the humans
victoria greenwood, illustrator
Victoria Greenwood grew up in an entertainment family, surrounded by musicians and filmmakers. Influenced by their unique voices, Victoria developed a personal interest in creating works with an edgy, mature perspective. From a young age, she became a working actor and later, she also pursued music, (banjo!), photography, writing and directing for the stage. One constant in her creative life, though, was always her “doodles.”
From 1997 when Mayor Phil Bredesen of Nashville, Tennessee honored her for her work, to 2010, when she garnered an Artist Spotlight at Santa Monica College, Victoria has consistently honed her craft and experimented with different styles and mediums. Her work has appeared on band merchandise and now, her first children’s illustrated book, Lip Monsters: Momo Motormouth.
Across all the mediums, Victoria has maintained a fun, often darkly humorous flare.
Victoria currently lives in Los Angeles with her dog, Poe. Named after Edgar Allan, of course.
cynthia baseman, author
MY INSPIRATION FOR THE WORK
When I was 7 years old, I bound together a year’s worth of stories with brass brads and pink construction paper. Since then, I’ve continued to tell stories. Sometimes I’ve written to knock down walls that people build. Other times I’ve written stories to help me understand difficult events in my own life and to share them with people facing similar challenges.
In the Lip Monsters series, I found myself channeling my 7-year old self who woke up each morning, eager to play with friends at school. There were times though, we made mistakes. Making up was one of the best feelings in the world. Let’s face it. Whether you’re 7 or 77, emotions are big!
In 2022, artist Victoria Greenwood and I joined forces and soon, Momo Motormouth, the emotional heroine of Momo Motormouth, was born, along with the Lip Monster family.
Writing has always afforded me an outlet to understand myself and the world around me. You don’t need anyone’s permission to do it. And it’s free. We all have stories to tell. Maybe reading about Lip Monsters, you’ll find a little magic and inspiration,