Clam the Wham Happiness Cards
Notice happiness cards are 3.5" X 2" mini pieces of art with space on the backside to write a little observation of something going right in the world.
These cards feature Clam the Wham, the main character in a children's book that Beatrice Powell wrote for my sister, Min in 1983. We grew up on the beach on Whidbey Island, Washington, and clam digging was part of our childhood. My students love the clams.
I started making them for several reasons:
- to share my mom's art
- as a balm for the negativity in the world these days
- to pay better attention to all of the great things my students do in their lessons
This is the first set. It features work by Beatrice Powell, my mom, who was in art school in New York in the 1950s. She had a long career, worked in many different mediums, was fluent in written and spoken Chinese, and is the illustrator for the Sarah and Nikolai Musicland series.
Her artwork is beautiful and recipients of the cards have told me that they feel an easing around their hearts when the see it.

