#agreenplacetobe

[sneevish]

“Frederick planned it to be a wild garden for everybody.” From “A Green Place To Be” by Ashley Benham Yazdani. #centralpark #ashleybenhamyazdani #agreenplacetobe #picturebooks #kidlit https://www.instagram.com/p/B9oXglSHgb6/?igshid=19iif5629dsqz

[ashleyyazdani]

Had a wonderful visit with kindergarteners and first graders at the Poly Prep Lower School school in Brooklyn today! They were a wonderful audience with very good questions, and designed some delightful park maps of their own. Thank you so much for having me! 🌿 #agreenplacetobe #schoolvisit #illustratorvisit #kidlitart #kidart (at Park Slope Brooklyn NY) https://www.instagram.com/ashleytree/p/BxI_euihvQG/?igshid=uk5kx7z96agy

[ashleyyazdani]

Yesterday I was lucky enough to fulfill a big book-related goal by seeing the original Greensward drawing by Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted in person! This was the original plan for Central Park, and I’ve been dying to see it ever since I began work on A Green Place to Be back in 2015, when I narrowly missed getting to see it at the Arsenal. Now I have so many questions!! Who drew what? What was their drawing process on this? Did they work from one end to the other, or section by section, or on the whole piece at once? Are the smears on the brown lettering due to time and age/damage, or due to a hand passing over them as they rushed to finish this drawing before the design contest deadline? I’m in love with the sketchy little trees, and if you look closely you can see all of the tiny marks for the grass, which Olmsted and Vaux’s friends helped out with. The beauty, detail, and style of this blew me away, and I feel so lucky to have seen a piece that came directly from these two designers’ hands. 🌳 I am so grateful to my editor Hilary for letting me know that the drawing was on view at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA, and to @rebeccabednarz for helping me and my family to see it. As luck would have it I caught the Nature’s Nation: American Art and the Environment show right before it closes this weekend! If you’re in New England then head over to Salem to catch this breathtaking and informative exhibit before it closes after May 5th. . . . . . #agreenplacetobe #centralpark @centralparknyc @peabodyessex #peabodyessexmuseum #calvertvaux #fredericklawolmsted #nature #babysfirstmuseum #mywildbird #mywildbirdtanager #greensward #landscapearchitecture (at Peabody Essex Museum) https://www.instagram.com/ashleytree/p/BxAXLmBBakf/?igshid=1e5t6d7m13ks9

[ashleyyazdani]

Today is the day!! My debut book, A GREEN PLACE TO BE, is officially published by Candlewick Press and is available in your local bookstore! Pick up a copy to discover all of the fascinating Central Park history that I could possibly pack into 40 pages. 📗 🌳🍂👒❄️👻⛸ 🐿⚾️🚴🏽‍♂️🌸🌱🌲🦆🌳🌭🌲🌳🌿 Thank you so much to everyone who supported this book through every step of its creation, especially to my wonderful team at @candlewickpress , who nurtured this project from small sprout to published book. This experience has literally been a dream come true. 💚 . . . . . . #agreenplacetobe #centralpark #nyc #trees #landscapearchitecture #fredericklawolmsted #calvertvaux #parkdesign #publicparks #picturebook #picturebookart #childrensbooks #kidlitart #watercolor #centralparknyc #debutpicturebook @centralparknyc (at Central Park, Manhattan, New York City) https://www.instagram.com/ashleytree/p/Bu7TaVklyyW/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1gjx28mwg1dss

[ashleyyazdani]

A review of A Green Place to Be from Publishers Weekly! Find the book at your local bookstore on March 12, 2019. 🌿 . . . . . #centralpark #fredericklawolmsted #calvertvaux #agreenplacetobe #nyc #manhattan #kidlitart #picturebooks #debutpicturebook #landscapearchitecture https://www.instagram.com/ashleytree/p/BuZmL8PlSj6/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1n6plj3vo9x84

[ashleyyazdani]

Fell a little behind on #marchmeetthemaker so I’m catching up with Day 5: Photography. I am in no way professional in my photography skills, but photography was so important to my process with my book. I used reference to build the foundation of my images, and to give me information about the rocks, trees, and people found in the park. Almost all of the landscape reference found in #agreenplacetobe was taken by me on a few trips to Central Park. I usually use my iPhone 7, or sometimes an old Nikon (D300, it weighs a million pounds). This park has such lovely lines and construction that it’s almost impossible to take a truly bad picture there. 🌳 #centralpark (at Central Park)

[ashleyyazdani]

#marchmeetthemaker day 4: Favorite to Make. I wish I could share more of my book, but for now I can’t! This is a process image of one of my favorite pieces to make for it. See it in a year. 😉 Otherwise I love to draw verdant scenes bursting with plant life. I also love to draw architecture, people, trees, rock formations, and witchy things. Somewhere in my studio I have a list of 100 things I love to draw (thanks @johnhendrix for the list making inspiration). Every artist should make a list like this. #agreenplacetobe

[ashleyyazdani]

A love story. 💕🐶🐶💕 #agreenplacetobe