Melanie Walsh

As a child

I was born at home in Bushey Heath. As a child I used to spend a lot of time 'making things'. Sometimes when I was very little my mum would go into the kitchen only to find the contents of cereal packets poured into various bowls around the room as I had decided that I needed them for one of my projects. She didn't mind this though as she thought it was really 'creative'! I won my only art competition at school when I was nine. It was a picture about pollution.

As an adult

I did my foundation at Harrow School of Art and then went on to do the Illustration course there. Afterwards I went on to do the MA Illustration course at the Royal College of Art. When I left the RCA I worked as a textile designer and sold my first six designs to Agnes b for babywear. I soon found myself designing quite a lot of textiles for the children's market. A few years later I tried my hand at writing and illustrating a children's book which was published in 1996 just after the birth of my twin sons.

As an artist

I love working at home in my studio. It looks out onto the garden and I can see our guinea pig hutch just outside the window.

Things you didn't know about Melanie Walsh

1. At home we have a guinea pig called snowball. He has very long hair and we have to cut it in the sumer to keep him cool. Sadly his brothers have recently died.
2. I have been vegetarian for 23 years.
3. I wanted to be an architect when I was young and drew building plans for fun as a child!
4. My favourite children's books are by Richard Scarry, Ed Emberley, Paul Rand and Taro Gomi.
5. I like to hear the sound of the washing machine when I'm working.
6. I hate dusting, vacuuming and tipping the kitchen waste bin into the compost. I try and avoid these things as much as possible. It also means that my partner does them quite a lot.
7. I am terrible at spelling. I now know all about dyslexia as my son has it. Unfortunately I didn't get any help at school but you do now.
8. I love films by Wes Anderson.
9. My favourite colour is grey.
10. I enjoy making and decorating cup cakes.