Shel Silverstein

So most people wouldn't recognize the date, May 10, 1999, but it's important to me for two reasons.
Number one, it was my seventh birthday.
Number two, it was the day Shel Silverstein was found dead.
For my birthday, I received his book, Falling Up. I've read and reread it so many times, that the binding is broken, the dust jacket ripped, and the pages taped in. His poems are short and amusing, always holding hidden truths. Each poem is illustrated by him, and sometimes are necessary to understand the poem itself. Falling Up is 170+ pages of pure joy, and at the end, Silverstein writes:

The end of the book -
No use to look

for any more, my dear,
'cause if you try finding
some more in the binding,
you may just...disappear

               bye-bye

                     S.S.

So sure, he kind of looks like Sylar from "Heroes", but he is one of my most important inspirations.  Among my favorite of his books are Falling Up (of course), The Giving Tree, and Where the Sidewalk Ends.  His book A Light in the Attic was dedicated to his daughter, Shanna, who died when she was 11.

     Shel Silverstein did it all, he was a playwright, cartoonist, poet, songwriter and he wrote short stories.  The Giving Tree  is my absolute favorite of his works.  It is about a boy and a tree that provides him with whatever he needs as he grows older.  Eventually the tree is cut down, and the little boy is an old man.  The last thing the tree gives the man is a place to rest his tired bones.  I'm not the only one so touched by this story, either. (See tattoo to the right. By the way, I'd like to marry that boy).

"I have nothing left to give you." The boy replies, " I do not need much now, just a quiet place to sit and rest." The tree then says, "Good! A tree stump is a great place to do just that! Come boy, sit down and be happy." The boy obliged and the tree was happy.

Shel has even inspired me in my own works.  A friend asked me to illustrate her book for her creative writing class, Oh Where, Oh Where is My Underwear?  I decided to develop my own cartoon, inspired by Silverstein's work, to create her character. (see left)

Pretty much, the moral is, I love Shel Silverstein.  He is my #1 Illustrator Inspiration.  Among others are Maurice Sendak (Boy in the Night Kitchen, Where the Wild Things Are), Rachel Isadora (Willaby) and Paul O. Zelinsky (Rumpelstiltskin).  


I just found out I've been accepted the sixth and last art school I've applied to, and I can't wait to explore the possibilities when majoring in Fine Arts/Illustration!

And I'm definitely bringing Falling Up to college, wherever that may be :D