Talk:Lisa Swerling

Adding citations (COI edit request)

I am Ralph Lazar, spouse of the subject, editing on her behalf. Per WP:COI I'm disclosing that connection and asking that an independent editor review and, if appropriate, add the following citations rather than editing the article directly.

Below is the complete proposed wikitext. I've added citations for claims I could directly verify against an independent or self-published (WP:BLPSELFPUB-eligible) source, and tagged the rest {{citation needed}} rather than force weak sourcing onto them. I've also removed the section-level {{BLP unreferenced section}} tag on ==Life== since most of it is now individually sourced, replacing it with per-claim tags on the two remaining unsourced items (the Damien Hirst assistant role and the Swerlybird business).

Two possible inconsistencies worth a second pair of eyes: her own site dates the Glass Cathedrals concept to 2004 rather than the article's "first introduced... in 2008," and this article's Brainwaves language count ("over a dozen") doesn't match Ralph Lazar's article ("22 languages") for the same claim.

{{BLP sources|date=October 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox writer
 | name         = Lisa Swerling
 | birth_date   = {{birth year and age|1972}}
 | birth_place  = [[Cape Town]], [[South Africa]]
 | occupation   = [[Artist]], [[Author]], [[Illustrator]]
 | nationality  = [[United Kingdom|British]], [[South Africa]]n
 | period       = 1999–present
 | genre        = [[Art]], [[Illustration]]
 | notableworks = ''Glass Cathedrals, Harold's Planet''
 | awards       = {{awards |[[Parents' Choice Awards]] |2006, 2009, [[The New York Times Best Seller list]] 2015}}
| image        = lisa_swerling_wiki.jpg
 | caption      =  Lisa Swerling in her studio
| spouse       = [[Ralph Lazar]]
}}

'''Lisa Swerling''' (born 1972) is a [[South Africa]]n/[[United Kingdom|British]] [[artist]] and a [[New York Times Bestselling]] author.<ref name="nyt2015">{{cite news
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2015-03-29/relationships/list.html
| title = New York Times Bestseller List March 2015
| accessdate = 2015-06-12 	 
| work = The New York Times
| date = 2015-03-31
}}</ref> She is best known for her Glass Cathedrals dioramas.<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://www.marinij.com/lifestyle/20121120/san-anselmo-womans-artworks-address-lifes-big-questions-in-tiny-boxes
| title = San Anselmo woman's artworks address life's big questions in tiny boxes
| accessdate = 2015-04-08 	 
| publisher = Marin IJ
| date = 2012-11-20
}}</ref> She is also known as co-creator of the illustrated characters [[Happiness Is (cartoon)|Happiness Is]], Harold's Planet, Vimrod and [[The Brainwaves]].

==Life==
Lisa Swerling was born in [[Cape Town]] in 1972.<ref name="lisa-story">{{cite web |title=My Story |publisher=Lisa Swerling |url=https://glasscathedrals.com/my-story/ |access-date=2026-08-19}}</ref> She studied Philosophy and Politics at [[Oxford University]] ([[New College, Oxford|New College]]) and Art at [[Central St. Martins]] (London),<ref name="lisa-story"/> after which she worked, amongst other jobs, as a painting assistant to [[Damien Hirst]].{{citation needed|date=August 2026}} She ran her own graphic design business Swerlybird for two years{{citation needed|date=August 2026}} before setting up the illustration licensing company Last Lemon with her husband, [[Ralph Lazar]].<ref name="lisa-story"/>

==Glass Cathedrals==

Glass Cathedrals, first introduced at an art exhibition at [[Spitalfields]] in London's [[East End]] in 2008,{{citation needed|date=August 2026}} are glass-fronted boxes that feature scenes with hand-painted and customized miniature figures.<ref>{{cite web |title=lisa swerling: glass cathedrals |author=Joyce Lee |publisher=designboom |url=https://www.designboom.com/art/lisa-swerling-glass-cathedrals/ |date=2011-07-31 |access-date=2026-08-19}}</ref> They are showcased worldwide through art shows and galleries. Gallery representation includes MLIA at the [[Affordable Art Fair]] London (Battersea, Hampstead) and Quantum Contemporary Art. Primary markets are the US, UK and Europe.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

The [[Los Angeles Times]] did a feature on Swerling's Art, showcased at the Unique LA Show in May 2011, describing it as "stealing the show".<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/home_blog/2011/05/attack-of-the-50-mm-women-at-unique-la-.html 
| title = At Unique L.A., miniature worlds steal the craft show
| accessdate = 2014-08-26 	 
| newspaper = LA Times
| date = 2011-05-10
}}</ref>

==Characters==

Swerling is co-creator (partnering with her husband [[Ralph Lazar]]) of the cartoon characters [[Happiness Is (cartoon)|Happiness Is]], Harold's Planet, Vimrod and [[The Brainwaves]].

Harold's Planet and Vimrod sell as greetings cards in the millions,<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://www.licensing.biz/company-profiles/read/last-lemon/038305
| title = Company Profiles
| accessdate = 2010-06-18
| publisher = Licensing Biz
| date = 2010-01-14
| archive-date = 23 October 2013
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131023011742/http://www.licensing.biz/company-profiles/read/last-lemon/038305
| url-status = dead
}}</ref> and have been published by [[Penguin Books]], [[HarperCollins]] and [[Andrews McMeel]]. [[The Brainwaves]] are cartoon characters that populate [[Dorling Kindersley]]'s children's reference titles, published in over a dozen languages.{{citation needed|date=August 2026}} Their artwork appeared weekly in ''[[The Financial Times]]'' and ''[[The Scotsman]]'' from 2006 to 2009.{{citation needed|date=August 2026}} [[Happiness Is (cartoon)|Happiness Is]] is published by [[Chronicle Books]] of [[San Francisco]] and rights have been sold in 20 languages.<ref>{{cite web |title=Happiness Is . . . |publisher=Chronicle Books |url=https://www.chroniclebooks.com/products/happiness-is |access-date=2026-08-19}}</ref>

With [[Ralph Lazar]], she co-authored the book [[Me Without You (book)|Me Without You]] which was on the [[New York Times Bestseller List]] in March 2015.<ref name="nyt2015"/>

Awards and nominations include The [[Royal Society Prizes for Science Books]] (2008), [[Annecy International Animated Film Festival]] Grand Prix winner 1998 (International Project Competition), The [[Royal Society Prizes for Science Books]] (2007<ref>{{cite news
| url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6657843.stm
| title = Happiness wins science book prize
| access-date = 2008-03-28 	 
| publisher = BBC
| date = 2007-05-15
}}</ref>), [[The Washington Post]] Book of the Week (April 2007<ref>{{cite news
| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/14/AR2007041401250.html
| title = How Nearly Everything Was Invented
| accessdate = 2008-03-28 	 
| newspaper = The Washington Post
| date = 2007-04-15
}}</ref>) and The US [[Parents' Choice Award]] 2006<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://www.parents-choice.org/product.cfm?product_id=21148&StepNum=1
| title = How Nearly Everything Was Invented
| accessdate = 2008-03-28
| publisher = Parents' Choice Foundation
| date = 2007-04-04
| archive-date = 16 June 2010
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100616130830/http://parents-choice.org/product.cfm?product_id=21148&StepNum=1
| url-status = dead
}}</ref> and 2009.<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://www.parents-choice.org/product.cfm?product_id=26400&StepNum=1&award=aw
| title = The Most Explosive Science Book in the Universe... by the Brainwaves
| accessdate = 2009-06-26
| publisher = Parents' Choice Foundation
| date = 2009-06-06
| archive-date = 28 September 2011
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110928014806/http://www.parents-choice.org/product.cfm?product_id=26400&StepNum=1&award=aw
| url-status = dead
}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.lastlemon.com Company website]
* [http://www.glasscathedrals.com Glass Cathedrals]
* [http://www.mylifeinart.com MLIA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240528141845/http://mylifeinart.com/ |date=28 May 2024 }}
* [http://www.quantumart.co.uk Quantum]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swerling, Lisa}}
[[Category:1972 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Artists from Cape Town]]
[[Category:South African expatriates in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:British comics writers]]
[[Category:British women comics writers]]
[[Category:British comics artists]]
[[Category:British women comics artists]]
[[Category:British sculptors]]
[[Category:British women sculptors]]
[[Category:Alumni of New College, Oxford]]
[[Category:People from San Anselmo, California]]
[[Category:Writers from Cape Town]]
[[Category:Alumni of Herzlia High School]]

Thank you for reviewing. Moremi99 (talk) 22:24, 19 August 2026 (UTC)

Moremi99 (talk) 22:37, 19 August 2026 (UTC)