Striking creative gold

Local writer/singer and illustrator combine talents on kids books

by Stew Mosberg

According to Colorado Creative Industries (formerly Colorado Council on the Arts) our state has the fifth highest concentration of artists and creative professionals in the country. No doubt, the Four Corners also has its fair share of writers and artists. Yet, count the number of those who actually make a living at their craft, and the amount unquestionably diminishes. Fewer still is the number of collaborations between a writer and an illustrator.

However, local children’s book author/ singer/ songwriter Melanie Milburn and graphic designer/ artist Cindy Coleman are among the few to not only succeed, but strike creative gold. Following the success of their first book, I Love You More Than Chocolate (2010), Milburn and Coleman recently published their second book, Imagination ... It’s Up to You!

Milburn is the director and head teacher of New Horizons Preschool in Durango and Coleman owns Duck Girl Art, a graphic design studio. For Milburn, who is also a mom, it was a natural evolution to put her favorite things into book form. “My passions are children, song writing and chocolate,” she admits.

The two artistic women met through mutual acquaintance Curt Alderton, who at the time was trying to start a children’s book publishing company. 4

He knew that Coleman had previously illustrated Mommy Do You Love Me with author Teres Lambert and had studied book illustration at Ringling College of Art and Design, in Sarasota, Fla. Serendipitously, upon meeting, Coleman and Milburn instantly hit it off and soon discovered that Coleman had a talent for translating the stories into pictures children could easily relate to. 

I Love You More Than Chocolate was based on Milburn’s own experiences putting her young daughter Jessie to bed. “We would play what we called ‘The-I-love-you-more game,’” she recalls. “There were two rules: we had to name something we loved, and it had to rhyme. I would always end the game with ‘I Love You More than Chocolate.’ My daughter knew how much I loved chocolate, so she knew she was loved very much.”

Although the genesis for the book is easy to understand, it took years for it to become a reality; Jessie is now 25.

Using a sketch pad to work through the imagery and being mindful of the 2- to 7-year-old age range of the intended audience, Coleman listened while Milburn sang the words and developed concepts of what it might look like. Relying on her expertise as a production artist and graphic designer, she used acrylic paint for the final product, which was illustrated in nine months.

The hard-cover version of I Love You More Than Chocolate was launched at Maria’s Bookshop in Durango and thereafter found outlets elsewhere, including the Internet, where it regularly gets rave reviews.

A particularly charming and unique element of each book is the inclusion of a CD featuring Melanie singing the words, allowing children to listen, follow along and begin to read.

Coleman did all the illustrations for the book in colored pencil, with each one taking her about 40 hours./Photo by Steve Eginoire

The success of that first venture motivated Milburn to harvest her collection of more than 100 original songs for a follow-up book and to ultimately choose Imagination ... It’s Up to You!

Milburn believes in the power of creative play and encourages children to use their imaginations during play time. “Young children are so receptive to music, so as a songwriter, it was just a natural thing to do; write a song encouraging children to enter into the wonderful world of make believe using their imaginations,” she said.  

There was never any doubt as to whom she wanted to illustrate the second book, and Coleman jumped at the chance. Feeling ever more comfortable with each other, the collaboration flourished and Coleman added some of her own passions to the storyline, such as clog dancing and tight rope walking. The illustration style she used this time is a bit more sophisticated and much more detailed. 

Deciding to work in color pencil instead of acrylics proved far more time-consuming than the previous work, and Coleman admitted it took her about 40 hours per illustration, as opposed to the 10 with the previous book.             

There are elements among these new illustrations that reflect some of the artist’s favorite things, such as a tiger, and of course her famous ducks. The Durango Silverton Railroad also shows up in the background of one image, and Coleman’s niece and nephew were enlisted as models for some of the pictures. In one, a girl leans against a tiger while reading I Love You More Than Chocolate.

Charming and inspirational, Imagination … It’s Up to You! suggests the world of opportunity awaiting children as much as adults who are reading it to them.

Fanciful ideas such as, “Teach your parrot, Tweety, how to bark or stay up all night, at least ‘til dark,” are interspersed with potentially realistic options such as, “You can be the pilot of a Boeing jet,” and “You can play the drums in a rock & roll band.”

Imagination … It’s Up to You! also includes a CD and is available at Maria’s Bookshop, the Rivergate Pharmacy, the Book Hut, and the Mail Room in Town Plaza.