About Anne Peterson
Author~Poet~Speaker
Hi, my name is Anne Peterson. Welcome to my website. For me, writing is like breathing! Life is hard. I write words to make it softer. I am a poet, speaker, and published author of Broken: A Story of Abuse, Survival, and Hope, Real Love: Guaranteed to Last, and poetry books for those who grieve. My children’s books include Emma’s Wish, The Crooked House, Lulu’s Lunch, and Sonny Follows His Heart. You can see all of my books here. In addition, I have 42 published Bible Studies and over 30 articles with christianbiblestudies.com. You can read my articles in Today’s Christian Woman, Better Mental Health Magazine, and Crosswalk.
Married for 39 years to my husband Mike and have spent most of my life in Illinois. I’m the mother of two grown children and four grandchildren. Of all my titles my favorite is “Grandma”. I collaborate with my daughter, Jessica, who produces whimsical art that draws the reader in, young and old alike.
My Words, Her Pictures
A Mother & Daughter Collaboration
How it all began?
In 1994, writer Anne Peterson and her artist husband, Michael, started collaborating after a friend made the suggestion,
“Why don’t you put your husband’s art with your poetry?”
Slowly, they designed twelves pieces with his pen illustrations, creating their first collection of matted poetry pieces. And soon, their business Line Upon Line was born.
Years later, when Anne needed to expand her illustrated poetry, she turned to her daughter, Jessica, who always had her camera in hand. Little did she know that Jessica was also an artist like her father. Anne began working with her daughter as early as 2004. Those pieces grew into a collection that is always evolving.
Anne’s poetry falls under many themes, including relational, memorial, inspirational, and encouragement. You can see a sample of their pieces below. While many are illustrated with Jessica’s photography, some show her drawings, and more recently, her digital art. Watch the video below to see a small sample of their matted pieces.
New Poetry Plaques
Their newest pieces are 6×9 poetry plaques, printed on MDF board, accented with twine. Every piece has an easel back for table display, and a hanger if you’d like to put it on your wall. These plaques would make a great gift for someone special in your life.
To visit their online shop, click here.
Once Upon a Time...
In 2014, Jessica’s former boss, Lizz Barnes, a jewelry artist in Peoria, offered a challenge for anyone who wanted to create a children’s book. Anne and Jessica decided to take that challenge. The book needed to be finished and printed by August for IGNITE, an arts event, which was just a few months away.
“I had a small sketch of a little crooked house, and my mom said, ‘I bet there’s a story behind that house.’ It was just days later that she wrote the story of The Crooked House. Then it was my turn to fill the blank pages.”
As Jessica started working on illustrations, she wondered if she would be able to finish them in time.
She said to her mom, “I wish we could do something with the art I already have.”
Anne responded, “Let me look at your art for a while, and I’ll see if something comes to me.”
Anne starred at her daughter’s charcoal drawings and oil paintings. She focused particularly on her oil painting, which is a self portrait of Jessica dancing with the moon. The next day, Emma’s Wish was born.
Soon after Emma’s Wish, they published The Crooked House. Jessica also has a love for making videos, so she created trailers for their books as well.
Within a year, they added art books: StoryLines, Make Believe, and Chills: The eerie side of poetry. In these art books, Anne writes poems inspired by her daughter’s pictures.
“Chills is one of my favorites because I love spooky. Although my mom is not really into spooky, she really did this one for me. I was surprised by what she came up with, I think she has a little bit of a dark side.”
When Preston Jackson, a renown artist in Peoria, looked at some of the books created by Anne and Jessica, he wrote an endorsement for their work.
“Two lights become one in order to shine more brightly. Collaborations such as this one stand alone. It is evident that they care deeply about each and every line – both drawn and written.”
—Preston Jackson, Professor Emeritus, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois