Thursday, November 01, 2007

Robert’s Snow: Molly Idle



It’s time for another Snowflake! By now, many of you have heard of Robert’s Snow, but on the rare chance that this is completely new to you, here is a quick overview. If you’ve read this before, skip down to see today’s snowflake.

Robert’s Snow was started in 2004 by Children’s illustrator Grace Lin when her husband Robert was diagnosed by with a rare form of cancer. That year, Grace gathered several children’s book illustrators together to each create a unique snowflake that could be auctioned off to raise funds for cancer research. Since it’s beginning, Robert’s Snow has raised over $200,000 dollars for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

And here’s Molly Idle’s 2007 snowflake: “Jolly Old St. Pinniped” (Make sure you click on the picture itself to enlarge it. Otherwise, it is impossible to fully appreciate this wonder.)


For those of you who don’t know Pinnipeds are marine mammals in the seal and walrus family. This snowflake has a walrus, but I love the Puffin “reindeer” too. I was unable to find out which auction this is part of, but I will let you know as soon as I can! Meanwhile, you can view the Robert’s Snow homepage for specific auction details.

Now I know you came here to learn about the artist too, so here we are:

After graduating from college, Molly Schaar Idle moved to Los Angeles, CA where she worked as an animator for five years with DreamWorks Animation. Including her work on Sinbad, The Road to El Dorado, and Spirit, she’s also done work on PBS’s Liberty Kids and Disney’s Lion King 1 ½.

In 2003, she decided to start a career as a children’s book author. Her first book, titled Emma’s Gift is now in it’s third printing. She is currently working on her In God We Trust series for Abingdon Press. Each of these books uses coins as a metaphor for life, and the illustrations are just darling!

Molly Idle currently lives in Arizona with her husband, two sons, and three cats (my kind of person!). To view her amazing online portfolio, hop on over to her website.

7 comments:

tanita✿davis said...

A walrus is the perfect Santa. The back of this makes me laugh - the puffins are just not going to be a lot of help!

Liz Garton Scanlon said...

Oh, my gosh. I am cracking up. This is the funniest snowflake yet...

Charlotte said...

What a wondefully obscure idea! Pinniped also just happens to be one of my favorite words...

Jules at 7-Imp said...

Well, you learn something new every day. I didn't know what a pinniped was 'til now. Love it.

Alyssa, thanks for this. If you want me to ask my DFCI contact which auction this is in, let me know. She is always really prompt about getting back to me.

Jules, 7-Imp

Alyssa F said...

That would be great Jules! That way I can direct the traffic to the auction itself. Thanks!

Mary Lee said...

I can't believe the incredibly creative way these illustrators use the space on these snowflakes!

Ann Videan said...

This is may favorite piece of artwork Molly Idle has done! And, that's actually quite a comment, considering her body of work in film and children's books. Let's just call it "Profound Whimsy."