About Kathryn

As long as she can remember, Kathryn Armstrong has been creating art. Her first professional design work was at the age of ten for her scientist father. She made images that she called "diagramits" from construction paper for his presentations. "My colleagues really enjoyed my slides" Dr Forrest Greenslade recalls, "and they were scientifically accurate as well." For years, father and daughter collaborated on scientific and informational materials in the introduction of health care technologies. Armstrong is now a classically trained graphic designer with a BFA from New York’s Parsons School of Design. She also has a certification in Web Design and Technology from Allentown Business School. After working for years for publishing and communications companies, primarily in health care, she currently is web manager for marketing and public affairs at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania,

Armstrong and her father have just published a new book of children’s poetry. Haicooo: Little Poems for Children is a collection of whimsical haiku paired with colorful graphics of friendly animals. The idea for /Haicooo/ came from drawings Armstrong was creating for a hospital web site design. “We wanted to give the pediatric department’s pages a child-friendly look with bright-colored illustrations,” she says. “I emailed the first drawing to my dad,” she explains. “He had learned about haiku poetry in his writers group, and sent back a silly poem about it.” As Armstrong completed more drawings, she sent them to her father, who continued to be inspired. Father and daughter agreed that this would be a great way to introduce children to the joy of art and poetry. All profits from sale of the book will go to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the hospital where she works and her now two-year old daughter Nicole was born. “The NICU team was in my room within 20 seconds,” Armstrong says. “Thankfully, Nicole started breathing on her own in that time. But I will never forget the swift actions of the NICU professionals who examined her and made sure she was OK.”

A life-time animal lover, Armstrong serves on the board of directors of MaPaw Siberian Husky Rescue, a local animal rescue group, as well as fawning over several of her own pets. Her love and understanding of nature is apparent in the expressions she is able to capture on canvas, metal, wood and fabric.