Katie arranged ever y th i n g

Local author and illustrator, Katie Vernon, publishes a new book for kids

Camille Sipple

Since she was young, Katie Vernon was always arranging things, from her entire bedroom, to bouquets of flowers; however, after working as a florist for years, Vernon found she had a knack—and a passion—for illustration.

“I’ve always loved creating work that is beautiful but also a little bit weird,” Vernon said. “And I’ve been able to do that in a lot of different illustration markets, such as greeting cards, home décor and editorial.”

At first, Vernon said she had shied away from illustrating or creating picture books, simply because she had kept them up on a pedestal for so long, she doubted her ability to live up to them. Eventually, however, she said she decided it was time to try her hand at picture books and tackle being an author/ illustrator.

“Typically, for me, a story starts with an image, so it was really exciting to finally kind of face that pedestal and put the words and pictures together,” Vernon said.

As a nod to her own tendencies, Vernon wrote and illustrated a picture book entitled “Ari Arranges Everything.” The book follows a young child named Ari who loves arranging things.

“[Ari’s arrangements] start off small, but then it builds and builds until it gets a bit out of hand,” Vernon said. “In the end, they [Ari] learn to find some balance between their passion and how it affects those around them.”

In creating the book, Vernon said that a couple of her absolute favorite scenes include Ari’s massive flower arrangement, because of the sheer artistic detail she was was able to include, and a spread depicting a jazzercise class. The flower arrangement spread was one of the first portions of the book that Vernon completed, she explained. After creating such a detailed depiction of a plotline in her head, Vernon said she felt that she could actually go through with the book itself and succeed.

Flagstaff has been a very warm and welcoming community throughout her journey as an artist and now an author, Vernon said. In the five years that she has called the city home, Vernon said she has been able to connect with local galleries and businesses such as The Heart Box and Plantae to display her work.

This book represented a project different from anything else Vernon had ever created. She explained how excited she has been to be able to share her book with the community.

“Working alone in my studio on such a big project for so long and then, finally being able to share the book with friends and family and total strangers and see their reactions and support has been so wonderful,” Vernon said.

Another point of success for Vernon was the fact that she has received compliments on the book from not just children but adults as well.

“When you write a children’s book, you’re writing it not just for the child but also for the adult who’s reading it,” Vernon said. “So hearing from fellow parents that they enjoy reading it is so gratifying.”

Following “Ari Arranges Everything,” Vernon said she has a couple of more picture books in the works. In July of this year she plans to publish a children’s book entitled “Happy Halloweenie.” This book will feature a hot dog attempting to dress up for Halloween and will be structured as a simple rhyming board book, Vernon explained. Additionally, Vernon is working on a third picture book that will be based around a little girl learning how to plan parties for a bunch of different characters such as ghosts, vikings and many more; the third book is set to publish in 2024.

Vernon said she is immensely grateful for the support she has received from the Flagstaff community and is overjoyed to be publishing her first official picture book.

“Thanks for the support,” Vernon said. “I look forward to creating many more weird and beautiful projects in the future!”

“Ari Arranges Everything” is available on shelves everywhere right now. Vernon’s work can be found on her website, katievernon. com, or her Instagram, @katievernonart.

Katie Vernon