Different & the Same brings together for the first time an extensive collection of drawings capturing women around the world by renowned New York artist and reportage illustrator Melanie Reim.
This impressive body of work transports readers to both public and intimate moments that celebrate women across cultures and places: basket weavers in the Dominican Republic, workers at garment factories in China, market vendors in Mexico and Barcelona, sunbathers in her native Long Island, a sea of women marching in protest in Washington D.C. and many other instances where Reim recorded the scene as an observer or participant with dynamic art bearing her instantly recognizable style.
Reim often draws in ink with her favorite Pelikan 200 fountain pen, but she’s also keen on using graphite and watercolor. Regardless of the media, her unique personality comes across in every drawing presented in Different & the Same through expressive and confident lines.
This 128-page hardcover art book is a visual treat for anyone who appreciates the power of drawing and a celebration of women who experience joy, triumph, rituals, conversation and each other.
About the author
Melanie Reim is an award-winning illustrator with a sketchbook never far from her side. Her reportage drawings have been featured in numerous articles, books and exhibits and is part of the U.S. Air Force Art Collection in the Pentagon in Washington D.C. A former Associate Dean and Professor at the New York Fashion Institute of Technology School of Art and Design, Reim has been recognized as Distinguished Educator by the Society of Illustrators and as a Fulbright Scholar. Since her retirement from academia, Reim shares her love for teaching and drawing at in-person and online workshops with her global community.
Book specs
Language: English
Hardcover: 128 pages
ISBN: 979-8-9878771-0-4
Item Weight: 1.8 pounds
Dimensions: 9.25 x 9.25 inches
Jane Wingfield (verified owner) –
I’ve been in love with Melanie’s work since I first saw it over ten years ago. The expressiveness and dynamism of her drawings always strike me as uninhibited energy coming through her pen. Her drawings are at once childlike in their immediacy yet sophisticated in their skill and visual impact. This collection, “Different and the Same – My Drawings and Stories of Women Around the World” is all of that – dynamic, immediate, exuberant, energetic, and daring. Page after page it reveals not only the rich drawings of an experienced artist, but Melanie’s strong connection to women – their lives, their work, their families, and their joy. The drawings will knock your socks off and pull you in with their stories. It’s such an inspiration.
Leslie Akchurin (verified owner) –
How did Sketcher Press know that I’ve wanted a collection of Melanie’s observational drawings for a long time? In the past, I’ve saved her Instagram posts on my phone because I find her joyous style, her exciting compositions, her spontaneous energy so inspiring. When I’ve needed a reminder of what the fresh artistic eye can do, I’d look through her work. Now here is a large and beautifully produced book with a compelling theme, and with Melanie’s commentary accompanying each surprising drawing. It’s fantastic!
Donna McMenamin (verified owner) –
Omg, omg, omg!
I almost didn’t get past the end papers! This is THE book I have always wanted and now it’s here! Melanie is the most expressive artist I know……her style is unmistakable and unforgettable. To have an entire book of her fantastic drawings is a gift to the world ….and me. Thank you Melanie for sharing!
Lydia Velarde (verified owner) –
This book was very enjoyable and inspirational. I could feel the energy in Melanie’s drawings and sketches. What impressed me were the strong lines and vibrant color when color was used. What a great gift and celebration of women. Thanks you for offering this book.
James Richards (verified owner) –
I discovered Melanie Reim’s drawings and teaching many years ago, and I’ve been a devotee ever since. I’ve long recognized that her vision and technique were hers alone—no one creates drawings like Melanie. But her new book really deepens my understanding and appreciation for the soulfulness of her work. You should own this book. We all should.
The drawings jump out at you first—her strokes are famously high energy, fresh, alive. There’s an edginess to the drawings that makes them feel immediate and clearly captured in the moment. The human subjects in the foreground and middle ground are often creatively juxtaposed with the background to form a strong, unified shape filled with rich pattern and detail. Each one is a visual feast.
The drawings are accompanied by writing that’s crisp, evocative and a joy to read. And it’s her interplay of drawings and descriptive writing that transports us, like a great movie or book does. We feel like we’re there, and we become emotionally involved in these stories.
These depictions of the lives of women around the world are grouped by themes like Family, Joy, Ritual, What Women Do, and Activists. They span the globe and all walks of life but are linked by what Melanie calls an “unspoken language” of dignity, solidarity, and respect. Ultimately, the stories are human, and they’re powerful stuff.
The subtitle is, “My Drawings and Stories of Women Around the World.” But for me, it’s Melanie, her curiosity and her empathy for her subjects, their places and circumstances that’s the most compelling story. Yes, I very highly recommend this book.
Carmine Iannaccone (verified owner) –
Melanie Reim represents the world as rhythm and pattern. Her drawings have a tempo to them, jazzy, brassy, sassy, full of attitude, very performative. In this book, that seems to go hand-in-hand with an ability to see the world as theatre. The women that she shows us are all involved in a drama of some kind. Whether it’s the intimate action of crocheting, playing mahjong, bantering on a cigarette break, or the public stage of running a market, dancing flamenco, captaining a boat, it’s all important! There is so much hope and joy and redemption in that sentiment, I can honestly say I not only loved this book, I was deeply grateful for this book.