Visit Mara Penny’s creative oasis

Thank you for signing up for the morning tour of Mara Penny’s creative nest in Oakland, CA. Please keep all limbs inside the vehicle at all times and do not feed the animals.

Take it away, Mara!

Hello! My name is Mara Penny. I would like to formally introduce myself and give you a little peek behind the curtain.

I live in a small house in Oakland, CA with my husband, our two teens, our cat and our sweet dog, Lucy.

Left: Illustration of my Oakland home

Above: Oakland map

I work from home at a little desk tucked in a corner of my living room. I primarily work on my iPad and computer these days, it suits me just fine. I spend most of my time here.

Right: My cozy desk space

I love science and all things transcendental.

I was raised on astrology. I am a mother nature super fan.

I love the night sky! I try to find ways to sneak stars into my work.

I am definitely a space girl and not an ocean girl. Although, I do love drawing fish and sea monsters.

My latest pastime with my husband is gardening. We are not great at it and I honestly cannot believe that human beings figured out how to plant seeds and consistently have enough food to live. Like, what?!

Above: This flowering plant is nearly nine feet tall! It’s called the Tower of Jewels and it just began blooming. This has caused much wonder and delight in our house. #nerds

Although I am not the best gardener, I do love to draw flora and fauna. They’re my favorite. Here’s a recent collection I made based on the plants and creatures living in the forest. It’s called Evergreen.

That concludes our tour for the day. Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks Mara! You can see more of Mara’s beautiful illustrations here.

starts May 29th!

My Kid Book Pitch, my one-of-a-kind picture book writing course is specially designed for creative people just like you!

Magic Cards (pictured above) are my secret weapon for helping you to unlock your magic imagination and come up with unique characters and a dreamy story idea.

By the end of this incredible four week course, you could have your own children’s book pitch ready to send(along with suggestions on who to send it to).