Rick Chrustowski   




I'm excited to be taking part in Blogging for the Cure, where we're featuring just some (but you can discover the rest of them when you visit the auction) of the wonderful illustrators and snowflakes of Robert's Snow, an auction of illustrated snowflakes to raise funds for cancer research. Today I’m featuring Rick Chrustowski, a Wisconsin illustrator/author. Here’s his piece, Snowflakes Are Yummy!:

And during Phase 2 of the auction, November 26-30, you can bid on Rick’s snowflake here. 

Here’s a close-up of Rick’s snowflake—check out the back of the snowman’s throat! Too funny.

Flake-y Questions 

How did you (honestly) feel when you were approached to participate in Robert’s Snow?

I saw it posted on a blog.  I try to do an art project for charity every year.  This one seemed like lots of fun and it’s for a great cause.

Which of your books is your snowflake most “like”?  

None, yet.  I will be using this technique for the first time in a book this year – yay!

How did you come up with the idea for your snowflake? 

I wondered what a snowman would eat.  Snowflakes are like potato chips – each one is different and you can’t stop eating them. 

What did you think about while you were working on it? 

I wanted it to be cute, tell a little story, and to be a celebration of winter.

What medium is your snowflake? 

Cut paper with colored pencil and watercolor snowflakes.

Can you share a little about your artistic process on your snowflake? 

Every year at Christmastime I’m usually on deadline with colored pencil art for a book.  I usually take a break to make my card and using cut paper is fun, quick and colorful.  I cut out my character first then figure out what color background would look good.  It’s like playing with paper dolls.  I never played with them as a kid, but I do now!

Anything you’d like to say directly to the people who might be inspired to bid on your snowflake? 

Have fun with your snowman! 

And here’s my silly poem in honor of Rick’s terrific snow-eating snowman!

 More about Rick:

You might recognize his bold artwork from his books like Bright Beetle and Blue Sky Bluebird. 

In Rick's Words

About me:

Growing up in Valparaiso, Indiana, our house was the rowdiest one in the whole neighborhood. We have six kids in my family, and I’m number five. Even though we were different ages we still played together, got into fights, and helped each other out of jams. Name any type of kid and we probably had it covered:  cheerleader, jock, computer geek, social butterfly, trombone player in a marching band.  We each had our own area of interest. I emerged as the artist probably because I drew constantly. And I still do! (Read more of Rick’s bio at his website.)

6 highlights in my illustration journey (we're doing a theme of 6 to complement the 6 spokes of a snowflake):

1) when my parents bought me a drawing table in 4th grade,
2) taking my portfolio to New York,
3) first time I drew in front of a large group,
4) seeing my very first book  in a bookstore,
5) the first drawing a child made for me,
6) making art for the Summer Reading Program  

6 words that describe my art and/or artistic process?



6 things you don’t know about me and can’t learn from my site:

1) I’m a vegetarian
2) my favorite color: green
3) my favorite animal: praying mantis
4) my favorite book: whatever I’m working on right now
5) I love planting things in pots (the bigger the better) [unlike Laura—see her sad plant here]
6) I wish I knew how to play an instrument

Enjoy learning about Rick Chrustowski and his snowflake and artwork! If you have any questions or comments for Rick, you can email him at farmhouseartist at yahoo.com.

I hope you'll check out the other snowflakes being featured today, too. You can see the lineup here or in my sidebar.

Thanks, Rick, for participating, both in this blog interview and in Robert’s Snow!