Erica Dornbusch

Erica Dornbusch, Creative Director, is an award-winning designer and illustrator whose fine art has been featured regionally, nationally and internationally. Her illustrations have decorated book covers and billboards, gallery walls, T-shirts and sidewalks and boxes and bags, posters, magazines, brochures and hats. Erica has art directed and illustrated for the commercial market over the past twelve years, but the projects she enjoys the most are the ones for an audience of children.

Recently Erica has spent time focusing on her career in the children's book industry having recently published her first book as author and illustrator, Finding Kate’s Shoes (Annick Press, 2001). The book first began as a concept before her oldest daughter Kaitlyn was born. Eventually as she and her imagination grew, Kaitlyn became the main character, the story became more realized, and Erica began to put it down on paper. In creating Finding Kate's Shoes, Erica used 23 white Prismacolor pencil crayons and a very loud electric pencil sharpener that had to be wrapped in towels so she wouldn’t wake everyone when she worked late.

Erica also illustrated Mrs. Goodstory, written by Joy Cowley (Boyds Mills Press, 2001). She is currently at work on her second book, Arthur P. Wingslap and the Great Grilled Cheese Getaway, in between other commercial projects, motherhood, and training for her next marathon.

Erica studied Illustration at Sheridan College, Toronto and lives in London, Ontario with her husband and two daughters. Her paintings have been exhibited throughout southwestern Ontario. She has received several Ad & Sales Club of London Awards of Excellence for Illustration and Design, including two bronze in 2000, two gold and one bronze in 1999, and two silvers in 1997 and 1995, She also won an international design award from Runner’s World Magazine in 1999 for her Forest City Road Races t-shirt design.

Erica contributes both time and art work to many charitable organizations, including the London International Children’s Festival, the London Fringe Theatre Festival, the London Abused Women’s Centre, the Thames Valley Children’s Centre, and the Children’s Hospital of Western Ontario Foundation. She is a past Chair of the Southwestern Ontario chapter of Canadian Women in Communications.

For samples of Erica's illustration work, click here.