The thing is, everyone loves stickers, and wrapping paper and Julia Rothman.
And introduction to the Eclectic World of Julia Rothman (With drawing prompt at the end)
When I was 11, I moved from Kuala Lumpur City, to the Island where my father grew up.
It was like going back in time. It was also a move to a richer life, one 8th the view of the sea from the balcony. Streets where you could find family businesses run by third and fourth generation craftsmen, back ally hawkers who are widely regarded as some of the best chefs in the world, and people who were once travellers had decided to stay as residents.
As that 11 year old, one of my favourite places on the island though, was a gift shop outside the supermarket under the escalator in a tiny mall.
And once a week, my sister and I would find ourselves in that gift shop admiring the art on wrapping paper and browsing sheets of stickers, that we might add to our sticker book collection.
These memories flashed back to me as I flipped through two new books from the Eclectic World of Julia Rothman sticker book, and the Eclectic World of Julia Rothman Wrapping paper book.
Looking through these books with admiration, brought me back to those childhood memories. Except the childhood memories was one of longing for another sheet of stickers or more than one piece of wrapping paper. And these books give you a feeling of completion.
First of all, a book, is a perfect format for Wrapping Paper.
I’ve never seen anything like this before but I have a feeling it’s going to be a thing.
It’s portable, it stores easily and there’s a wrapping paper that’s just right for every gift/recipient. And this book even comes with a sticker sheet of gift tags!
It’s a perfect way to elevate a gift and even if you never intend to wrap a present Julia’s charming illustrations across 12 fold out illustrated sheets make for a treat you might be tempted to give yourself.
Looking at the wrapping paper has me wondering what would make a good gift to go with the wrapping paper. And something came to mind that made me snicker to myself and that is, ’The Eclectic World of Julia Rothman Sticker Book.”
There is this quote that I sometimes see on social media that says ‘If a small human sticks a sticker on your body, it’s a great sign of respect in their culture”. The thing is it works both ways, there is hardly anything more valuable to little kids than stickers.
And because all of us have at one time been little kids, we understand this cultural appreciation at a deep level. We remember IN our bodies that feeling of receiving a single sticker. Now imagine receiving 1000 stickers.
I know if I received 1000 bound in a hardcover book, my fist thought should be; “how did they know I love stickers”. The thing is, everyone loves stickers.
This might be a bit of a stretch, but hear me out. Imagine you had a dozen people you needed to get gifts for, and this is something I would totally do… you could get 12 copies of Julia Rothman’s Stickerbook. And one copy of the wrapping paper book, then wrap each book with a one of the 12 wrapping paper designs.
And to personalise it, use the sticker gift tags (found in the wrapping paper book) and say something like “the friendship bracelet stickers on page 44 made me think of you”, or make a personalized comments about the teacup stickers or video game themed stickers.
There’s going to be something from the 1000 + stickers that tells the story of your relationship.
Personally, I am thrilled to have received both. The wrapping paper book, and the sticker book from Artisan.
And I can tell you that my daughter and I are already fighting over the stickers. She plans to use them for everything from decorating her possessions, rewarding people and creating original artworks using her stick and draw technique, see example below.
And I want to use them in my journals and letters and my own version of the stick and draw technique.
Julia Rothman is an inspiration to me. I love her Anatomy series and the way she creates illustrations as icons, distinct and self contained images that are perfect as stickers, to me the sticker book is more than a sticker book it is a curated sketchbook filled with images that tell stories. If you know and love Julia’s work, this book will fit right into your collection, and if you don’t know her work, this book is the perfect introduction.
In true, Ten Minute Artist fashion let me end this post with a prompt, but instead of my own prompt, I’m going to introduce you to Julia’s most well known prompt, which is the, More/Less prompt.
Spit a sheet of paper in two halves
Label one side ‘more’ and the other ‘less’
Draw the things you want less and more off as a visual list.
The prompts are great for transitioning into a new year, but I also think anytime is a good time for reflection.
Here you can find:
This is NOT a sponsored post, although I did get these two books as a gift from the publisher, and I am a fan, so I consider it an honour to introduce you to one of my favourite illustrators, Julia Rothman.
Love the way she elevates the mundane!