Lois Ehlert:

Ehlert was born and raised in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. Her parents were both artistic - her father enjoyed woodworking and her mother sewed. Both of the parents shared their love of their crafts with her, teaching her and sharing scraps from their projects for Lois to work with.

Lois recalls never being satisfied with her drawings, and usually erased them. However, working with the scraps from her parents projects she discovered collage, a type of artwork where an artist cuts and pastes different materials such as paper, fabric, and objects to make a picture.

Lois went to college at the University of Wisconsin, getting a degree in English and Psychology. She then continued on with her education, attending the Layton School of Art in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

One of her first jobs after college was working for a publisher of children's books. She found this job frustrating because she didn't have final control over the art in the books so she eventually left and worked as a graphic designer.

However, Lois was still interested creating children's books and in 1987 she authored and illustrated her first book Growing Vegetable Soup. Three years later she received a Caldicott Honor for her book Color Zoo!

Today, Lois Ehlert is the author and illustrator of over 35 books! She still lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Lois Ehlert has a studio in her home. A studio is where an artist works. In her studio she has several work tables, a printer, and lots of plants.

Like many artists, Lois collects things that inspire her. Some of them are useful, like the colored pens, scissors, and paper that she uses to create her art. Some things are artwork.

Lois collects a type of art called Folk Art. Folk art is art created by people who are not professional artists - in the pictures below you can see carved wooden birds and fish, carved African figures, clothing, and hand-woven clothing.