Trina Schart Hyman

Trina Schart Hyman's illustrations for children's books were early inspirations for me.  She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  in 1939. Ms. Hyman described herself as shy and scared of many things when she was growing up. She was a bookworm and liked reading fairy tales, folk tales and myths best, her artwork reflected this. She had trouble in school concentrating, saying "...I always felt like a dummy, because I didn't understand the rules that everyone else seemed to know."   Later, after graduating from high school she went to art school and loved it and was introduced to the works of the early 1900s illustrators; she felt encouraged and inspired.  After marrying in 1959, she traveled and learned more about art in Sweden.  In 1961 she illustrated her first children's book Toffe och den lilla bilen (Toffe and the Little Car).  She had one daughter, Katrina, in 1963 with whom she was very close. In 1968 she and her husband got a divorce, ending up with Trina and her daughter Katrin moving to New Hampshire.  Later in 1973 she became the first art director for Cricket magazine.  Trina and her daughter would collaborate on a few books, one of them was called: The Serpent Slayer and Other Stories of Strong Women, retold by Katrin (2000).  Throughout her life she illustrated around 150 books.  Her art is very detailed, whimsical and expressive.  She said that she tried to put herself and her beliefs into her work.  She also put people she knew into her work as well. Trina Schart Hyman died in 2004 at the age of 65, a relatively short life but a full one. 
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