A Guide to Shopping for Glasses and What's Your Style Worksheet

Who struggles with shopping for new glasses frames? I’ve worn contacts for years but now wear glasses because I work on computers and they’re much easier on the eyes. I love trendy stylish frames but they’re not always easy to find. I created this fun How To Guide and Style Worksheet to help shoppers find the right frames to suit the shape of their face, personality and style.

Holiday Card

My #MATSholidaycard submission. My husband and I have been watching a lot of Christmas movies lately. Everyone of them has someone flying off to the North Pole in a sleigh. I envisioned Santa sending his sleigh around to pick us up, complete with a blanket and steaming mugs of dark chocolate and peppermint hot cocoa to warm us. You’re never to old to believe in love, Santa Claus, his magical sleigh and the North Pole! BTW Rudolph is on vacation in Florida so Comet’s filling in while he’s on vacation. Hang on!

Folktale Week - Paul Bunyan and Magic Owl

It was fun participating in Folktale Week 2018. Day One Prompt - Forest: Paul Bunyan was a giant 40 foot tall lumberjack with superhuman strength, who cut and logged forests with his trusted companion Babe the Blue Ox, across Wisconsin and Michigan. Its been said that Paul, who was born in the state of Michigan (amongst many other states claims) dug holes and filled them with water so that he and Babe could bathe. These holes became the Great Lakes.

Day’s Two and Seven Prompts - Magic and Owl: All the animals in the forest feared the Owl believing her to be full of wisdom and magical powers. They believed that a sample from her magic pot would give them strength, courage and prosperity. After sipping the mixture and listening to the Owl’s wise advise, the animals went away feeling completely changed as if something magical and happened to them. Little did they know, the magic pot was filled only with a mixture of herbs, nuts and vegetables. It was listening to the Owl’s advise that really made them think differently about themselves. The Magic Owl story was written an illustrated by me, Maggie Summers.

Graphic Novel

Make Art That Sells Bootcamp assignment for May: I had such fun creating and illustrating this collection of random kooky objects and weaving a story around them. I loved creating the characters for the final graphic novel page, title "The Royal Pair." Can you guess what the story is about, who did it, and why? This was a challenging project and pushed me to think outside of the "panel."

A Castle, a Wedding and Ice Cream - BAM! Part 2

The second part of our day we spent visiting the Joslyn Castle in Omaha, NE. We were unable to go inside as the doors were locked yet we saw through the window people eating. We walked a little further around the side of the castle and understood why. There on the lawn, we saw a newly married couple having their wedding photos taken. We slipped away quietly but not before I capture this memory. It was so hot outside that we headed midtown to Blackstone for homemade ice cream at the Coneflower Creamery. The ice cream was amazing! Since it's all homemade the flavors are really heighten and burst in your mouth. We can't wait to go back, the next time we are in town. They make the most unusual flavors and we want to try them all! Color palette inspiration for this piece is from the Coneflower Creamery, my love of coneflowers and the love this newly married couple shared.

St. Cecilia's Cathedral - Part 1

I've been keeping a sketchbook of the places we visit in our travels to remember them. Some places stand out more than others. We recently visited one of the most beautiful cathedrals we've ever seen, ranked as one of the 10th largest cathedrals in the US.  Begun in 1905, it was consecrated in 1959. The cathedral's Spanish Renaissance Revival architectural style was designed by architect Thomas Rogers Kimball. Mary, the Ten Commandments, and a glimpse of its massive cornice structures along the top of the church, are pictured here. Also pictured are tiny silver bells, that were scattered across the entrance steps, possibly from a small child's bracelet that had broken upon leaving the church.

Book Cover Design What's In Maira Kalman's Bag

Lilla Rogers Make Art That Sells Bootcamp January assignment was such fun! For our final bookcover design we were tasked to draw what we imagined was inside a famous person's bag. I was already a huge admirer of Maira Kalman's paintings, books and other work so researching her life and creating this illustration was pure joy.  

Make Art That Sells Bootcamp What's In My Bag

I recently started taking the Make Art That Sells illustration courses and I'm loving them. I created this illustration for the January warm up mini of what's in my bag. While traveling in Texas I've been walking the beaches most days and bring home lots of shells which inevitably end up in my bag.

It's So Good To!

I was so inspired by Lilla Rogers Monday Moments series and the opportunity to win a free place on Mats Bootcamp, that I dove into the challenge, posting this entry on my Instagram feed. I love the art of hand drawn lettering and focused on incorporating the text into the queen's dress. This illustration was pure joy for me to create! Best wishes to everyone who participated!

I Llama You

Wishing you a Happy Valentines Day with this new illustration!

Coat of Arms and How to Design Your Own

If you haven't designed a coat of arms I encourage you to do so. It's a wonderful way to do some self exploration about what defines you as an individual.

My inspiration for this illustration comes from my interest in all things 19th century Victorian, particularly my love of Staffordshire figurines, and in researching the history of a coat of arms. I envisioned a charming cat and dog (my loyal supporters) to be part of a beloved royal family (mine in another life perhaps?) evidenced by the crest of a crown. The leaf work and flowers that define the shape of the shield or cartouche, were inspired by my love of plants and the outdoors. And last but not least, I included my motto "Maggie Summers Illustration" on the cartouche and banner or baberole, which clearly defines me as an illustrator. In this way, my Coat of Arms becomes my individual trademark.

The oldest documented example of a coat of arms was created in 1127 A.D. That's pretty amazing!

To design your own coat of arms, think about what each part means to you as an individual and how to best express those ideas through your choice of creative mediums.