Carson Ellis

Carson Friedman Ellis (born October 5, 1975) is an artist living in Portland, Oregon. She is best known for her children's book illustrations and her album art.

Career

Ellis is an award-winning illustrator of several children's books, including the New York Times Bestsellers Wildwood, written by Colin Meloy, The Composer is Dead, written by Lemony Snicket, and The Mysterious Benedict Society, written by Trenton Lee Stewart. She received a 2010 Silver Medal from the Society of Illustrators for her art in Dillweed's Revenge, by Florence Parry Heide.

She is also well known for her work with folk band The Decemberists, for whom she has created album art, t-shirts, websites, posters, and stage sets. Her album covers for the Decemberists include The Crane Wife, Her Majesty the Decemberists, Castaways and Cutouts, The Hazards of Love, and the EPs 5 Songs and The Tain. She has also created artwork for other musicians, such as Laura Veirs, Beat Circus, and Weezer.

Bibliography

• The Mysterious Benedict Society, written by Trenton Lee Stewart (Little, Brown, April 1, 2008)
• The Composer Is Dead, written by Lemony Snicket (HarperCollins, March 3, 2009)
• The Beautiful Stories of Life, written by Cynthia Rylant (Harcourt Children's Books, May 4, 2009)
• Stagecoach Sal, written by Deborah Hopkinson (Hyperion, September 1, 2009)
• Dillweed's Revenge, written by Florence Parry Heide (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, September 6, 2010)
• Wildwood, written by Colin Meloy (Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, August 30, 2011)

Personal Life

Carson Ellis is married to Decemberists singer Colin Meloy, whom she met as a college roommate creating posters for his alt-country band Tarkio. She and Meloy have one child, Henry "Hank" Meloy.

External links

• CarsonEllis.com, with art
• interview with Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, a children's illustration blog that includes many of Ellis's images
• An interview with Ellis about her work at Design Sponge
• Five questions for Carson Ellis at the Huffington Post