Author's Note:

I met Janet Moore and her art during a Salmon Creek, CA, studio show weekend. She later generously recommended Marylu Downing to me, and the "arting" of at least seven books has resulted. This is invigorating and cheering to me and I'm very happy that we live part-time in a sharing and often artistic neighborhood like the one around Sebastopol. -- Dick Lemon

Artist for Whenever Millie Speaks to Me, The Man Who Named Muffins, The Last Cloud, and Leftover Bliss, the last three coming soon from Owl 52 Press.

Marylu Downing loves color and paints narrative and mixed-media pieces in the magic environment of her counry studio near Sebastopol, CA, in beautiful Sonoma County. She fell in love with Millie instantly and saw her as a busy and wise little bee. "After all, without bees what would we do?" She and her husband live in Sebastopol.

If you would like to see more of Marylu's art and learn more about her career,look in on her webpage, www.studioml.com.

Artist for Home, Owls and Crows and Mud Birds, and Before I Forget..., the last two coming soon from Owl 52 Press.

"The process of painting is sheer joy for me," Janet Moore says, and it shows. Hers is a powerfully muted joy. A 17-year marine biologist, she was suddenly and deeply moved to paint the white, yellow, orange, and blue colors of a small Danish village while on a marine conference in 1995, and then and there she became a painter. She previously earned her BSJ from Ohio University, her AAS from Peninsula College, and her MMA from the University of Washington. She has had 20 exhibits in and around Sebastopol, Graton and Freestone, CA. She and her husband live in Bodega Bay, CA.

To see more of Janet's art, please look in on her webpage, www.janetmoorestudio.com.

Tony Griffin studied fine art and design at SUNY Purchase. He received a BFA in media arts/illustration at the School of Visual Arts, NY, NY and certification in art therapy. He is certified as a teacher of the handicapped and currently is the art teacher/ therapist at a private special education school.

Examples of Tony's artwork can be seen at his website, www.griffinart.com

I lost touch with Glen Michaels for 52 years. Glen was a music major at Yale before switching to the Cranbrook Academy of Art, and he and I did a series of poems with drawings called "The Other Sex Illustrated" for the Record – maybe another book? – then went this way and that, he to become a creator of uniquely beautiful assemblages and murals that are mounted from Milan to New York to Spokane. When Owl 52 Press got dreamed up, I located him, called him up, and asked if he'd like to partner up again. He said he'd love to because illustrations are his great love. I'm not sure that's true but I'm glad he feels that way. His gorgeous art illustrates The Bear and the Sky, The Donkey Who Had a Lovely Voice, and the novel Bliss in Space -- Dick Lemon.