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SALT LAKE CITY — A simple afternoon of art between a mother and a daughter has led the two on a creative journey into the world of book publishing.
Mica Hendricks has worked as an illustrator and graphic designer for over a decade. Back in August 2013, Hendricks published illustrations on her blog of a collaborative project between herself and her 4-year-old daughter.
After drawing a series of uncompleted heads in a new sketchbook, Hendricks watched as her daughter finished the bodies of the characters, adding her own whimsical flare to each page.
"I would just draw on my own later, I decided. I love my daughter's artwork, truly I do. But this was 'my sketchbook', my inner kid complained," Hendricks said on her blog.
Instead of discarding the drawings, Hendricks decided to post the images on her blog. The response was overwhelming, she said.
“I shared them on my blog, and the post went viral, spreading the story we told about letting go of what you think should happen and just enjoying the time you spend together with the ones you love,” Hendricks said.
Since August, Hendricks and her daughter have works on dozens of drawings together. She finally decided to turn the artwork into a book. She said her daughter is still trying to figure out what all this means.
“I keep all of our originals in a big binder in my office so when I told her we were making a book of our doodles, she said, ‘We already have a book of our doodles,'" Hendricks said.
Hendricks realized that before she could publish a book she needed to raise some funds for the project. She created a campaign on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter, and was amazed at the response she received.
“We surpassed even our final stretch goal,” Hendricks said. “Any overage will assuredly go right back into making this an even more amazing book, make the paper for the reward prints even finer, and will offset shipping costs and such.”
Hendricks set a goal of raising $20,000. As of April 17, her proposed book project had raised over $28,000.
The book, titled "Share With Me," is set to be completed in August. Hendricks said working on the book with her daughter has been a remarkable experience.
“At the heart of it, it’s a lesson to share with other artists and parents about sharing what you love the most with the people you love,” she said.
