{"id":2232,"date":"2011-11-03T00:01:30","date_gmt":"2011-11-03T06:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=2232"},"modified":"2011-12-28T23:49:18","modified_gmt":"2011-12-29T05:49:18","slug":"seven-questions-over-breakfast-with-laura-ljungkvist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=2232","title":{"rendered":"Seven Questions Over Breakfast with Laura Ljungkvist"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I do these breakfast interviews a lot—today’s guest has brought, as you can see here, her plain Kefir with Cinnamon Life cereal and blueberries—and my favorite question is the simplest one: “Are you an illustrator or author\/illustrator?” The answers I’ve gotten over the years, which are surprisingly varied, tell me a lot about the interviewee. I’m not surprised that today’s visitor, author\/illustrator Laura Ljungkvist<\/a><\/strong>, opts to call herself a “visual problem-solver.” <\/p>\n

And that’s because Laura, also an editorial illustrator, creates picture books that are often picture puzzles, relying mostly on what one reviewer once called “acrobatic lines” (I love that \"Lauradescription) to tell her tales. Her Follow the Line<\/em> books (there are four total thus far, the most recent one released this past summer), as well as her debut picture book, feature one continuous line, beginning on the cover, running through the entire book to create shapes and tell and name and designate and identify, and ending on the back of the book. The lines zoom, circle, zigzag, twist, turn, and dance, encouraging reader participation and lots of examination for curious eyes. (In this recent blog post of hers<\/a><\/strong>, one can see she was destined to make books like this.) <\/p>\n

This June 7-Imp post<\/a><\/strong> featured some of Laura’s editorial art, including her “Tables for Two” illustration for The New Yorker<\/em>, which was clearly a predecessor to her Follow the Line<\/em> books for children. It’s interesting to note how her editorial art informs her children’s book illustration — or perhaps vice versa. “It’s natural,” she told me around the time of that post, “for an editorial illustrator to write and illustrate their own books. After ‘solving your clients’ visual problems’ comes a time when you want to ‘solve your own problem.’ It’s the same process; only now you’re the boss!”<\/p>\n

I thank Laura for visiting this morning. I’ll get the coffee brewing and get the basics from her while we set the table for seven questions over breakfast. <\/p>\n

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

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

Laura<\/font><\/strong>: Visual problem-solver. <\/p>\n

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

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