I'm Sally, a New York City-based artist and illustrator. I'm a graduate of Brown University (B.A., Art History), Columbia University (M.A., Art History), and I worked for over ten years at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. My alphabets derive from a rich artistic vocabulary built over the course of these experiences; my motivation comes from two young sons still learning their ABCs.
I grew up as a faculty kid on three different New England campuses. My mother, who runs an all-girls school, always encouraged my painting practice and cultivated my deep appreciation for education. By result, The Letter Nest offers more than one's typical alphabet art: it engages each child in learning, recognizing the pattern of A for Alligator, B for Balloon, C for Cherry Blossom, through the artistic connection of letter and image.
The idea for The Letter Nest took hold when my friends and family started to have children. I struggled to find a meaningful baby gift, one they wouldn’t outgrow in a few months. As for letter art, there seemed to be a white space—or as I saw it, a blank canvas—for elevated alphabet art for children. Enter The Letter Nest, a name so chosen for its evocation of home, the nest, the nursery. My hope is that my work will bring joy, beauty, and delight to these spaces, as well as to the children who inhabit them!