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Tonight is the Opening Reception for the Society of Illustrators Original Art Exhibit and we are proud to announce that two of our illustrators, Beth Lo and R. Gregory Christie, will have art from their Spring 2012 titles on display in the show. Below, Beth Lo shares a few shots of how her unique illustrations from Auntie Yang’s Great Soybean Picnic came to life, from a simple sketch to a ceramic plate.

black and white sketchbook image

Beth started with a black and white sketch and then formed the plates. She put a “hump” mold or an inverse shape of the plate on a potters wheel. It was then dried and ”bisque” fired to 1850°F, forming a porous mold. To make each plate, she rolled out a slab of porcelain clay about 1/2″ thick over the mold and cut around it to make the edge.

After being shaped into a squared form and slowly dried to avoid warping or cracking, Beth drew a pencil sketch of the the original image. Then the drawing was painted with black underglaze.

The colored underglazes were then painted on and each plate fired in an electric kiln at 1850°F to set the underglaze and burn the pencil off. The illustrations from Auntie Yang’s Great Soybean Picnic were photographed during this state. Finally, a light coat of glaze was sprayed on and the pieces fired again to form a glossy surface.

Jason Low holding Beth Lo’s Original Art entry

Congratulations to our picture book Auntie Yang’s Great Soybean Picnic, which just received its THIRD starred review! School Library Journal calls it “a stellar title that will rest comfortably next to acclaimed picture-book memoirs by Allen Say, Peter Sís, and Uri Shulevitz.”

We asked celebrity chef and Top Chef finalist Angelo Sosa if he’d be willing to share one of his favorite soybean recipes with us in honor of the book, and he did! Here’s his mouth-watering summer recipe:

Angelo Sosa’s Chilled Edamame & Spring Pea Soup

2 tbsp shallots

1 tbsp ginger

2 tsp salt

2 cups peas

1 cup edamame (soybeans)

1.5 cup water, preferably mineral water

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp sage

2 tbsp olive oil

½ cup shitake mushrooms

1 cup grapeseed oil

½ tsp salt

Sweat ginger & shallot in olive oil until aromatic. Add peas, edamame, cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, cook for an additional 7 minutes, blend til fine, immediately chill on ice. Garnish with shitake mushrooms that have been sliced thinly and cooked in grapeseed oil until golden brown, removed, dabbed on paper towel, dried, and salted. Also garnish with Thai basil.

For more recipes like this one, be sure to check out Angelo’s new cookbook, Flavor Exposed.

What are your favorite ways to eat soybeans? Share them in the comments for a chance to win a copy of Auntie Yang’s Great Soybean Picnic! (US addresses only)