Nikki McClure is a self-taught artist who wields an X-acto knife to charm bold images from single sheets of paper. “All in a Day“, her children’s book with author Cynthia Rylant, is a tranquil account of life’s simple pleasures from a child’s point of view: watching the sun cross the sky, planting a seed with a friendly squirrel, taking a nap, going for a walk.
The book is one of those literary objects so immaculate it feels like portable art. Rylant’s text is loving and poetic, a perfect match for McClure’s richly expressive illustrations. The pictures also contain the requisite dose of wildness that is necessary to stoke young imaginations. The Cinder Gallery summed it up well when they wrote that “Nikki’s images exude a positivity that revolves around community, sustenance, parenting, and appreciating both the urban and rural landscape, undoubtedly influenced by her home in the Northwest and specifically Olympia.”
As if McClure’s art didn’t already define her as an awesome individual, she was a key artist in the Riot Grrrl movement and, according to her gallery, “still embodies the fiercely independent fire that fueled the passion and creativity of that time period.” Anyone need a role model?
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