I have been interested in what happens when you put words and images together since my big brother first taught me to read. I like to make pictures that you can read, and I like the way words look, the shapes and spaces and rhythms of letters. I am still amazed by the simple magic of drawing - that you can turn circles into suns, moons, bugs, sleeping dogs, uneaten bagels, sitting ducks.

Deborah Zemke makes lively pictures with gouache paints and digital pixels under the watchful gaze of her one border collie. She is a frequent contributor of Critter Crackups to Ranger Rick magazine, from whom she received the Trudy Farrand and John Strohm Magazine Writing Award. Zemke is the designer of the popular font ITC Zemke Hand. She lives in Missouri with her husband, daughter and dog in a house with a big oak tree

“Zemke can make any animal appear to be laughing.” NY Times Book Review .