![]() At this point I decided the lower entrance door through the tree should be shaped like a large donut. I blew up my little thumbnail to full size and then I layered a piece of tracing paper over it and started refining the shapes and adding details. ![]() So after thinking it all through, I ended up with this little 2″ thumbnail, laying out the basic composition, using the tree in the foreground to help create a framework for the diner in the background. I knew we wanted to see the groundhog in the foreground looking at the want ads. Once I had a rough idea in my head of the look of the diner siting in a big old tree, I started thinking about the best viewpoint to see it from. I looked at tons of images of 50’s diners to help jump start my brain. I experimented a lot with the look of the diner and did lots of little rough sketches, playing with the shape and how it would sit in a tree. As soon as I read that copy I pictured a 50’s style diner in the trees. In the story Substitute Groundhog, groundhog stops at the Hidey Hole Diner and looks at the want ads on the tree. And so, she sits at her desk every day, living in a fantasy world and watching little anthropomorphic animals come to life…and…life is good. Her love of animals, sense of humor, whimsy, and a penchant for storytelling all came together and in one quick moment she realized, “THIS IS IT…this is what I’m supposed to be doing”. After graduating with a BFA from Kutztown University in ’76, she eventually figured out that she was meant to be an illustrator. She has been drawing since she could hold a pencil and knew from an early age that art was her passion. Kathi Ember lives with one man, three sheep and four cats in an old stone farm house just outside of Kutztown, PA. ![]()
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