An Interview with the Talented Christy Hale by Betsy Woods

How does shape and form, color your work?

Many of my writing ideas begin as visual connections. I recently delivered a picture book about shapes, The Shape Tree. This should have been my second publication as both author and illustrator, due out in fall 2011 from Tricycle Press. However, Random House decided to kill the imprint, and Tricycle publications will conclude with their summer 2011 list

I’m excited about my upcoming project with Lee & Low books, Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building (spring 2012). My concept evolved from contemplating the visual similarities between children’s buildings and works of contemporary architecture. Reinforcing this visual approach, the book features my concrete (or shape) poetry.

Other books are in the works that begin with visual form then find verbal form.

Many of your illustrations are kinetic, in that I feel a momentum in them. That movement feels rather musical. Is it?

I want my pictures to move. As I worked on the art for my first picture book, Juan Bobo and the Pig, retold by Felix Pitre, I listened to salsa music for inspiration.

In my second collaboration with Felix Pitre, Paco and the Witch, I employed picture frames, or enclosures, and then intentionally let elements of my compositions break out of those frames. This gives the impression of movement toward the reader and thus a more animated space.

My husband is a filmmaker and also studied animation. He has helped me think about a book like a movie, with changing angles of the camera and different perspectives—now close, now far. Sometimes he even acts out gestures!

In The East-West House: Noguchi’s Childhood in Japan, I was influenced by Japanese art, which makes use of asymmetry and diagonals. This helps create a more active picture area. I avoid symmetrical compositions, which though restful, are also static.

Movement is an element important in visual art as well as music.

Art education has been a constant in your artistic life. Do you have a teaching philosophy about the arts?

I taught art in secondary schools near Portland, Oregon, also in a Lewis & Clark College masters education program for elementary school teachers. I left teaching to move to New York and nurture my own art, but ironically ended up in publishing, working to nurture other artists. My role as art director for various publishers has been a teaching job—one on one, instead of in a classroom. This is especially true when I work with first time illustrators.

I taught in the Communication Design Department at Pratt Institute, and at The Center for Book Arts. When my daughter was in preschool I also began volunteering in her classes, developing art projects related to the curriculum. This lead to writing several art curriculum guides for Scholastic Teaching Resources, and a steady gig writing Instructor Magazine’s “Masterpiece of the Month” and the accompanying “Art Workshop” features.

I don’t see art as separate from other subject matters. It relates to everything. It is a way of understanding other cultures and moments in time when verbal language isn’t easily decoded. I believe everyone can develop visual language abilities, both skills of interpretation and skills to communicate in visual language. I need to draw when I want to explain something—to show when I can’t tell. Nothing extends time, let’s me live in the moment, and empowers me, like working with my hands in visual problem solving. There are different kinds of intelligence of the brain, and it’s essential to give full expression to all of them for whole human beings.

In The East-West House: Noguchi's Childhood in Japan, your protagonist, Isamu, finds comfort in forms of nature, “Color, light, and shadow. Earth, wood, and stone.” How do elements of nature inspire and influence your own creative work?

Isamu Noguchi had a painful youth as an outsider in Japan. He had a Caucasian mother and a Japanese father who wouldn’t claim him. He was teased and bullied by other children. Thank goodness he was at home in the natural world.

Noguchi, a sculptor, was a 3-D person. I am a 2-D person, particularly sensitive to color, shapes, texture and pattern. My inclination to interpret the world visually informs my writing, as mentioned earlier.

John Coy Interviews Diane Adams

Diane with her Grandma in the photo. Note Diane’s stylish go-go boots.

Diane Adams, who is a writer and illustrator, is a delight to talk with. She lives with her husband in southern California and has a son who lives in Utah. Her husband is in his last year of teaching and he and Diane have had extensive discussions about what they will do when he retires. One of them would like to get an RV and drive around the country. The other one prefers staying in hotels. Can you guess who prefers what?

1. How do you feel about having two books come out in 2012? Do you know the months? Can you tell us about them?

It's actually looking like one will be out in Spring of 2012 and the other in 2013, as Chronicle is searching for just the right illustrator. This is a good thing in my view, as it gives me more opportunities to focus on each book individually. I'm basically just thrilled to have two books coming out!! The book with Peachtree Publishers is the second in a series about a little girl named Emily Pearl, who is testing her independence and trying the patience of those around her. The book with Chronicle is also a story of growth for a young child, but more from the viewpoint of the family. I seem to be drawn to this theme as I watch my child find his way in the world at age 23. A mom is always a mom!

2. You describe yourself as a writer, illustrator, and roller coaster rider. What's the best roller coaster ride you've been on? What's the one you want to go on next?

My best roller coaster ride would have to be Indiana Jones. It's just the right amount of scary for me. I've never been on Splash Mountain, so that has to be my next one. I'd also like to try the big one at California Adventure. Now if you had asked me my favorite ride, it would have to be It's a Small World, but none of my family will go on it with me. Is it because I sing along with the characters?

3. How's writing and illustrating like riding a roller coaster?

There's a John Prine song that goes something like, "That's the way that the world goes round, you're up one day, then the next you're down, there's a half an inch of water and you think you're gonna drown, that's the way that the world goes round." If you're a writer or an illustrator, that song should make a lot of sense!


4. When you write a picture book, do you envision yourself illustrating it? Have you engaged in negotiations with publishers over this?

I'm actually in negotiations right now for a book that I'd like to illustrate, but I love what Kevin Luthardt and Nancy Hayashi have brought to my first two works, and look forward to seeing what the next two books look like. It's sort of like opening a Christmas present when I see the illustrations matched to my words. I enjoy being a part of a team, especially with such creative and talented artists.

5. You worked with the writer Stephanie Bodeen on A HOME FOR SALTY. What is she really like to work with?

The stories I could tell you... Actually, I didn't work with Stephanie at all, except at book signings which were spectacularly fun!! She was off writing her blockbuster novels while I worked with two wonderful wildlife experts in capturing the habits of the inhabitants of the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge. It was a fantastic experience.

6. Do you have any advice for new writers?
I do have some advice for new writers, and that is don't isolate yourself from your peers. Join the SCBWI, attend conferences, find a book group. It's important to be supported by others and to support others. It's what makes the process more fun. Time alone is necessary, but be a part of the world around you. That's where the magic happens, at least for me.

7. What’s your favorite type of candy bar?

Hershey with Almonds!

A Writer at Work: Interview with Mark Roughsedge

Over the past few weeks, I have had the pleasure of conversing with the author, Mark Roughsedge, via the internet. The internet is a wonderful vehicle of communication, but I found myself making a cup of coffee or tea every time I saw an email from Mark, wanting to create a sense of sitting and sharing coffee/tea with him. Our conversations were warm, humorous, and insightful. When Mark sent me photos to include in the interview, he looked so much like my brother, also a dedicated father and lover of the Pacific Ocean, that I felt almost a kinship with this author I have yet to meet in person! Enjoy!

What are you currently working on?

I am currently stuck trying to figure which of two projects to pursue. Both are middle grade novels in various stages of completion, but both have plot problems I cannot seem to figure out! One is about a kid who starts a gold rush in the Old West, the other about a kid who works a summer job at a theme park in Alaska. I take turns brainstorming both stories and will decide which to pursue as soon as I resolve the plot issues for one or the other.

Do you work on more than one project at a time?

Usually not, in the sense that I focus completely on whatever I am doing until a draft is finished. Then I will work on something else—usually shorter projects such as poems or a short story—for at least a few weeks before I return to the original project with a fresh perspective. Though I have yet to publish a novel, a couple of stories and one haiku written during this interim period have been published. Now that I think of it, maybe I should be working more on the stories and poems!

What are the main problems you face in finishing a manuscript?

First drafts tend to go relatively smoothly. It is during the revision phase that my inner critic can get the best of me, bogging me down with defeatist thoughts. I know intellectually that revising is an essential part of the process; regrettably, my emotional side does not always “remember” this.

Do you ever wish that you had an entirely uncreative job like data entry?

Only when my inner critic gets the upper hand during revisions! Otherwise, no. I get such a kick out of creating things that I cannot imagine it not being a significant part of my daily life.

What keeps you sane as a writer?

Knowing the bad days will pass if I keep plugging away.

Do you admire your own work?

Like many writers, I enjoy the rush that comes while writing a first draft, when everything is fresh and new. Of course, when viewing the same work later with a more critical eye, I will frequently swing to the other end of the emotional continuum. Once I have finished my revisions, though, I usually feel proud of what I have done. And whenever I see my work in print, I definitely admire it!

Who would play you in a film about your life?

Probably depends who does the casting. Personally, I can think of any number of A-list, leading-men types that would fit the bill. If you ask my friends, however, I believe they would suggest a John Malkovich type: tall, skinny (nowadays!), serious hair loss, soft-spoken but possessing the potential for volatility.

While writing, what do you eat or drink?

Ice water only, continually replenished. And lots of Nicorette.

Do you do anything special to stir your creative imagination?

Over many years of trying various creative “jump starts,” I have found two that consistently deliver. One is driving (as long as I am not stuck in traffic). The other is reading. Of the two, reading—even just a few pages, as long as it is something I admire—never fails to inspire me. These inspirational readings can be new books or old favorites or even books on technique, depending on my particular mood. Currently I’m reading Mr. Wilmer, a novel from the 1940’s by Robert Lawson, and also one of my son’s Horrible History books.

What is the loveliest thing you have ever seen?

My wife holding our newborn son.

An Interview with Lauren Stringer

By the luck of the draw, I received the privilege of interviewing Lauren Stringer for this round of posts. Though I have enjoyed Lauren's books (and exquisite artwork) for several years now, I didn't really know much about her other than what I've learned from her website and posts (which, come to think of it, is actually quite a bit!) so I was excited to ask her some questions in an effort to gain a better glimpse into the life of this truly inspiring artist.

1. Which artists, past or contemporary, most inspire/influence your own work?

I LOVE looking at the work of other artists to inspire me and I have favorites that keep changing and evolving with my own creative needs. My studio bookshelves are filled with monographs of my favorite artists. Here is a list of the artists I return to more often than not for inspiration, in no particular order: Elizabeth Murray, Arthur Dove, Marsden Hartley, Charles Burchfield, Georgia O’Keefe, Paula Rego, David Hockney, Kiki Smith, Susan Rothenberg, Mark Rothko, Wanda Gag, Pierre Bonnard, Claude Monet, Tiepolo, Coreggio, David Smith, Henry Moore, Henri Matisse, Maurice Sendak, Paul O. Zelinsky, Angella Barrett, Lizbeth Zwerger, Max Beckman, Diego Rivera, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall…

2. On your website, www.laurenstringer.com, you share a lot of fun stuff about your life and work, including the fact that it takes 1-2 years to complete a book. Can you give us a thumbnail outline of the process?

Day 1 – Accept the manuscript and write the story very large on my studio wall, so I will not lose it and I can read it over and over.

Day 2 – Begin small thumbnail sketches

Day 3-- Buy a sketchbook that fits the story. Gather found images, draw, and write down my thoughts and ideas about the story.

Week 1 -- 6-- Begin numerous storyboards to map out the 32 pages of the picture book (sometimes 48, as in Fold Me A Poem and Our Family Tree

Week 2 – 8 -- Put together a small book dummy of the picture book— send to my editor for feedback.

Anywhere from 3 to 6 months have passed. For me, most of the time in illustrating a book goes into mapping out and composing each spread with text and image.

Week 9—10 -- I wait for notes and response from my editor…

Next 6 months—Painting the originals: I prepare 150 lb. watercolor paper with layers of gesso, which I then draw and layer paint colors for the final illustrations. Sometimes it takes me two days to finish an illustration~ sometimes a week. Finished illustrations hang on the wall around the one I am working on so that there is a consistency from spread to spread. Once all of the illustrations are complete I send them to the publisher. Then I work on 3 to 5 ideas for the cover, which I submit to my editor and marketing for choosing the one they think will work best.

Year turnaround – While the book is being printed I receive proofs to okay. From proof to binding to shipping and marketing, nearly a year passes. It is an exciting time!

3. If you could collaborate with any artist from the past, who would it be?

I would love to have sat on the scaffolding next to Diego Rivera and helped paint or prepare the surface for his frescos.

4. Is there a certain time of day you feel most creative?

I am a morning person! In the morning my thoughts are open and clear. This is when I do my best writing, painting, journaling, and thinking. I cannot paint at night. My mind and body become too tired and I need the daylight to make the colors work.

5. Are there any routines or rituals you go through before working? While working?

Before beginning a new manuscript, I clean and organize my studio. All of the postcards sketches, and photos on the walls of my studio are taken down, so I can begin fresh with white walls.

On a daily basis, I wake early before the rest of my family and read with a fresh cup of coffee. I get my best reading done between 6 and 8 am. Once my kids are out the door, I make another cup of coffee and climb the stairs to my studio where I begin to paint. I try to leave something unfinished from the day before, so I can pick up where I left off without too much hesitancy. This helps me jump right back in.

6. What is most distracting to your work – Internet, chores, being stuck, something else?

The internet is the most distracting thing in my day-to-day studio life. Blogging and answering school requests take a lot of time. Answering emails in general takes a lot of time. I try to remain positive about distractions though. Something I learned when my kids were little. Even a necessary trip to the grocery store can be creative or perhaps spur an idea for a story or illustration. It is all about juggling and balancing… but I do need to get better control over the internet!

7. What type of artwork do you find most satisfying – picture book art, window art, designing/painting sets for Circus Juventas?

When I have a week with no interruptions I am happiest in the solitude of my studio. I love immersing myself in a story. As the illustrations begin to come together it is wonderful to be surrounded by their color and characters.

However, the collaboration of writing scripts and designing and painting sets for Circus Juventas satisfies the part of me that yearns for company. The energy of Circus and the performers is amazing and inspiring!

8. The sets for Circus Juventas, pictured on your website, are stunningly beautiful. What happens to this artwork after the shows are finished? (Please don’t tell me they are simply discarded!)

I just drove out of the Circus Juventas parking lot last week and saw the last of the Sawdust sets lying in the snow next to the dumpster. I am afraid to say that if the materials cannot be re-used, they are discarded. Part of the appeal of painting the sets is the ephemeral quality. The art enhances the show and once the show is over, Poof! On to the next! Very liberating! (Lying in the snow next to the dumpster? Say it isn't so! Someone in St. Paul needs to stake out that dumpster!!)

9. It sounds like you have a close relationship with your editor. Can you discuss the value of this to your work?

I have had the great fortune of working with the same editor for almost all of my books. Allyn Johnston of Beach Lane Books has been my editor for nearly seventeen years now. Initially, she took a great risk when she asked me to illustrate my first book, Mud in 1994. My friend, Debra Frasier, had brought her photographs of my artwork and after looking them over she decided to send me a manuscript. I had never illustrated a picture book before, but with the doors that opened and closed on my sculptures, creating a “drama” from the outside to the inside, I instinctively understood the “drama of the turning page” necessary to illustrating a picture book. When Allyn came out to visit my studio while I was working on the cover for Mud, we were both very pregnant and bumped bellies while gesturing in front of the painting. During another studio visit a year later we sat and nursed our babies while discussing Scarecrow. Creating books together, raising our sons of the same age, sharing life’s gifts and losses through the years have made our collaborations more meaningful with each new book’s adventure. Trust has been established in our working relationship, which allows for more intimacy and depth when exploring the possibilities of a story and pictures.

10. How do your own children influence and/or inspire your work?

Many of my books have dedications to my children, beginning with my first picture book, Mud: For Ruby and her toes. The manuscript arrived on a muddy day in May when I was digging in the garden with Ruby, who had just turned two. Her toes, so small and perfect had already inspired many sculptures, and now they were featured in a book about mud. Living with children and watching them play and grow, imagine and learn has greatly influenced my work. With each stage of growth and development of my own children, I reflect back to my own childhood of the same age and this weaves in and out of my books as well. The toys in Red Rubber Boot Day are the very toys both of my kids played with and I was happy to document them as I saw how quickly they were growing out of them. When I was teaching myself to fold origami, my son Cooper would come into the studio and ask to be taught how to fold a snake and a dragon, and as I showed him, I took photos of him folding. With these photos, he became the little boy in Fold Me A Poem. My kids are the children in the cardboard castle in Castles, Caves, and Honeycombs. We made so many castles and homes out of cardboard, it was wonderful to be able to paint those memories. Winter is the Warmest Season, was inspired by my son when he was six. It was his reasoning that winter was a warmer season than summer because in winter you wear warm clothes, you drink hot chocolate, and you sit by hot fires that gave me the idea for the story. By listening, watching, and learning from my children, I think I am a better picture book illustrator than I would be if I had never had children. Even though they are teenagers now, I still use photos and memories to reconnect me to a child’s point of view. I am currently working on a book that has a conversation with several stuffed animals. I have pulled my kids favorite stuffed animals from storage and have them sitting in my studio~ so they are still influencing my work, even grown-up!

(Interviewer note: Lauren sent along several pictures with her answers but I was unable to upload them into this post, so I had to suffice with the obligatory author photo. Sorry, Lauren!)

Diane Adams interviews John Coy

It was my pleasure to interview John Coy for our blog. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife Fiona, and they have a 25 year old daughter named Sophie. When we spoke, they had quite a bit of snow in their yard, similar to this photo of John as a boy. I'm guessing that's why he and his wife travel so much!!

In talking to John, I found a joyful, spiritual person with a commitment to encouraging children to love themselves as they are. John said that he tells his young audiences that being shy is a good thing. It helps one pay attention to the details, and that's what writing is about. He views his job as giving every child a fresh start, especially those that need one, and his favorite question came from an 8 year old girl who asked him, "Does being an author bring you joy?" He answered with a resounding "yes!"

So, here are my questions for John:

1. First, do you have a favorite part of writing, such as researching, revising, in-put from kids?

I LIKE REVISION. I LIKE THE SENSE OF PIECE GETTING BETTER, AND I'M ACTUALLY COMFORTED BY KNOWING THAT NO MATTER HOW HARD ONE WORKS THE PIECE CAN STILL GET BETTER.

2. Do you have a not so favorite part of writing that you put off until the very end? What forms of procrastination do you take? I do a lot of house cleaning when I don't want to start on a new story!

I TEND TO PUT OFF STARTING IN THE MORNING AND THE MAIN WAY I DO IS BY READING. I WILL READ ALL KINDS OF THINGS, INCLUDING THINGS I HAD NO PLAN TO READ. SOMETIMES I HAVE TO GIVE MYSELF 'NO READING TIMES' TO WRITE.

3. What are some unique experiences you've had through your travel?

AS A BOY I TRAVELLED TO FORTY-NINE STATES, AND MY LOVE OF TRAVEL HAS ALWAYS BEEN STRONG. I AM FORTUNATE TO VISIT SCHOOLS INTERNATIONALLY AND ONE OF MY FAVORITE EXPERIENCES CAME WHEN A BOY IN NAIROBI RAISED HIS HAND AND SAID, "YOU CAME TO MY OLD SCHOOL." I HAD SEEN HIM AT HIS SCHOOL IN OMAN. LAST FALL A BOY IN BUDAPEST SAID, "YOU CAME TO MY SCHOOL IN NAIROBI." THOSE LINKS BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT SCHOOLS FEELS WELCOMING AND SIGNIFICANT.

RECENTLY IN MUMBAI, A GIRL RAISED HER HAND AND TALKED ABOUT TWO OLD POTATOES AND ME AND SAID SHE STUDIED THAT BOOK AT HER OLD SCHOOL IN NEW YORK. THESE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL VISITS SHOW ME WHAT'S HAPPENING IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES AND MAKE THE WORLD FEEL MUCH MORE CONNECTED.

4. Any books you want to promote right now?

I AM HARD AT WORK ON THE 4 FOR 4 SERIES. TOP OF THE ORDER AND EYES ON THE GOAL ARE OUT AND LOVE OF THE GAME COMES OUT IN JULY. I AM DEEP AT WORK ON BOOK 4, WHICH WILL COME OUT IN THE WINTER OF 2012. THE SERIES HAS BEEN GREAT FUN TO WORK ON AND I ENJOY HEARING WHAT READERS THINK OF IT.

5. Any goals that you haven't reached yet? Or, maybe, that you have reached...

ONE GOAL THAT I AM PLEASED ABOUT IS THAT I GET TO WRITE. THAT'S MY JOB.
AS FOR GOALS THAT I HAVE NOT YET REACHED. THERE ARE PLENTY OF THEM.

It will be a joy watching John achieve his goals.