September Hedge a gram
Happy September!
Every month on the first, I stop what I'm doing to be in touch with all of
you who are interested in the profession of an author illustrator, or anyone who
is curious about how children's books are made. It is highly individualized, and
perhaps that's why I am so intrigued by my work. Not only does every author have
their own approach, but it seems like every book I do is different.
I am almost half of the way through the finishes for THE TURNIP, a Russian
folktale that I have retold and modified a bit. At the moment I am coming back
from a week in Okinawa, Japan where I was visiting with my daughter, son in
law, and two young grandchildren. I did bring some artwork with me to do at odd
moments and during breaks in the travel. I need to use every minute available to
get my book done on time. Because of my very detailed style it takes me at
least a week of steady work just to complete one page. Sometimes I even bring a
page in the car and paint as we travel, but I only work on simple designs.
Okinawa is a beautiful tropical island in the Japanese archipelago where
the ocean is never far away. We took advantage of the nice weather and water
conditions to do some snorkeling. There are accessible coral reefs everywhere
and it was wonderful to see the colorful reef fish, sea creatures and coral. The
big excitement for us that day was a giant bristly maroon hermit crab with teal
spots, teal being one of my granddaughter's favorite colors.The kids have seen
an octopus, a colorful moray eel, a lionfish and some brightly colored sea
slugs. Another highlight was a huge baby blue sea star. Okinawa has one of the
most celebrated aquariums in the world, and it was quite something to see many
of the creatures in the wild, and then be able to take a closer look in the
aquarium, besides seeing some of the rarer creatures such as their two beautiful
whale sharks. The whale sharks are graceful and stunning with their milky white
ventral side and blue dorsal side with a white tic tac toe pattern that is
unique. All I could think of was the incredible beauty and variety of the color
patterns. It made me feel daunted but inspired too.When we got home I drew some
of the fish and my granddaughter, Torynn colored them in. I am on the lookout
for a set of the sparkley gel markers which will help the fish look more
realistic. Nothing can really capture their beauty.
I am looking forward to being home and doing my artwork full time, although
I will miss my family. I can't wait to see Little Snow the bunny we got last
June. Kim, the woman who takes care of my chickens when I'm away, has kept
rabbits for many years, and Kim and her son have been giving Little Snow lots of
attention while we were away. He will probably be going on the book tour with
us.
When I reflect on my job, in some ways it seems so simple.I sit down with a
big piece of paper and paint. But the results are all a part of my experiences
and time commitments. I don't think I'll ever figure out a formula for how much
time and effort I should spend with all my loves and interests. One thing is
very important to me though, I greatly look forward to meeting all the book
lovers that will want autographed books on the book tour that will be coming up
this December. My husband, Joe, and I were thrilled at how many readers have
entered the Lunch on the bus contest. We're looking forward to that chapter of
our lives!
Happy Reading, drawing and creating,
Your friend,
Jan Brett