Diana Sudyka, Artist and Illustrator, Talks About Making a Creative Life

Diana Sudyka talks about creating a life as an artist and illustrator. Sudyka is known online as Tiny Aviary (@tinyaviary) and specializes in illustrative works that feature birds, animals and humans in intricate design. Her early career featured event posters promoting musicians like The Black Keys and Neko Case and is now exploring book illustration work. Her work and online store can be found at dianasudyka.com

She now lives in Evanston and works out of her basement studio, with her husband Jay Ryan (The Bird Machine) and child, and is contributing to the creative community that makes this town a unique and interesting place to live.

We mention the event poster she donated to the Nasty Women Evanston fundraiser for Planned Parenting in June 2017, see below, and is available for purchase online. Visit her website and online store at dianasudyka.com

Bio from dianasudyka.com

Diana Sudyka  (pronounced soo-dee-kah) is a Chicago based illustrator. She started out by designing and screen-printing posters for musicians including: Andrew Bird, St. Vincent, The Black Keys, Neko Case, and The Decemberists. Examples this early poster work can be seen in Gigposters Volume 1: Rock Show Art of the 21st Century (Quirk Books). Following, she began illustrating YA books, illustrating several volumes of the award winning and NYTimes bestselling series The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, The Secret Keepers also by Stewart, and Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley. She is currently illustrating the first of several upcoming children’s picture books to be released in 2018 and 2019. Working mainly in gouache, ink and watercolor, subject matter and aesthetic choices for her paintings are largely informed by a deep passion for the natural world, and inspired by a love of various folk art traditions. When not working or with her family, she volunteers in the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History bird lab. Her instagram feed sometimes has a disproportionate amount of pictures of lichens and moss.

Select Client List:
Andrew Bird, Abrams Books for Young Readers, Beach Lane Books, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Reader, EMI Records, The Field Museum of Natural History, Folio Society, Harper Collins Publishers, Intercontinental Hotels, Habitat Skateboards, Little, Brown, and Company (Hachette Group USA), Penguin Random House, POETRY Foundation, Scholastic Books, Simon and Schuster, Spirituality & Health Magazine, The Washington Post, Whole Foods Market.

CONTACT:
For book related inquiries, please contact agents Andrea Morrison and Rebecca Sherman at Writers House: amorrison@writershouse.com & rsherman@writershouse.com.
For all other inquiries: diana@dianasudyka.com

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The Lisa D Show is a podcast celebrating creatives, featuring 20-minute, unedited conversations that mimic the live-radio vibe, very low tech on purpose. Reach out to host Lisa Degliantoni at thelisadshow[at]gmail.com

Matthew LaFleur, Illustrator and Celebrity Dad

Matthew LaFleur is an illustrator living and working in Evanston, IL. He’s funny, smart and interesting and has made a career as an illustrator This June, in collaboration with Evanston Made, LaFleur's artwork is on display at North Shore Cider, 707 Howard St. The collection of LaFleur's work includes logos and labels from Evanston Home Brew, Transient Artisanales, Middlebrow Beer, Arcade Brewery, Hop Butcher, Sketchbookbrew, as well as prints from the children's book he illustrated, The Toothless Fairy.

The public is invited to attend his artist talk on Saturday, June 17, 5-8 p.m., but in the meantime stop by the cidery during regular business hours to fill up your growler and see LaFleur's work.

From LaFleur, “Creating art has always been an integral part of my life. What started with Pac-Man doodles and maze sketches led to a BFA in Illustration from Syracuse University and a passion for filling my world, and the world's of others, with pictures and design. These days my art takes the form of lunchbox drawings for my daughters, book and magazine layouts, custom wedding invitations, illustrations for books, sketches on napkins, and logos and designs for dozens of local businesses - especially breweries.”

Learn more about LaFleur’s journey as an illustrator at doodlematt.tumblr.com

"The Lisa D Show" is a podcast celebrating creatives, featuring 20-minute, unedited conversations that mimic the live-radio vibe, very low tech on purpose.