About the Artist

"Once upon a time there was a little girl who loved to draw.

Being told that there were no jobs where one could draw,

she attended Baldwin-Wallace to become an art teacher.

Upon graduation, she found there were no art teaching jobs

around where she lived, so she applied for a position at

American Greetings where she got hired by an ex-teacher. It was

there her adventure in greeting card world began in art and design.

She worked with many talented people including Tom Wilson,

the creator of Ziggy, as well as worked on many creative projects

including Care Bears. From conventional to cute and humorous

designing, greeting cards filled her world for 39 years.

Then she retired and a new journey began."

Valerie Lesiak, Ohio artist and illustrator

Picture Book Studio sprung out of my journeys through my life as a designer at American Greetings. Designers just don't retire. So now I get to play and illustrate in my own studio doing a little bit of everything from freelance and special projects for clients, to consulting, mentoring, participating in shows, as well as illustrating new ideas for the sheer fun of it.