Kinuko Y. Craft
Encyclopedia
Biography
Craft came to the United States in 1964 where she continues to live and work today. Her art has included paintings for the book covers of many well known fantasy authors such as Patricia A. McKillipPatricia A. McKillip
Patricia Anne McKillip is an American author of fantasy and science fiction novels. Her novels have been winners of the World Fantasy Award, Locus Award and Mythopoeic Award. In 2008, she was a recipient of the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement...
, Juliet Marillier
Juliet Marillier
Juliet Marillier is a New Zealand-born writer of fantasy, especially historical fantasy. She currently lives in Western Australia. While Marillier writes mostly for adults, her recent books have included Cybele's Secret, a sequel to her novel for young adults Wildwood Dancing. Cybele's Secret won...
, Tanith Lee
Tanith Lee
Tanith Lee is a British writer of science fiction, horror and fantasy. She is the author of over 70 novels and 250 short stories, a children's picture book and many poems. She also wrote two episodes of BBC science fiction series Blake's 7...
and many others. She has also designed opera posters, fairy tale books and painted cover art for many national magazines such as Time, Newsweek and The National Geographic.
Craft illustrated the cover art for the older editions of Shakespeare's work for the Folger Library. She has a passionate love of fine art and draws on a deep knowledge of art history in creating her work. She is most inspired by the works of Leonardo Da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
, the Pre-Raphaelites and Symbolist painters. Her paintings are done with a combination of artist oils and watercolor on clayboard gesso panels.
Craft is a graduate (BFA 1964) of the Kanazawa College of Art
Kanazawa College of Art
The Kanazawa College of Art is a university in Kanazawa, Japan. It was founded in 1946 by the municipal government following the World War II...
(Kanazawa Bijutsu Kōgei Daigaku). She later studied at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she continued her studies in design and illustration. A majority of her earlier work was for the editorial and advertising market. Since the mid-1990s, she has concentrated her efforts on art for fantasy book jackets, opera posters and has illustrated eight picture books (fairy tale and classic mythology)designed for children and young readers. She has collaborated with many authors and worked with her husband, Mahlon F. Craft and her daughter, Marie Charlotte Craft. Her original paintings, drawings and limited edition prints are represented exclusively by Borsini-Burr Gallery in Montara, CA.
Her art has been licensed on calendars, posters, greeting cards and other consumer goods. Her fairy tale books are currently distributed in the USA, other English language countries, Europe, Greece, China and Korea. She has received numerous awards for her work, including several gold and silver medals from The Society of Illustrators, New York City, NY. Ms. Craft’s work can be found in the collections of National Portrait Gallery (United States)
National Portrait Gallery (United States)
The National Portrait Gallery is an art gallery in Washington, D.C., administered by the Smithsonian Institution. Its collections focus on images of famous individual Americans.-Building:...
, The Museum of American Illustration in New York City, The National Geographic Society, and other corporate collections.
She has been nominated 5 times since 2001 as a Best Artist for the World Fantasy Awards.
Craft has also lectured and given workshops at numerous art schools, universities and organizations, including Art Center College of Art and Design, San Jose State University, Rhode Island School of Design, etc.
Children's picture book illustration
- RumpelstiltskinRumpelstiltskinRumpelstiltskin is the eponymous character and protagonist of a fairy tale which originated in Germany . The tale was collected by the Brothers Grimm, who first published it in the 1812 edition of Children's and Household Tales...
, translated by Lucy Crane (Scott Foresman Reading Systems, 1970) - GingerbreadGingerbreadGingerbread is a term used to describe a variety of sweet food products, which can range from a soft, moist loaf cake to something close to a ginger biscuit. What they have in common are the predominant flavors of ginger and a tendency to use honey or molasses rather than just sugar...
Children (Poems), by Ilo Orleans (Follett, 1973) - Bear, Wolf and Mouse, by Jan Wahl (Follett, 1975)
- Come Play With Me, by Margaret HillertMargaret HillertMargaret Hillert is an American author and poet. Hillert is known primarily for her children's literature, having written over eighty books for beginning readers. A retired first grade teacher, she currently resides in southeast Michigan...
(Modern Curriculum Press, 1975) - Mother Goose ABC (Platt & Munk, 1977)
- The Tower of Geburah by John White (IVP, 1978 edition only)
- The Black Swan, by Paula Z. Hogan (Heinemann Library, 1979; Steck-Vaughn, 1987)
- The Elephant, by Paula Z. Hogan (Heinemann Library, 1980)
- What Is It?, by Margaret Hillert (Modern Curriculum Press, 1977; Perfection Learnin, 1989)
- Classics: a Child's Introduction to Treasure Island, Black Beauty, the Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Robinhood (Platt & Munk, 1977)
- The Cookie House, by Margaret Hillert (Modern Curriculum Press, 1978)
- Treasure IslandTreasure IslandTreasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "pirates and buried gold". First published as a book on May 23, 1883, it was originally serialized in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881–82 under the title Treasure Island; or, the...
, by Robert Louis Stevenson (Steck-Vaughn, 1980) - Tales of the Ugly Ogres, by Corinne Denan (Troll Communications, 1980)
- The Twelve Dancing PrincessesThe Twelve Dancing Princesses"The Twelve Dancing Princesses" is a German fairy tale originally published by the Brothers Grimm in 1812 in Kinder- und Hausmärchen as tale number 133...
, by Marianna MayerMarianna MayerMarianna Mayer is a well-known children’s book writer and artist from Roxbury, Connecticut. Her early education was in the field of the visual arts. Her first book was published when she was nineteen years old. After graduating from college, she became a student painter at the Art Students...
(Mulberry books, HarperCollins, 1989) - Baba YagaBaba YagaBaba Yaga or Baba Roga is a haggish or witchlike character in Slavic folklore. She flies around on a giant pestle, kidnaps small children, and lives in a hut that stands on chicken legs...
and Vasilisa the Brave, by Marianna Mayer (HarperCollins, 1994) - Cupid and PsycheCupid and PsycheCupid and Psyche , is a legend that first appeared as a digressionary story told by an old woman in Lucius Apuleius' novel, The Golden Ass, written in the 2nd century CE. Apuleius likely used an earlier tale as the basis for his story, modifying it to suit the thematic needs of his novel.It has...
by M. Charlotte Craft (HarperCollins, 1996) - PegasusPegasusPegasus is one of the best known fantastical as well as mythological creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine horse, usually white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. He was the brother of Chrysaor, born at a single birthing...
, by Marianna Mayer (HarperCollins, 1998) - King Midas and the Golden Touch, by M. Charlotte Craft (HarperCollins, 1999)
- CinderellaCinderella"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
(Chronicle Books, 2000; leather bound edition by Easton Press, 2006) - The Adventures of Tom ThumbTom ThumbTom Thumb is a character of English folklore. The History of Tom Thumb was published in 1621, and has the distinction of being the first fairy tale printed in English. Tom is no bigger than his father's thumb, and his adventures include being swallowed by a cow, tangling with giants, and becoming a...
by Marianna Mayer (Chronicle Books, 2001) - Sleeping BeautySleeping BeautySleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault or Little Briar Rose by the Brothers Grimm is a classic fairytale involving a beautiful princess, enchantment, and a handsome prince...
, by Mahlon F. Craft (2002; leather bound edition by Easton Press, 2006)
Museum Exhibitions
- The Cornish Colony MuseumCornish Colony MuseumThe Cornish Colony Museum is located in Windsor, Vermont. It is an art museum and educational institution, dedicated to displaying and teaching about the creative individuals who lived and worked in the Cornish Art Colony...
, Windsor VT "Heroines in Literature" (Winter 2006/2007) - The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art Kanazawa, Kanazawa Japan "A Spring Night's Dream" Spring 2006
External links
- The art of Kinuko Y. Craft
- Ten Dreams Galleries
- Borsini-Burr Gallery
- Ms. Craft’s profile on Celestial Seasonings
- Kinuko Craft's Gallery with biography and artbooks on Inside Your ART
- Kinuko Craft's Chinese page on Inside Your ART China