{"id":1410,"date":"2008-08-12T00:01:07","date_gmt":"2008-08-12T06:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1410"},"modified":"2008-08-14T06:11:29","modified_gmt":"2008-08-14T12:11:29","slug":"seven-questions-over-breakfast-with-suzy-lee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1410","title":{"rendered":"Seven Questions Over Breakfast with Suzy Lee"},"content":{"rendered":"

South Korean illustrator Suzy Lee<\/strong><\/a> is here this morning, and I couldn’t be happier. She’s joining 7-Imp for breakfast with her sandwich, apple, and whatever is left-over from her baby\u2019s breakfast.<\/font> I would venture to say that she’ll join me for some coffee, too, by the looks of her responses to the Pivot Questionnaire. Oh my, she’s a coffee-drinker after my own heart, I must say. <\/p>\n

She’s also an illustrator after my own heart. Lee, who received her BFA in painting from Seoul National University and her MA in Book Arts from Camberwell College of Arts in London, shows us the world through a child’s eyes in ways I don’t quickly forget after putting down her books. We have Kane\/Miller Books<\/strong><\/a> to thank for bringing Lee to our country’s attention in 2007 with The Zoo<\/strong><\/a><\/em>, first published in 2004 in Seoul, Korea. In this book, what starts out as a normal trip to the zoo turns into an imaginative romp for a young girl, whose poor parents are put through the wringer, to say the least, trying to find her. And it’s also a picture book in which Lee very much meets you halfway, allowing you to bring your own ideas and perspectives to the book in your hands. And what reviewers and bloggers saw in it varied quite a bit: “Personally, I think the book identifies how wonderful freedom feels to a child. You\u2019re forever under someone\u2019s protection. How cool would it be then to transfer that protection to the wild and wacky animals in the zoo?” (Betsy Bird, A Fuse #8 Production<\/strong><\/a><\/em>); “a mix of reality and imagination…that suggests closeness to nature” (The New York Times<\/em><\/strong><\/a>); “{t}his is a book for any child who loves animals, and thinks that zoos are paradise. It’s also a book for any parent who has temporarily misplaced a child…All in all, it’s an unexpected and rewarding adventure” (Jen Robinson’s Book Page<\/strong><\/em><\/a>); or, perhaps the blog bloogs blowing by<\/strong><\/em><\/a> captured it best by saying the book is open “to a hundred and one creative interpretations.” What does Suzy say about it<\/strong><\/a> herself?<\/p>\n

This book is about the zoo, a strange place where children and adults alike learn about nature, but also about its deprivation and despair. Curiously, children see the zoo differently from adults\u2019 perspective; they know how to make friends with animals.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here’s my favorite spread from the book—arguably, my favorite picture book spread from all of 2007—as a whole, but underneath it are larger images of each side of the spread so that you can soak in Lee’s gorgeous colors and the details to her art work: <\/p>\n


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And here’s the parents’ moment of bliss in finally having found their child: <\/p>\n


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This year, Lee wow’ed us again with this beautiful wave, as only she could do it: <\/p>\n

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Wave<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, a wordless picture book published by Chronicle Books, is stunning, one of my favorite picture books this year. It’s a sunny day at the beach. A curious young girl meets a playful, sometimes mischievous wave. With The Zoo<\/em>, Lee gave readers a fine example (as I put in my February 2007 review<\/strong><\/a> here at 7-Imp) of how art and text merge to tell a story — in that case, actually, how the art predominantly tells the story in a grand defiance of what the text says. But with Wave<\/em>, she shows us that words can be superfluous, that she can tell a story with striking color, shape, and line. It’s a book you don’t want to miss and that you will want to share with your friends—no matter what age—particularly those who have an allegiance to the rumble of the ocean’s waves where they meet the shore. Ah, there’s nothing like it, huh? And there’s certainly nothing it like it when you’re a wee child. Lee captures all the thrill and joy of a young child and ocean play. <\/p>\n

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And, as you can see below in Lee’s answer to the what-books-have-you-published question, she’s been published in Korea, Switzerland, France, and Italy, as well. And I’m here to tell you these are books that look mighty, MIGHTY interesting, including her own multi-media version of Alice in Wonderland<\/strong><\/a><\/em>. I’ll let her tell you about it. As she puts it at her web site, <\/p>\n

Floating between a mixture of flat drawings and black and white photographs, this book explores the realm of illusion and reality. A book about the dream-within-a-dream, the picture-within-a-picture, and the book-within-a-book, was inspired by Lewis Carroll\u2019s original.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Oh, excuse me. I had to take a moment to wipe the drool from my mouth. This book looks very intriguing, yes? <\/p>\n

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There’s also Lee’s 2005 illustrated short story, The Rabbit Hole<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, about a woman, bored with her routine office life, who happens to follow Lewis Carroll’s White Rabbit through the hole on her desk. <\/p>\n

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…and oh-so much more, so I’ll cease my enthusiastic (read: nerdy) ramblings and get to the interview. Let’s get the basics from Suzy while we set the table for our breakfast…<\/p>\n

* * * * * * *<\/font><\/center><\/p>\n

7-Imp<\/font><\/strong>: Are you an illustrator or author\/illustrator?<\/font><\/p>\n

Suzy<\/font><\/strong>: Book Artist.<\/p>\n

7-Imp<\/font><\/strong>: Can you list your books-to-date?<\/font><\/p>\n

Suzy<\/font><\/strong>: <\/p>\n