Origin stories
I am a guest blogger on Kathy Temean’s Writing and Illustrating today. The prompt is Book Journey.
BOOK JOURNEY:
“So much of the fairy tales occupy tired spaces of our world. We need stories of belonging that move us towards each other, not away from each other.” — Padraig O Tuama, from a conversation with Krista Tippett/On Being
A few years ago I found myself imagining a Wolf who was suffering unwanted baggage from fairy tale depictions of wolves. I was intrigued with the possibility that this Wolf might actively desire to be viewed differently, and might ask this of readers in a direct way. From my earliest imaginings, Wolf was a beautiful creature in honor of the majestic wild animal, but also a gentle magical creature inhabiting a world somewhere in between a fairy tale setting and a real place. This kind-hearted, generous Wolf (pronouns they/them/their) would ask readers to see them as they are, without preconceived notions.
The book journey begins
As this Wolf character danced around in my imagination, I could hear the beginnings of a story. I always knew Wolf would ask readers in that very first moment to: “Close your eyes and imagine a wolf.” Imagine a Wolf begins on the book’s endpapers, thanks to the brilliance of Page Street Kids founding publisher Kristen Nobles. Kristen is a big part of my book story; she’s the link between the very, very rough dummy book (titled What Big Beautiful Ears You Have) that I brought to an NESCBWI workshop in the fall of 2018, and the book contract that followed about a month later. Serendipity was at play for sure, plus some wild good fortune to be invited to write and illustrate my first book. I fell in love with the art form of a picture book as I was creating Imagine a Wolf. And I learned on the job!
In the thumbnail stage, I heard an interview with Padraig O Tuama, an Irish poet known for his work in conflict resolution. Padraig talks about the experience of being called out and shamed for being gay, and especially the pain of name-calling when the name caller seems to say I know exactly what you’re about, without knowing at all. I knew then that Wolf had to be wounded by words.
Wolf emerging
In that magic ‘in-between’ world where the story takes place, Wolf encounters tired old fairy tale prejudices. Wolf is called out publicly, accusingly, and these encounters are visibly hurtful. Wolf also finds their resilient spirit, creates and gives generously, and never lets go of their special connection with the reader. I wrote and illustrated many possible endings for Imagine a Wolf, and even consulted the four children to whom the book is dedicated as I was searching for the story’s resolution. I enjoy the notion that there are many possible endings to a story, and wonder if in this story, the ongoing conversation between Wolf and the reader might be more important than any sequence of events.
I’ve always loved drawing animals, especially from my imagination. Wolf’s predecessors might be the over- life-size bears I’ve painted on canvas, linen and paper for years. I think at some point in the process, the story tells you what the characters and settings need to be made of. For Imagine a Wolf, I knew I wanted to distinguish Wolf, and I chose oil paint because of the weight and presence that material has on the page. I worked with sturdy Arches hot press papers prepared with sizing to keep the oil paint from bleeding through, and I made my colors from dry pigments and a special water-soluble oil medium. I love the messy beautiful surprises of real tangible art materials. There is no ‘undo’ but instead a kind of flow and adapt that allows the medium to have its own voice. Yes, there are hairs of my brushes in Wolf’s fur! There is also colorful pencil dust in the atmosphere of almost every page. For the final endpapers, I treated the paper like scratchboard to create a fuzzy line of yarn.
Wolf in the world
Imagine a Wolf was published by Page Street Kids on January 12. AHHoooOOOO! To celebrate the book (and manage the sadness of not being able to read it in stores and libraries right now), I built the cardboard painted set you see in the picture below so I can broadcast readings and book talks and other fun activities from inside the book’s pages. Wolf took over my social media feeds to keep that content lively, and the journey continues with the book’s life out in the world. I hope Imagine a Wolf has a beautiful life – I hope it comforts and provokes good conversation, and furthers the truth that creative work can promote healing and resilience.
