新視野大學英語讀寫教程第三冊unit4-b Engelbreits the Name, Cute Is My Game

Section (B)

Engelbreit's the Name, Cute Is My Game

Mary Engelbreit was a talented but struggling artist in her mid-twenties when she flew to New York from her native Saint Louis, hoping to find work illustrating children's books — her life's goal. So she was disappointed when all the book publishers she visited turned her down. One even suggested her drawings might be better suited to greeting cards.
"I was crushed," Engelbreit admits. Greeting cards seemed a come-down from her high expectations, but the advice stayed with her, and she decided to give it a try. The results transformed her life forever.

Today Mary Engelbreit sells an astonishing 14 million greeting cards a year. Her popular designs appear on more than 2,000 products, including books, calendars, and kitchen items. She runs a retail company with shops in nine cities (16 more are planned), and her products are carried by 25,000 retailers. Annual retail sales are in the $100 million range — all as a result of that fateful, disappointing trip to New York. It's probably no accident that one of Engelbreit's bolder cards shows a young girl in overalls, her bare feet up on a desk, a farm field in the window behind her. "We Don't Care How They Do It in New York," the card boasts.

Once you know Engelbreit's distinctive style, you can recognize her cards from 20 paces away — bright, funny, and with an eye to the past. Her cards usually have elaborate border designs comprised of repeated images: hearts, flowers, peaches, and teapots, for example. Most often, there's Ann Estelle, a woman with short, straight hair, big glasses, hat and an acid tongue. Ann Estelle (named after her grandmother) is the imaginary representative of Mary's outlook.

Engelbreit is cheerful, down-to-earth, humorous, and always cute. "I think the world could use more cuteness," she explains. Indeed, it's her trademark. Her business card once featured a drawing of Ann Estelle, cigar in her mouth and drink in hand, with the message "Engelbreit's the Name, Cute Is My Game." She adds, "As the world gets more complicated, it's nice to have old-fashioned stuff around to help people cope with the demands of modern life. It's like comfort food. This is comfort art."

Old-fashioned art — and values — have always been at the core of Engelbreit's life. Born June 5, 1952, in St. Louis, the oldest of three daughters, she started drawing almost as soon as she could hold a pencil.

One of her earliest memories, from age four, is of sketching her parents all dressed up to go out for the evening. "I was so impressed I had to record it," she says. But what impressed her most were illustrations from the children's books that her mother read to her. Artists such as Jessie Willcox Smith,

illustrator of children's literary classics, and Johnny Gruelle, creator of Raggedy Ann, were very influential in the development of her early drawings. While attending secondary school, Engelbreit sold dozens of hand-drawn cards to a local shop for 25 cents a piece — her first venture into art and commerce. She ignored her teachers' advice to become an English teacher and didn't bother with going on to a university because "I was ready to plunge into my life as an artist." Working in an art-supply shop, "I met working artists and realized you can make a living doing this." A later job as a designer at an advertising agency "taught me about the business of art" .

In 1975 Engelbreit met social worker Phil Delano, and the couple married two years later. Delano became his wife's biggest supporter. "Even when we had no money, he never said, 'Go get a job,'" she says. "I can't express my gratitude for his support." After that ill-fated trip to New York, Engelbreit sent a sample of her drawings to two greeting-card
companies. One bought three of her original drawings, and she did occasional work for the other, sketching a lot of whales, dragons, castles and mythical animals. Then in 1980 the birth of her son added a new element to her work. "Suddenly everyday life seemed more interesting to me," she says.

Children, pets, even "good old Mom" started showing up on her cards. Her work became "pictures of daily life, things everyone's been through". While eight months pregnant, in 1983, Engelbreit decided to start her own company. Within two years, her company was producing nearly 100 different cards and selling a million of them a year. In 1986 she licensed the copyrights to the cards to Sunrise Publications, who now manages their production and distribution, allowing her to focus on other projects. Among these is her home-decorating magazine which is sent to 550,000 people.

Despite her success, Engelbreit's feet are planted firmly on the ground. She still lives 16 kilometres from where she grew up, has many friends dating back to school years, and moved from a large house to a smaller one because, she explains, her family didn't use all the space in the old place. She does most of her drawing in her home studio at night.
With her work taking off in so many directions, it was perhaps inevitable that Engelbreit would eventually realize her dream of illustrating a children's book. In 1993 she created drawings for a children's book and saw it become a best-seller. At the same time she made a surprising discovery: "It was fun, but oddly enough, I like doing cards best."

Words: 903

New Words

▲cute a. 1.嬌小可愛的 2.聰明的，伶俐的
　cuteness n. 可愛
　saint n. 1.圣（用于人名、地名等之前） 2.（基督教正式追封的）圣徒 3.圣人，道德高尚的人
　crush vt. 1.壓倒，壓垮 2.打敗 3.壓碎，壓壞
　astonish vt. 使震驚，使驚駭
　calendar n. 日歷，月歷，年歷
　retail n. 零售 v. 零售
　retailer n. 零售商
　annual a. 1.一年的 2.一年一次的；每年的 n. 年刊，年鑒
　bold a. 1.勇敢的，無畏的 2.冒失的，唐突的，魯莽的 3.醒目的；輪廓清晰的 4.粗（字）體的，黑（字）體的
　overall n. 工作服，工裝褲 a. 全面的，綜合的，全體的
　bare a. 1.裸露的 2.空的；光禿的，無遮蓋的
　distinct a. 1.種類不同的，有區(qū)別的，分開的 2.清楚的，清晰的，明顯的
◆distinctive a. 有特色的，與眾不同的
　elaborate a. 精細復雜的，精心制作的 v. 詳細敘述
　comprise vt. 1.由... ... 組成，包括，包含 2.組成，構成
　peach n. 桃；桃樹
　acid a. 1.尖酸刻薄的，諷刺的 2.酸味的，酸的 n. 酸，酸性物質
　imaginary a. 想像中的，虛構的
　humorous a. 幽默的，詼諧的
▲trademark n. 1.明顯的特征，標記 2.商標；牌號
　feature vt. 以... ... 為特征， 給... ...以顯著地位n. 1.特點，特征，特色 2.面貌，相貌 3.特寫，專題報道
　cigar n. 雪茄煙
　illustration n. 1.圖解，插圖 2.說明，例證
　literary a. 文學上的
　classic n. 經(jīng)典作品，文學名著，杰作 a. 1.經(jīng)典的，一流的 2.古典的，傳統(tǒng)樣式的
　influential a. 有影響力的，有說服力的
　venture n. 投機活動，商業(yè)冒險 v 冒險，敢于
　commerce n. 商業(yè)，貿易
　plunge v. 1.縱身投入，一頭進入 2.（使）陷入
　gratitude n. 感激，感謝
　sample n. 樣品，式樣 vt. 抽樣檢查；試用
　whale n. 鯨
　dragon n. 龍（想像中有翅有尾、能吐火的動物）
　myth n. 神話
◆mythical a. 1.神話的，只存在于神話中的 2.虛構的，不真實的
　everyday a. 每天的，日常的, 平常的
　license vt. 給... ... 發(fā)放許可證，準許 n. 1.許可證，執(zhí)照 2.許可，準許
　copyright n. 版權
　sunrise n. 日出（時分）
　distribution n. 1.（物資等的）運送 2.分發(fā)，分配 3.分布，分布狀態(tài)
　decorate vt. 裝飾，裝潢
　studio n. 1.工作室，畫室，攝影室 2.演播室，播音室，錄音室

Phrases and Expressions

　turn down 拒絕，駁回
　be suited to 適合于
　appear on 在... ... 上出現(xiàn)
　with an eye to 關注
　be comprised of 由 ... ... 組成
　dress up 穿著盛裝
　go out （離家）去參加社交活動
　be influential in 有影響
　bother with 為 ... ... 操心，為... ... 費心
　make a living 謀生，營生
　show up 出現(xiàn)
　have/keep/with one's feet (planted/set) on the ground 實事求是（的），腳踏實地（的）
　grow up （指人或動物）長大，成年
　date back to 始于（某時期）
　take off （指思想、產(chǎn)品等）突然受歡迎，流行

Proper Names

　Mary Engelbreit 瑪麗·恩格爾布賴特
　Saint Louis 圣路易斯
　Ann Estelle 安·埃絲特爾
　Jessie Willcox Smith 杰西·威爾科克斯·史密斯
　Johnny Gruelle 約翰尼·格魯埃爾
　Raggedy Ann "蓬發(fā)安"（洋娃娃）
　Phil Delano 菲爾·德拉諾
　Sunrise Publications 黎明出版公司