Lisa Clow. I dropped out of college, stopped pursuing a degree in Marketing and performed with the Penguin Players for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Playhouse. I toured the Southeast to libraries, schools, and reading festivals performing in musicals like The Gruffalo, The Little Engine That Could, and Hank the Cowdog. My peers who were earning degrees thought I was weird and crazy. I don’t blame them, singing, dancing, acting, doing voice overs, and puppetry six days a week isn’t a normal vocation for a twenty year old girl. I finished my contract with performing those shows at Dollywood.

That time in my life was pivotal in stirring my desire to create for children. I am the daughter of a children’s illustrator and wife of a teacher, and I’ve collected children’s books long before I even knew I was collecting them. Since I was young, I have sung and performed for thousands of people, very “important” grown-ups, but there is nothing I prefer more than writing and creating for children.

Since that time with the Penguin Players, I earned a degree in Graphic Design, worked as a songwriter, artist, illustrator, performer, muralist, and graphic & surface designer– for almost fifteen years. I’ve run my business, Lisa Clow Studio, selling my illustrations, paper and home goods all over the country. I’ve written technical manuals, songs and poetry, a musical, created a local storytime, created art camps and curriculum, lived in Mexico, designed for a large manufacturing company, sold original fabric collections. I’m raising three children and many chickens. I love to create. I love to work hard.

Siena Christie (they/she) is a modern folk singer-storyteller. Driven by curiosity and compassion, she writes and sings deeply observant songs celebrating love, death, and the impermanence of all things. Her unaffected, crystal-clear voice pairs hauntingly with conversational lyrics rich in honesty, subtle wit, and vivid imagery. This year, for the second year in a row, Siena was named a finalist in the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival Grassy Hill New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters. She is currently based in Asheville, North Carolina. In her spare time, Siena enjoys nature walks, good meals, and heart-to-heart conversations with friends.