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My Studio in Tucson

In my studio in Tucson, pictured above, my paints and supplies are spread out on a table made from the treasure house door of our farmhouse in Japan. If you're worried that we left a treasure house (kura) without a door, we didn't! The roof of the kura flew off in a typhoon the year before we moved to the village. The door was all that remained of the treasure house. Just as the farmhouse excited my imagination, now I'm energized by Tucson and I still keep that farmhouse with me in the presence of the door. The shape of the mountains in my paintings are becoming craggy like the ones I see on the horizon here. In the past weeks, I've returned to my story about a butler cat, Earl Gray. My most recent one is below. Earl has just moved into Mrs. Castleriver's house and is established his Spot in the living room. This is when my illustrating and storytelling come together in one place.

Patty Christiena Willis

Illustrator and Storyteller