Oh LOVELY !!!

Really nice, thank you.

mia’s works are smiles for your heart

F A N T A S T I C

gorgeous, i love her work!

I love that fat cat!
Really fresh looking work.

These are beautiful.
I also want to echo Joanne’s comment – Thereza Rowe’s work is beautiful. I love her horse and the seed book.

Such charming illustrations! They create a feeling of nostalgia that I absolutely love.

I USUALLY APPRECIATE A LOT BOO-BY-ITS-COVER REVIEWS… BUT MUST ADMIT THAT THIS TIME I FEEL VERY DISAPPOINTED. I REALLY DON’T SEE ANYTHING GOOD IN THIS “ARTIST” WORK (I’VE BEEN VISITING HER WEBSITE) , WHICH LOOKS MISERABLE INDEED… WHAT I SEE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH “ART BRUT” OR “FOLK ART” OR ANY GENUINE FORM OF PRIMITIVE CREATIVITY. IT’S SIMPLY… ROUGH AND UGLY. SORRY!

sorry, but here we are beyond naive and far from art brut. I see no balance neither in colors or in shapes, and no fascinating atmosphere. I’ll be glad if the artist receive consents, because there must be space for everybody in the field of self expression, but even if I always tell myself arts should have no rules, this time, I must say, I’d have liked some.

i love these. It looks like the artist enjoyed creating these pages, which is so valuable.

i love Mia’s work and this is a lovely sketchbook feature :)
really have to catch up on the posts here, so much goodness, as usual!

Thanks to Julia Rothmans for her beautiful web.site… but I myself have to say that Mia Cristopher’s work has a childish touch that doesn’t seem to have – perhaps not still! – an artistic value. Art must bee free from “labels”, but it’s not a no one’s land. It’s a place ruled by secret and misterious laws… but still laws.

[...] December 30, 2009 in Uncategorized Mia Christopher found via book by its cover [...]

very refreshing…..good choice.
see you in 2010.

Happy New Year!
(as for the artist above… I join the few that have expressed their honest perplexity about)

we’re all entitled to our own opinion, and mine is: ‘This is some purely wonderful, uplifting stuff!!’ Thank you;)

Childish is one of the finest complements. I have thoroughly enjoyed this peek in to Mia’s world. The character’s feel familiar to me like long lost friends. They are awkward and beautiful and honest just like childhood.

everyone is entitled to their own opinion……(these are sketchbooks folks) – and i find them beautiful, simple and honest. art in it’s truest form. thanks for sharing!

happy new year!

What?..Ok, yes, we are all entitled to our opinion. But I feel Book by its Cover is sort of a Lugar Sagrado for Post Modern Art.

For the past 2 years, I have been pretty much being a mom, and not quite able to produce as much art as I would have liked and like to be producing now. But this site keeps my creativity in tune with the world.

Sometimes, there are things I see that I don’t really connect to, but I appreciate it, because making art is a Job, that one NEEDS to do, you dont get paid by the hour, but your soul gets richer and richer.

This site is not youtube. Whenever I see something here that I am not really keen on, I just, look at something else that I do like. Move on. We don’t have to like everything. The ugly comments remind me of what happened not too long ago to Gemma Correll http://www.flickr.com/photos/gemmacorrell/3921171940/

One of the things I like about the art world, at least the one I have experienced so far, is that people are very respectful and know that there is just too much beauty out there to be just posting and commenting negatively on another fellow artist, another fellow human.

Mia is Genius. But I guess she is not the first or last misunderstood artist out there..also, I bet I am more upset to read the ugly comments that she will ever be!
That is how awesome she is.

Love to all.

Dear Lido Pimienta,
I can’t see anything bad in expressing freely our opinion, also when it’s negative. If a blog is rich of material – like this, thanks to the work and passion of its author – – there must be space for debate. If not… we’re imprisoned in a “politically correct” logic that has much to do with hypocrisy (and/or superficiality). What makes the difference is ARGUING, supporting our opinions by reasons. And as for me… I’ve realized that I haven’t done it in my previous post about Mia Cristopher. Whose work (and I’m referring to what I’ve seen in her site much more than to her sketchbook) I find immature, disharmonic and fundamentally poor (poor in terms of subjects, shapes, sceneries). I don’t know how old the author is, maybe she needs time to elaborate. But what I see now needs to develop and reach a much better result… unless – in my opinion, yes, mine – it remains basically inadequate.
Since I’ve started drawing (being a self-taught illustrator), I’ve become aware of the big gap between me and people with skill and talent, people with more experience and quite often with years of studies in the field, studies that I’ve never gone through… Now I consider myself on a border: I need to improve significantly, otherwise I’ll remain on a level that is scarcely sufficient. And confrontation, as well as a good dose of self-criticism, are my best friends. That’s why in the past four years I’ve been spending hours and hours looking at other perople’s work, LOOKING. And that’s why I feel entitled to express my point of view in this beautuiful blog.

I think this ‘debate’ is very alive and interesting: obviously Mia’s drawings moved many souls. If I can add a few lines, I’d like to say that critics are often a very good hint for creators or performers. when you receive one-and every human being does once in a while -there’s no need to be an artist- you can stop and reconsiderate the value of your work, maybe make corrections, adjust your strikes. Artists mustn’t be a caste of untouchables, or a jollygood company telling each other how good we are, otherwise the Art would be dead. I prefer to think we are all free to express our opinions, and we can respectfully share them and think about them without getting upset.

congratulations Mia for causing such a stir with your art. If only all us artists were as misunderstood as you.

Gosh gosh!! So amazing – such chutzpah!! How does she do that? It’s sort of like zen buddhist poetry! Truly!

Which ’she’ are you referring to?

I like what I see. And what i see is that she’s having fun. I don’t know much about technical skills, I just find that I like her drawings.

Querida Daniela Tordi.
Thank you for your words and respectable response. I find interesting when people say she lacks skills.

I am 23, and have been trained, to paint, draw, ever since..well, for ever, I have been in school for art. I am currently Majoring in Criticism and Curatorial Practice, and when I see Mia’s work, I see a LOT of technical skill.

Composition, color, concept AND context, all of that in my opinion, is superb.

I did not mean to upset anybody, I am just very passionate about art and feel the need to express it, just like we all do and are.

The comment by Carolina about Mia’s “miserable site” is still very upsetting, I will never get over that!

Dear Lido Pimiento,
your passionate defense of Mia Cristopher’s work makes me think that I should simply look at my own work with a much more indulgent eye!
I live in Rome and I usually go to visit both the Children’s Books Fair in Bologna (which actually is the biggest fair in the world dedicated to pictures books) and the Salon du Livre de la Jeunesse in Paris. So, let’s say that I’m accostumed to deal (and appreciate) with illustrators and publishers of any kind. Here in Europe we’re trained very hardly, France (and more lately Spain) represents a high standard as for anything concerning illustration and Italy itself – despite the inner market is not as big – is a country with a strong tradition in illustration and design.
I obvioulsy remain of my opinion about the artist above, but thank you for your genuine partecipation to this little debate. And like the idea of a world populated by creative people, no matter which degree they reach in skill or talent.

Well, these are very pleasant with some nice modulations of color and negative space but otherwise completely unextraordinary. The sheet with the artist’s name recapitulated in rainbows of color say it all, doesn’t it?

I like this website a lot, but wonder, now, when and if we shall see the notebooks of Ms. Tordi, whose sketches are indeed spectacular.

how come nobody mentioned the subtle margaret kilgallen rip-off? that aside, i like these.

Hmm… I know Margaret’s work and don’t see the connection.

As far as comments on this post go, I think there’s been a lot of negativity about Mia’s work already. So if you don’t have a new insight into her work, let’s leave it be.

I always welcome any kind of feedback at this blog but when it starts to get repetitive in a negative way, it seems a little like ganging up. I am so thankful for the artists who share these personal pages, I don’t want them to regret it.

i don’t agree with what other people are saying about it being “not quite art” or “ugly” or anything. i think her “Playgroup” drawing on her website is definitely extraordinary. but i do feel like the side profile faces with blobby hairdo’s seem influenced by margaret kilgallen… which is not necessarily a bad thing.

I am a huge fan of Mia’s work, her style is wonderfully unique and I think she displays a natural playfulness that many artists wish they possessed.

just marvellous…
thank you !!

Your artwork made me smile, I love it. It’s simple and refreshing and it makes me feel bubbly. Good work. :)

this made me smile. it is so difficult to draw like a child when one is no longer a child and has had years of formal education, and i am impressed with mia’s ability to channel that honesty, simplicity, and innocence. i love the girl holding the cat, i just love her.

totally charming stuff

these are so sweet and charming, although those all are a really simple sketches, but somehow those are stunning and bring kinda nostalgia feeling when i look at them :) love it <3

stunning energy in this little sketches. they inspire me.