Authors & Illustrators
Gary Harbo
Gary is an author and illustrator of 30 books including his latest drawing book, How to Draw 104 cartoons with Gary Harbo. He teaches creativity via art lessons to thousands of students every year in schools all across the Midwest. During the last 30 years well over 300,000 students in over 750 schools have had the opportunity to participate in one of Gary’s high energy drawing adventures.
Gary’s books are beautifully illustrated using colored pencils and airbrush. The stories have a fun rhyming format in the style of Dr. Seuss. The bright colors and action-packed adventures make for exciting and educational reading. He has personally published all 30 of his titles and he thrives by his moto: “Where the pencil meets the paper is where your imagination comes to life!”
Sue & Ross Cornelison
Sue Cornelison is a children’s book illustrator, illustrating many books for children for over two decades. Along with painting and drawing, recently she has rediscovered her love for clay and uses a whimsical approach to her sculptures as well as utilitarian pieces.
She and her husband, Ross, collaborated on creating pull toys this past ‘covid’ year. She designed and painted and he did all the woodworking. Sue also likes to spin wool and creates felt hats and hand bags. Sue and Ross are new to selling their creations but have enjoyed attending the Art Crawl for many years. They have a seasonal cabin and spend their summers in Hackensack MN.
Darrell Pederson – Author
A self-described “little dickens” during his growing up years, the author shares memories of a not-well-thought-out campfire in the basement and the tragic misadventures of being asked to care for the class goldfish over Christmas. Pedersen’s stories will remind readers of their youth when old country stores were “candy heaven” and how every little boy wanted to be like the cowboys from Gunsmoke.
Campfire in The Basement includes memories of heartache, loss, and long goodbyes. But these tough retellings create a perfect balance of relatable stories and raw authenticity. This book is not only a memoir; it is a reminder of the pure joys in life and how faith can help us through the good times and the bad. Campfire in the Basement will keep readers engaged from the first page to the last.
An external processor, Pedersen has since childhood delighted in recounting family stories and life events. He started writing them down for public consumption as sermon illustrations over forty years ago. Twenty-five years ago, his sermon illustration about his fish house disaster was published in an early issue of Lake Country Journal Magazine as Fish House Maintenance or the High Cost of Procrastination. Well received, this seeded his interest in writing for the general public. The death of his parents drew him to write a childhood memoir. Four chapters from his book have been published in LCJ with the most recent being Squirrels – 1, Humans – 0, in the February/March 2023 issue. A second book is underway.