{"id":1844,"date":"2009-12-03T00:01:45","date_gmt":"2009-12-03T06:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1844"},"modified":"2009-12-03T08:32:57","modified_gmt":"2009-12-03T14:32:57","slug":"seven-questions-over-breakfast-with-jackie-morris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1844","title":{"rendered":"Seven Questions Over Breakfast with Jackie Morris"},"content":{"rendered":"

Author and illustrator Jackie Morris<\/strong><\/a> visited 7-Imp about this time last year<\/strong><\/a>, but she’s here this morning for a more detailed interview. Jackie, who trained as an illustrator at the Bath Academy of Art<\/strong><\/a> in England, now lives here<\/strong><\/a> in Wales and has won international acclaim for the many books she has written and illustrated. As I said last year, I struggle to find the words to describe her art work without sounding…well, totally trite, and I ended up deciding to go with words of praise from School Library Journal<\/em> about her illustrations, since they nail it: “The undeniable beauty of the delicate watercolor illustrations, with their dramatic use of line, coupled with soft, earthy tones, lend the characters and landscapes dignity and timelessness.” So, we’ll just go with their words again. Yeah, what they said. Or, in the words of the New York Times<\/em>, Jackie is capable of bringing us gorgeous fantasies. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Since last year, Jackie has brought us one of my favorite books of 2009, Tell Me a Dragon<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, which was released by Frances Lincoln Children’s Books in October and which showcases the dragons unique to the imaginations of a handful of children, inviting readers on the final page to “tell me about your dragon.” Jackie writes this about the book at her site:<\/p>\n

The idea for Tell Me a Dragon<\/em> came whilst working on the Terry Pratchett<\/strong><\/a> Discworld<\/strong><\/em><\/a> calendar. In Guards! Guards!<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, there is a place where dragons sleep and wait to be summoned. They are created by the imagination of those who summon them, and when I was working in schools I began to ask children, if they had a dragon, what would it look like? Some answers were very simple, but some lit the children’s imagination until the air echoed with the sound of dragon wings. One day someone asked me, if I had a dragon, what would it be like. I realized that almost every day it would be different. Some days I would like a big dragon to fight battles for me, sometimes a small dragon to curl around my ear and tell me stories. Each day a different dragon, but each one mine. And so I wrote Tell Me a Dragon<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n


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“My dragon is made from the sun and the stars. Sparkled with stardust, all night he follows the silver moon-path across the sky.”<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n

Kirkus<\/em> calls this a “beguiling invitation to the diverse, fantastical realms of dragons…Morris’s deft hand with watercolors expertly conjures an inky sky, fiery warmth radiating from a lamp and icily harsh climes while still capturing the striking details of sharp talons, delicate wings and snaggle-toothed faces. Together with the brief verses, the images will appeal to all who love to make believe.”<\/p>\n

So, let’s get right to our breakfast, especially since Jackie sent so much art for us to pore over. “Hmm\u2026 breakfast,” she told me. “A bowl of muesli, usually dorset cereal with cranberries, sprinkled over greek yoghurt.<\/font> A cup, and it has to be a lovely cup (I do like nice ceramics, because if you leave your washing up around it just looks like art and not like filth) of coffee, and then a walk with dogs and cats or both. I get up very early in the summer, around 5 or 5.30. Later in winter.” I have to say that I do own some lovely coffee cups, so let’s get them out, set the table for our breakfast chat, and get the basics from Jackie. I thank her for stopping by. <\/p>\n

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

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

Jackie<\/font><\/strong>: Yes, both. I like to illustrate other people\u2019s words, but I also like to write. Very different experience. When you illustrate your own words, you can write and illustrate with the words and the pictures.<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

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