a b o u t
Hi, I’m Lisa Clow!
(pronounced like CLOWN WITH NO N)
Thank YOU for stopping by!
THE SHORTER BIO: (scroll to bottom for long bio)
I have three branches to what I do in order to pay bills, fortunately they’re all also a passion of mine. The first branch is: design. I am a freelance graphic and surface designer. The second is: music. I am a songwriter and vocalist. I have the privilege of writing songs for other artists and for myself to perform. The third branch is: author and illustrator. I write and illustrate stories for children. I am elated when all three collide, which is rare but it has been known to happen. I have been doing all of these things professionally for about fifteen years.
I get to sing and write a lot of songs, stories, and poems. I draw a lot of pictures and design a lot of products. I love doing this for children. I live with my husband, three kids, a dog, and chickens. I especially love being hired to tell stories through lots of media. I do not love that my sunny studio gets so hot in the sticky East Tennessee summer, but I do love that I can see the Smoky Mountain Autumn leaves and morning mist while working at my desk.
You can find my artwork, music, words, goods, and products across the internet, in stores, and most importantly in homes across the country.
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Currently, I am open for representation as an author/illustrator of picture books and middle-grade author. Please send an email to lisaclowstudio@gmail.com if you are interested in chatting more about working together. I am an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and The Nashville Songwriter’s Association International.
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NOTABLE ACCOLADES AND CURRENT WORK:
* NSAI Chapter Challenge TOP 20 International Winner for song: “The Woman In His Fantasies” 2024
* NSAI Chapter Challenge Winner for Knoxville, Tennessee for song: “The Woman In His Fantasies” 2024
* Album Cover Art for Will Reagan iliwys (tape print unmastered) Release 2024
* Album Cover Art for Emily Ann Roberts Can’t Hide Country (Cabin Sessions) EP 2024
* Merch T-shirt and Sticker design for Emily Ann Roberts 2023
* Published Song: “Silent Night, Lonely Night” - cowritten with Lacy Condy released Dec 2022
* Unpublished MG Book “In The Hands of Giants” Received “Best/Most Publishable” Honor at the SCBWI Midsouth Conference 2022
* Picture Book Animals In Ink - longlisted in the Unpublished Picturebook Showcase with dPICTUS 2022
* Published Song: “From Everlasting” co-written with Lacy Condy released March 2022
* Children’s mural in The Owl Yard at New Hopewell Elementary School Winner of The Orchids Award for Public Art given by Keep Knoxville Beautiful 2022
* Fabric Collection: Whimsical ABC Animals with Hawthorn Fabrics 2022
* Published Poem: “I Can No More Slice A Flowing Stream” in the KOKORO Issue of Pigeon Parade Quarterly 2022
* Birthed my third child 2021
* Published Song “O Come, All You Unfaithful” co-written with Bob Kauflin - 2020
A few recent clients, publications, and interviews include Emily Ann Roberts, Primitives By Kathy, Hawthorne Supply Co., Southern Made Tees, Bravery Magazine, Uppercase Magazine, Whimsy and a Dream, Sovereign Grace Music, The Pigeon Parade Quarterly, and Mornings with Carmen LaBerge, The Knoxville Voyager, and more.
A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS:
•A few favorite picture books include:
Madeline, Last Stop on Market Street, Little Big Boubo, They All Saw A Cat, Chirri & Chirra Books, The Hungry Caterpillar
•Children’s novels/stories: (in no particular order)
The Graveyard Book • A Wrinkle in Time • Bud, Not Buddy • Esio Trot • The Giver • The Tale of Despereaux • The Moomins and the Great Flood • The Horse and His Boy • The Tales of Winnie the Pooh • The BFG • Mary Poppins • Peter and the Wolf • Mother Goose Rhymes
•Illustrators:
Ludwig Bemelmans, Maurice Sendak, Taro Yashima, Arthur Rackham, Chris Raschka, Brian Wildsmith, Josef Palecek, Gyo Fujikawa, Beatrice Alemagna, Pauline Baynes, Enid Marx, Jiri Trnka, Eric Carle, Tasha Tudor, and my Dad.
•Authors:
Kate DiCamillo, Neil Gaiman, Lois Lowry, Emily Brontë, The Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Matt Haig, Madeleine L’Engle, C.S. Lewis, Roald Dahl, Flannery O’Connor, I promise I do read contemporary literature.
•Movies:
The Birds, Shop Around the Corner, Song of the Sea, Edward Scissorhands, Harvey, You’ve Got Mail, Singing In the Rain, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Peter Pan, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Secret of Kells, and Ponyo
•A few of my favorite things: Bitterly Cold Winters, Strangers who talk too much, Thai Food, Estate Sales, Studio Ghibli & Hitchcock Films, Vintage Toys, Quirky Old Books, Sumi Ink, Tiny Things, Folk Art, Puppets, Animals that Talk, and the Smoky Mountains
WHAT I’M READING CURRENTLY:
Writing Children’s Books by Ann Whitford Paul, Anne of Green Gables, Flower Fables by Louisa May Alcott, Santa Claus on a Lark by Washington Gladden
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THE LONGER BIO: I dropped out of college, stopped pursuing a degree in Marketing and performed with the Penguin Players for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Playhouse. I toured the Southeast to libraries, schools, and reading festivals performing in musicals like The Gruffalo, The Little Engine That Could, and Hank the Cowdog. My peers who were earning degrees thought I was weird and crazy. I don’t blame them, singing, dancing, acting, doing voice overs, and puppetry six days a week isn’t a normal vocation for a twenty year old girl. I concluded my contract with performing those shows at Dollywood in the Heartsong Theatre.
That time in my life was pivotal in stirring my desire to create for children. I am the daughter of a children’s illustrator and wife of a teacher, and I’ve collected children’s books long before I even knew I was “collecting” them. Since I was young, I have sung and performed for thousands of people, very “important" grown-ups, but there is nothing I prefer more than writing and creating for children.
Since that time with the Penguin Players, I earned a degree in Graphic Design, worked as a songwriter, artist, illustrator, performer, muralist, and graphic & surface designer– for almost twenty years. I’ve run my business, Lisa Clow Studio, selling my illustrations, paper and home goods all over the country. I’ve written technical manuals, songs and poetry, written a children’s musical, done voice-overs, created a local storytime, created art camps and curriculum, lived in Mexico, designed for a large manufacturing company, sold original fabric collections. I’m raising three children and many chickens. I create my artwork by using a mixture of sumi ink, watercolor, and digital brushes. I love to create. I love to work hard. I love to tell stories.