Since I was a child I had a thing for frogs. It started with frog 001, my only frog for a very long time. I was 25 when I rediscovered my first frog as I rummaged through a trunk filled with my childhood stuff that my mother correctly decided I would cherish when I matured. I couldn’t believe my eyes, I was very glad to see him, but handled him carefully seeing he was quite fragile. The yellow felt crown that once sat on his head had worn away. I remembered hoping he would one day turn into my prince and we would live happily ever after. It wasn’t long before I stored him away once again, worried that he would completely disintegrate.

The occasional stuffed animal began appearing as birthday and christmas gifts. My family was obviously inspired by my childhood frog. Eventually relatives and friends also began to give me anything with a frog. T-shirts, garden statues, Christmas tree ornaments, more stuffed animals- the collection grew in quantity and quality with the very best developing, as will happen, personalities of their own.

The most unique is frog 002, Chef Grenouille (grenouille is French for frog), a stuffed animal complete with a white apron and chef’s toque I received as a gift from my niece, Sarah. An entire imaginary world grew around him. This would not have been possible without Kevin Murrett, my best friend and now husband. He gives life and personality to the frogs. Without him they would just be cute, but silent stuffed animals.

The Frog Project is the result of three things- me having fun celebrating this select group of frogs, sketching them and finally integrating each sketch into a collage of colorful geometry.

Enjoy!