Lotus Geek :: Time to Brag - about my cousin, WARD JENKINS, and his FIRST PUBLISHED BOOK!!

If you've been a reader of LotusGeek all these many years, you know that I have a pretty talented family - from my dad, who was a man of many talents (illegal and legal), my dad's brother (uncle) who is a mechanic/woodworker/metal worker god, to my brother and sister-in-laws who are accomplished doctors and lawyers. And that's just to name a few. Well, today I want to shine the LotusGeek spotlight on my awesome cousin WARD JENKINS (site, blog). Now, you may not remember it or not, but way back in 2003 Ward did me a HUGE solid and actually designed 20 Characters for that year's C.U.L.T. shirt, the Collaboration League/JustUs League. It was a lot of work, made even more daunting because he was trying to visualize concepts that meant absolutely NOTHING to him (Hide Whendy? @ Man? The Encryptable Hulk? lol). However Ward pulled it off, and to date it is the best art we've ever had on our shirts.

Well, Ward has moved on to bigger and better things, beginning with a move to the Left Coast, where he now lives in Portland with his lovely family. I don't get to see him nearly as much as I wish, but it is nice to stay in touch when we can. However, I had to take a moment and recognize him for something truly exciting and brilliant that has happened in his professional career:

Ward is now a published illustrator!! WOOHOO!!

Ward was asked by none other than 8-time gold medalist Michael Phelps to illustrate a kids book about his training and performance at the Olympics. This book is called, How to Train with a T. Rex and Win 8 Gold Medals. Ward has a great artistic style reminiscent of the old illustrations found in classic books from the 40s-70s. Here's an example of one of the pages from the book:

a page from Ward's book

Here are a couple of pics of Ward as he sees his book in a store for the first time:

Ward peeking at his book

Ward with his book

So, I just wanted to give a shout-out to my cousin, and let him know how proud I am of him.

Way to go, CUZ!

Rock

Comments

1 - You have a right to be proud...it is a great book thanks in a HUGE part to Ward's whimsical and hilarious illustrations! The wonderful message the book contains is enhances by such fun pictures!

Julie O.

Posted by null At 02:03:46 PM On 11/10/2009 | - Website - |

2 - Ever since Ward was a kid, he has been an amazing artist. I can remember him drawing anything and everything - for awhile he was obsessed with Star Wars, if I remember correctly (but then again, what kid in the late 70s/early 80s wasn't?) The difference is, his drawings were not copies - they were originals, and were great.

And to think, he almost gave up art to become a corporate wonk. Wow.

The world is a much better place with artists in it, and especially with great, caring artists like Ward.

And what's even funnier is that Ward's sister Amy is ALSO a published author!! Amy (Jenkins) Johnston is basically the world's foremost expert on the TV series LOST, and JJ Abrams in general. Her latest book is Lost Ate My Life: The Inside Story of a Fandom Like No Other, and she may be working on another.

Hey, I already have 2 (3 if you count one I contributed to), so I won't have to get back in the game to stay ahead of my cousins for awhile longer ;)

Oooh, maybe Amy and I could write a book, and get Ward to illustrate it?

Hmmmmmm.... Emoticon

Posted by Rock At 03:58:40 PM On 11/10/2009 | - Website - |

3 - You're awesome, Rocky! Thanks for the mention here. I actually really enjoyed working on those t-shirt designs for you. A lot of work, but it was fun!

I remember drawing an Imperial Stormtrooper for you one time when we were young. Ah, good times.

Posted by Ward At 06:14:38 AM On 11/17/2009 | - Website - |