The atmosphere at Scoozi reminds me of the Left Bank, by design, no doubt. 
The jazz was great, the kids sophisticated and hilarious. The drawings flowed, but don’t take my word for it…
All contents copyright (C) 2010 Katherine Hilden. All rights reserved.
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Posted in Kids party, Family party, celebration, Bar-mitzvah | Tagged bar-mitzvah, Scoozi, Left Bank | Leave a Comment »
You know how magicians talk to distract you while they’re doing their sleight of hand? It’s called banter. Well, a good caricature artist also has to talk, not as much as a magician (a constant stream), but enough to make the person “in the hot seat” comfortable. They’re being stared at and that can be weird. Some people with a theatrical bent are in their element when they’re being stared at and you’d think that in our video-
and-photo-crazy culture everybody would love this, but you’d be surprised. I’ve been drawing people at parties for twenty-three years and I am keenly aware of this dimension in my work. A caricature artist at your party has to relate to people. What I do is actually a little unsociable—hey, you’re staring at me!—and I have to make it look and feel normal. So, when you’re thinking of hiring a caricature artist for your party, talk to him or her on the phone to get a sense of how sociable this person will be. A big part of my work is reading the ambiance at a party and to reflect that in the drawings. I have to adjust the humor to suit the occasion. There’s always humor, but it’s different at a trade show, wedding, adult evening party or a six-year-old’s birthday. Pretty interesting, huh?!
Here are some pictures from a birthday party celebration in the wine room at Wildfire in Glenview a few weeks ago. It was a small gathering of womenwho sat around the large circular table. Btw, when I open my mouth like that, I’m not screaming, just hamming it up a bit. I felt like one of the family there.
All contents copyright (C) 2010 Katherine Hilden. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birthday, Caricature, celebration, Family party | Tagged comfortable, Glenview, humor, sociable, talk, weird, Wildfire | Leave a Comment »
Part of the fun of looking at these pictures is in comparing the real face with the caricature. In this case, the lighting where I was set up at Opa’s Restaurant allowed me to only get shots of the drawing, not the person. But if you’ve been following this blog even a little, you know that the drawing always captures a likeness—with a comic twist, of course. So, here’s a gallery of poised, well-groomed young women, drawings only. There’s a rule book somewhere that says you have to have long-long-long hair when you’re sixteen , but as you can see, they manage to project their own individuality. Happy Birthday, Christina!
That last one is the birthday girl, of course, she got to go in full color. And now a few boys and then a very stylish mom who works out and speaks four languages. It’s always interesting,
All contents copyright (C) 2010 Katherine Hilden. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birthday, Family party, Kids party | Tagged mom, Opa's, Sweet Sixteen, Vernon Hills. likeness | Leave a Comment »
Lisa was being transferred. A wiz at handling different accounts, she deserved to be recognized. A caricature by—tatah—me was just the thing. When working from photos, the caricature always turns out to be quite gentle, but that’s only appropriate for such an occasion. Congratulations, Lisa! Thank you, Maura.
All contents copyright (C) 2010 Katherine Hilden. All rights reserved.
Posted in Best work, From Photos, gift | Tagged Kraft Foods, corporate, recognition | Leave a Comment »
The family flew in from Florida to celebrate the baby’s first birthday back in the old neighborhood, the northern suburbs of Chicago. This made for 
a very lively atmosphere because some folks had not seen each other for months and there was a lot to catch up on. I drew all the kids and then some parents, as time allowed. You can see, that the parents got all my caricature “ammo.” Loved it!
All contents copyright (C) 2010 Katherine Hilden. All rights reserved.
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Posted in Birthday, Family party, Kids party | Tagged caricature ammo, family, kids, Maggiano | Leave a Comment »
Normally, the minimum time for a party is two hours, but I made an exception –executive decision!—to drive to Mount Prospect for just one hour. I drew all seven girls in that time, a pleasure for me because they 
were just so thrilled to get these drawings. It’s a great age to be, obviously, you can see that from these photos that show their reaction when they first see the finished drawing. Happy Birthday, Samantha!
All contents copyright (C) 2010 Katherine Hilden. All rights reserved.
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Posted in Birthday, celebration, Friends, Kids party | Tagged birthday, girls, Mount Prospect, twelve | 2 Comments »
Rick was moving to another market, so, of course, he got a Hilden Caricature to mark the milestone. I’m sure he got some other stuff, too, but this caricature must have hit the spot: his cigar boat is strapped to the Wienermobile. Tricky engineering, but, hey in a caricature you can do anything.
All contents copyright (C) 2010 Katherine Hilden. All rights reserved.
Posted in From Photos, gift, celebration | Tagged gift, Rick, Wienermobile, Kraft Foods, cigar boat | Leave a Comment »
