraging and inspiring young people to read. When I am presenting my art at shows, I like to have something all ages will enjoy, even the youngest of art shoppers, and that is why I designed some really cool art book marks young art lovers could admire and take home with them. I have found children are fascinated with art that is vibrant in color, which is why they always want to touch and admire my art. I use bold bright colors and who wouldn’t want to touch a fish with all the colors of the rainbow? I create the book marks from prints of my art work. I will take about 5 prints of various art themes, from fish to butterflies and anything in between. I will then cut each individual print into several book mark sized pieces of paper. I then laminate each each one. I sometimes add a hole at the top center and string a tassel to complete the look! I will usually jumble them up and spread them out on a table for young hands to go through. Kids loved them and as I watched them pick up a book mark, they were not only fascinated by the art but they figured out that each one was a small piece of a larger picture, much like working a puzzle! It’s just another great way for getting young people interested in art!
(Kimberly Sumerel)