The Time Garden by Daria Song

I love pattern. Designs delight me, and line drawings can make me swoon. So, it's quite understandable that The Time Garden pushes all the right buttons for me. I also am an pysanky artist, who has taken the symbols and designs of pysanky into 2D art (You can see some of my work at http://czukart.com.) I find inspiration in the world around me, and in the works of other artists. Sometimes you can look at what another artist has done, and it speaks to you. Sometimes, it helps you puzzle out a solution for something that has been stymieing you. Sometimes, it makes you say, "Oh wow!" and then rush to pick up a pen to try your own ideas. Daria Song's beautiful art speaks to me, inspires me, and encourages me. Plus, she added a little story to support the art, so that I can read it with my grandchild and we can talk about the story, what we see in the art, and how we'd embellish it. That's a win in a book for sure. For the record, I've steered clear of adult coloring books because I feared they might pull my own art one direction or another. Ms. Song has her own unique style, and in this book, is more reality based than my own. However, it is a style that is beautiful, and makes my artist soul happy to see.

Many thanks to Blogging for Books and to the publisher for sending me this book. And many thanks to Daria Song: you are well named for your art makes my soul sing.