About Lori VanKirk Schue

The Artist

Lori knew she wanted to be an artist when she was very young, and the need for creating art has only grown stronger throughout her life.

She is thrilled, mystified, and comforted by her ability to create artwork that speaks to people of all ages. Teaching is a particular gift she has shared with students aged two to 90. Taking advantage of her many moves with her husband and children during his 26 years in the US Coast Guard, she used her visual communications degree and thirst for learning to glean information and expertise in a wide variety of art forms, from realism to abstract.

The many awards she received during her early design career gave her confidence to attempt and achieve inclusion in galleries and prestigious national shows. Wanting to fill a void in her children’s education when school systems were cutting art programs nationwide, she developed an art curriculum program for a “magnet” elementary school in California. As a result of her efforts, international publishers and program developers courted her as an authority on art education. This led to the first of over twenty books on art education and specialized story-enhanced art lessons published by powerhouses such as Evan-Moor and Scholastic.

The Author

Lori began writing books when she was 6 years old. In fact, she still has the original “Pete the Cat” she wrote and illustrated. Her sister typed it up and mom helped Lori make a construction paper book cover.

As a professional illustrator she decided to start her own book brand or imprint called SeeSayCreate, Inc in 2009, books for the young child. Another thank you to mom for a unique way of getting her daughter interested in reading and writing through art which was a passion.

“When my mom read to me the book didn’t go immediately back on the shelf when reading was done. She often asked me what I thought some of the words meant encouraging me to explain in my own words. Then, we played by making a painting or sock puppets of the characters in the book. She didn’t know it then, but she was teaching whole-minded learning to me just by reading a children’s book. I wanted other parents to do that too, so I developed SeeSayCreate where every book has an engaging story, a creative vocabulary list with words like harmony or symphony or even curmudgeon.

Wrap that up with art activities that grow with your child developed by Artlingz and it’s a winning combination. I make sure my books are written and illustrated with the appropriate age in mind and also offer them in eBook format for our children with unique-abilities.”

Recently, Lori has ventured into the chapter book genre for older kids and soon hopes to offer her coming of age book, “The Swans of Bruges.” It even has a song! Stay tuned!

Lori has studied creative writing at Oxford University with professor and published author, Elizabeth Garner.

BEFORE all of this began though, Lori was already a published author in Art Curriculum for Children by education publishers Evan Moore under the title Art Works for Kids and by Scholastic under the title Creative Activities. Her books have been translated in many languages for teachers, parents and children around the globe.

“Reading to me is a love that marries very well with a passion for all things art.”