The Golden Chopsticks

Storybook: Little Bear's Wish by Else Holmelund Minarik | Little Bear is a series of children's books, primarily involving the interaction of Little Bear (a small cub) and Mother Bear (Little Bear's Mother), and the yearning he has for his father who is a ship's captain and absent for long periods. The first book in the series was published in 1957, written by Else Holmelund Minarik and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. Initially the stories were simple, but eventually became more sophisticated in subsequent books as the plot and characters expanded.

The first four Little Bear books consist of four stories, each of which involves Little Bear and a slowly expanding cast of support characters, each named after their respective species. The Little Bear character and his immediate family display many bear-like characteristics and mannerisms, but only on occasion. They live in a culture and technology which seems to be the woodland equivalent of a Little House on the Prairie setting, but with richer items. Little Bear is depicted as friendly and adventurous with his animal friends. 

My storybook painting is based on Little Bear. I chose to re create the page of little bears adventures out of "Little Bear's Wish", when little bear takes a tunnel to China and brings back chopsticks for mother bear. The Chinese lettering on the hat reads: make a wish

"My childhood was spent in southern and northern California, bouncing around place to place, briefly residing in Vermont and Washington.
Finally, after some 16 different schools, K - 12, I finished school in western New York State. Overall, the experience was both difficult and exciting. After graduating high school in 1989, I enrolled in commercial design classes for a year at a privately owned art school. My training there launched me into the competitive environment of graphic design where I worked for 6 years. At that point, I felt increasingly driven to live a life with more meaning and purpose, and so decided to leap in a new direction, starting a career as a licensed massage therapist. Massage enriched my life.
More than that, it increased my knowledge of the human anatomy and healing. After 8 satisfying years as an LMT, my husband took a job out of state and we re-located. The move spurred another change in direction for me, During the past 4 years, I have redirected my attention to the fine arts. In the past, when I had pursued fine art, my work involved incorporating natural objects. It’s since evolved from depiction of the natural and external world to exploration of the internal landscapes of memory, dream, fantasy. Now I exhibit widely, both nationally and internationally and enjoy a growing fan base, while I continue deepening my skills, developing my style and exploring my favorite mythic themes." ~Lara Dann