Saint Paul Minnesota-based mother-and-son creative team Nate Christopherson and Tara Sweeney create magical scenes with Nate's whimsical ink line characters in Tara's vibrant watercolor settings. Their first collaborative picture book, A to Zåäö: Exploring the American Swedish Institute's Historic Collection (University of Minnesota Press, 2020), cultivates curiosity in ways most of us wouldn't dare resulting in some delightful and surprising discoveries. Henry the Boy is their second book as a team.Nate Christopherson is an illustrator, book artist and printmaker who works in a variety of media including wood engraving, crayon, ink and repurposed vintage books that his grandmother finds at estate sales. He has illustrated several books including A to Zåäö: Exploring the American Swedish Institute's Historic Collection (University of Minnesota Press), Things That Are (Milkweed Editions), Braiding Sweetgrass, (2013 Winter Book, Minnesota Center for Book Arts), as well as letterpress broadsides. He was awarded a 2013 Minnesota State Arts Board grant to illustrate The Island, an award-winning limited edition artist book. He earned degrees in studio art from St. Olaf College, 2004 and a MA in special education from Augsburg University, Minneapolis MN, 2010.
He lives in Saint Paul with his wife and two children. Samples of Nate's work can be found online at: notswords.com; and on instagram @nechristopherson.Tara Sweeney is an award-winning artist and author who creates with ink and watercolor. In 2009 she was awarded a Minnesota State Arts Board artist initiative grant for her mixed media series Forbidden Fruit, and in 2017 to co-illustrate and author her debut picture book, A to Zåäö. Prior to teaching art and design for 25 years at Augsburg University she was owner/designer for Fruitful Results where she illustrated book covers for Twin Cities' small presses including Milkweed Editions, University of Minnesota Press and Minnesota Historical Society Press. Close to Home: A Minnesota Year in Sketches is her debut collection of illustrated creative nonfiction. She earned degrees in studio art, and design from the University of Wisconsin, 1978 and an MFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, 1997.
She holds signature status in the National Watercolor Society and Minnesota Watercolor Society. She lives in Saint Paul with her husband, just down the road from Nate and his family. Samples of Tara's work can be found online at: tarasweeneyart.com; and on instagram @tarasweeneyart.