In her own words, Laurie Rosenwald is inspired by …

LENE DUE JENSEN
Lene inspires me because her work is so fresh and easily expressed. At least it looks easy, but we know better. She draws without fuss, using a black marker, and adds color with discretion. Her work is in the Scandinavian tradition of Stig Lindberg, Bjørn Wiinblad Lennart Hellsing and Olle Eksell. It’s minimal but never in a snobby or academic way. Just clean and bright.

She has humor and wit, and her drawing chops are without equal. I am looking forward to her new children’s books, coming out in the fall of 2012.  She should be much more famous, I think, but she is a low-key person.

Prizewinning Dog
The dog cracks me up. It’s so hilariously proud.

Chair and Lamps
It’s extreme Danishness. Is that a word? Lene is Danish but has lived in Sweden for many years. The lamps are the PH5 lamp and the artichoke lamp by Poul Henningsen, and the chair is Arne Jacobsen’s Ant Chair.

Lene is inspired by …

LISBETH SVARLING
I chose illustrator Lisbeth Svärling because of her spontaneous illustrations and for the way she always finds her own take on subjects. I love her great sense of humor and how she can draw so much with so little.

Being Needed
It’s hard to choose between her works, but this one with the cat gets to me. I love the way you can see the affection in the cat. Lisbeth works with just a few lines, but the cat is such a good cat!

“You asleep?”
This one she calls “You asleep?” and it really speaks for itself. It’s part of a series of illustrations with different bedtime situations. I think she made them for a magazine [Lisbeth, what magazine?]. You can see more of them on her site. She is really at her best when she gets to freely work around a theme like this. She always surprises you. She’s just great.

Lisbeth is inspired by …

CECILIA LEVY
Cecilia has worked as a graphic designer, bookbinder and illustrator, and creates beautiful objects by combining design and intricate paper craft. I think her work is fantastic, and she inspires me because of her courage, persistence and development.

Longing
I love this piece. It reminds me of so many things from when I was little. It’s so beautiful and sad. It’s made of old shredded book pages, margins only. On the handle is a cut-out word, Longing, in Swedish. This is a replica of an engagement gift from Levy’s grandfather to his fiancé.

Red
This piece is just so delicate and with so many layers. It is also constructed of shredded book pages glued together in the form of a bowl. Collection of the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden.

Tune in next Wednesday to see who inspires Cecilia Levy.

Take a look at the complete chain any time.

Emily Potts is senior acquisitions editor at Rockport Publishers.