Arlene Graston

ARLENE GRASTON was born in Reims, France, to an American father and French mother giving her a dual nationality. She began her career with the haute couture house of Nina Ricci in Paris, where she apprenticed as a fashion designer and later designed jewelry. In her early twenties Arlene came to America where she established her own graphic design studio. Her commercial work appeared in numerous national publications including VOGUE, HARPER'S BAZAAR, WWD, and THE NEW YORK TIMES. She also designed the posters for the original Broadway productions of BUBBLING BROWN SUGAR and EUBIE! among others. However, as her success in the commercial world spiraled higher, Arlene, an entirely self-taught artist, found herself more and more drawn to the magical images that have pervaded her heart, mind and soul since childhood. In recent years she turned away from the design work to concentrate entirely on her own art.Arlene's books include SPECIAL FRIENDS (Bantam), THUMBELINA (Doubleday) and IN EVERY MOON THERE IS A FACE (Illumination Arts), which won Foreword Magazine's Gold Medal for Best Children's Picture Book of the Year and was a finalist for the Independent Publisher Book Awards. Her artwork has been exhibited in New York and London by the Jane Kahan Gallery. She is now represented by Visibles, Inc. (nyvisibles.com). Arlene Graston lives with her husband in New York City. She may be contacted through her website: arlenegraston.com.