At the Rat Household

Mayling Mack Holm is a self-taught artist who did not begin making art until she was in her mid-30s when her children were young.  She referred to her art as “doodles,” the result of “nervous energy.” Those doodles culminated in a contract with Harper & Row to write and illustrate her own children’s book, A Forest Christmas, from which this illustration is drawn. Holm worked in the unusual medium of ballpoint pen, which was a very time-consuming process, with each drawing taking two to three weeks to complete, even though she did not make sketches or preliminary drawings.