Helen turns 30 , Megan turns 60 (2017, 2019)

In 2019, my sister, Katy “commissioned” me (for free, mind you) to create a deck of cards for her daughter and my niece, Helen, in honor of her 30th birthday.

I had created such a deck for a friend’s birthday in by crowdsourcing answers to the question “What I love about …” by asking friends at her birthday party.

For Helen, we got fancy and created a google survey inviting friends, relatives, former teachers and colleagues to share qualities they love about her, along with any associated visual images that came to mind.

I synthesized this into a deck of 30+ original watercolor drawings, some of which are below.

Helen and my friend Megan both cherish (their word) this little portable pick-me-up and reminder of why they are uniquely wonderful.