Make Map Art: Creatively Illustrate Your World by Nate Padavick & Salli Swindell, ALL AGES

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Make Map Art by Nate Padavick and Salli Swindell, the brother and sister creative design and illustration team otherwise known as Studio SSS is my latest, greatest bookstore find. I have been fascinated by maps for a very long time and am always partial to a kid's book that has a map in it. The idea of making maps to tell a story, to mark a memory and, as the introduction notes, to "define our place in the world, inspire daydreaming, and ignite the wanderlust in all of us" is very exciting to me. With Make Map Art, Padavick and Swindell give you everything you need to get started down this path!



The booklet that comes with Make Map Art begins with pages on "How to Use This Kit" and and "Map Components," defining cartouches, the compass rose, legends and iconography. The booklet goes on with ideas and suggestions on how to use the pages included to make map art mapping anything from favorite things, stuff on your mind, paths to your favorite places, important homes and more. There are even instructions on how to make a map that doubles as a party invitation! I couldn't find images of my two favorite starter maps, a silhouette of a head in profile and a hand, to share with you here, but they  present so many fun possibilities and ways to use it. Also, people usingMake Map Art have already begun to share their creations on line!





Be sure to check out Nate Padavick and Salli Swindell's other endeavors, including their very cool website: They Draw & Travel  that features an amazing array of maps illustrated by artists from all over the world!

Nate Padavick and Salli Swindell also started the blog They Draw & Cook: Recipes Illustrated from All Over the World and compiled 107 of the recipes & illustrations into a book. Below is a very fun, and yummy, sample recipe & illustration from the website!


Yeti Approved Gingerbread Cookies by Arthur Kononuk



Readers who enjoy Make Map Art will also love MAPS by Aleksandra Mizielińska and Daniel Mizieliński.




Source: Review Copy

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