Elise R. Peterson
Photo by Hans Neuman
Elise is a multimedia storyteller with a focus in visual arts, community building and writing currently based in Los Angeles, CA. She is the illustrator of The Nightlife of Jacuzzi Gaskett and How Mamas Love Their Babies. Elise continues to illuminate marginalized narratives through a limitless practice in storytelling.
Available to speak on illustration, art in public spaces, artists with children, intersection of hair and culture, sex education
Praise and Awards
“Most children’s books show one version of a family: a mom, a dad, stories and kisses at bedtime. The Nightlife of Jacuzzi Gaskett shows kids that there are other ways to live and grow and love your family.” —RACHEL AIMEE, Drag Queen Story Hour
"Beautifully illustrated. . . .the book provides an expanded picture of working moms and challenges head on the idea that only certain jobs are analogous with positive parenting." —FEMINISTING
How Mamas Love Their Babies named one of NYPL’s Best Books of 2018
Books
The Nightlife of Jacuzzi Gaskett
At night, Jacuzzi is real busy. He cares for his baby brother Jamaal, makes a blender cyclone, ponders life, and waits for Mama's arrival home. The first children's book from multi-genre artist Brontez Purnell is an inspired portrayal of a common but rarely narrated childhood experience—taking care of a younger sibling.