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(How I wish we were eating an <\/em>actual<\/strong><\/font> breakfast at her beautiful<\/strong><\/font>, colorful<\/strong><\/font> house)<\/em>
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He’s at the top<\/em> of today’s post, because my guest this morning, author\/illustrator Deborah Freedman<\/a><\/strong>, illustrated her responses to the Pivot Questionnaire, which makes me happy. Yes, illustrated<\/em>! (There is always Chris Raschka’s set of Pivot responses<\/a><\/strong>, answered in photographs, which I also loved, but these illustrated responses are a first for 7-Imp.) Since I blew up Deborah’s Pivot image at the close of this interview to be as large as possible in the blog’s template, Alfred didn’t quite fit down there, so he’s up top with me now to introduce Deborah. Don’t worry. He’s not as surly as he looks. <\/p>\n There aren’t a whole lot of author\/illustrators who can say that their second published book got a good deal of Caldecott buzz. But Deborah can. Those who pay attention to picture-book chatter know that her newest title, Blue Chicken<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, released by Viking in September (and sparked by William Carlos Williams’s<\/a><\/strong> “The Red Wheelbarrow,”<\/a><\/strong> as Deborah notes here<\/a><\/strong>), has been mentioned by many in the same sentence as that prestigious award (all in the name of ALA awards-predictions, which get hot and heavy this time of year). The book tells the story of a painted chicken who lets loose on an artist’s canvas. She just wants to help, yet spills blue paint everywhere. Then, things get very 3-d, as other animals in the painting emerge from the canvas onto the meta-landscape to watch while the chicken tries to “undo the blue” by toppling over the artist’s glass of water. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Similar vibes of narrative surprise—and unpredictability on the part of her protagonists—are on display in Freedman’s 2007 title, Scribble<\/a><\/em><\/strong> (Knopf), her picture book debut. Readers familiar with both books can see that Freedman likes to play with boundaries in her picture books. She turned, as you’ll read below, from the field of architecture to children’s book illustration, so perhaps it’s not too surprising that she likes to spark the imaginations of children by thinking outside the box (so to speak). <\/p>\n Deborah’s here today to talk about her work, share some images and early sketches from both books, and share a bit of other art, as well. “I think today I\u2018d like a thick slice of nutty whole grain toast with almond butter and apricot jam,” she tells me, “lots of fresh fruit, and as always, a good strong cup of decaf (unless I want my drawings to have a shaky, caffeinated look).” <\/p>\n I’m really good with whole grain toast (mmm) for our breakfast interview today, though I must always put a pot of regular coffee on for myself. <\/p>\n I thank Deborah for visiting. Let’s get to it. <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Are you an illustrator or author\/illustrator?<\/font><\/p>\n Deborah<\/font><\/strong>: Author\/illustrator. <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Can you list your books-to-date?<\/font><\/p>\n Deborah<\/font><\/strong>: <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: What is your usual medium, or–\u2013if you use a variety—your preferred one?<\/font> <\/p>\n Deborah<\/font><\/strong>: Watercolor and pencil or ink, often with an assist from Photoshop.<\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Where are your stompin\u2019 grounds?<\/font><\/p>\n Deborah<\/font><\/strong>: New Haven, CT. <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Can you briefly tell me about your road to publication?<\/font> <\/p>\n Deborah<\/font><\/strong>: I was actually trained to be an architect, but stopped working full-time and started tinkering with children\u2019s books after I had babies \u2013 it seemed like the perfect way to bring the different loves of my life (my family, art & design) together. My first books were little, hand-made, personal ones for my girls; it was several years before I got serious about writing and illustrating, and more years again before I was brave enough to send my illustrations around. I eventually sold my first book, Scribble<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, to an editor at Knopf after she saw my artwork on display at the midwinter SCBWI conference in NY in 2005.<\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Can you please point readers to your web site and\/or blog?<\/font> <\/p>\n Deborah<\/font><\/strong>: www.deborahfreedman.net<\/a><\/strong>, writeswithpictures.com<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: If you do school visits, tell me what they\u2019re like.<\/font><\/p>\n Deborah<\/font><\/strong>: I occasionally pretend to be an extrovert and do school visits, sometimes just to read and scribble, and other times for full-blown presentations. Then I take children through my process, draw, and tell stories (like, one about the time my sister made me so angry that I poured ketchup on her head -\u2013 if you\u2019ve read Scribble<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, you might see how that\u2019s relevant!). I love mixing with kids -\u2013 they always teach me something. My favorite question of all time is “are you ever afraid to draw?” (Answer: “Yes!”)<\/p>\n Here are some Scribble<\/em>-inspired drawings that children did after my visit to New Haven Reads<\/a><\/strong>:<\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Any new titles\/projects you might be working on now that you can tell me about?<\/font> <\/p>\n Deborah<\/font><\/strong>: I\u2019m working with Viking on a book about a fish. I am torturing a hapless fish. <\/p>\n 1.<\/font> Jules<\/font><\/strong>: What exactly is your process when you are illustrating a book? You can start wherever you\u2019d like when answering: getting initial ideas, starting to illustrate, or even what it\u2019s like under deadline, etc. Do you outline a great deal of the book before you illustrate or just let your muse lead you on and see where you end up?<\/font> <\/p>\n Deborah<\/font><\/strong>: My \u201cprocess\u201d involves ridiculous amounts of time staring into space, chasing an awful lot of ideas to nowhere, and falling in and out of love. I sure wish I had something less disorderly and unpredictable to plug into; it would make my writing life a lot easier! For a real look at my messy process, read Blue Chicken<\/a><\/strong><\/em> -\u2013 it\u2019s semi-autobiographical. I\u2019m both the artist and the chicken.<\/p>\n Once I have an idea that feels promising enough to pursue as a book, I dedicate a sketchbook to it and do tons of doodling and making notes, writing snippets of text, writing with pictures. That\u2019s the fun part, when the book is still mostly in my head and full of potential, absolutely brilliant!<\/p>\n By the time I get to the end of a book, I can hardly stand it anymore, and it can take me a while to get over feeling that it isn\u2019t the most hackneyed, inept piece of @%#! ever created. At this point I really, especially, thank goodness for the traditional publishing process and a super editorial and design team. Turning in a book is a little like sending a difficult teen off to college: I love you! It\u2019s been great! See you when you are all grown up!<\/em><\/p>\n Lastly, the one major thing that I have to add about process is that throughout, and always, I read and look at art. Perhaps it\u2019s partly my background in art history and architecture that have given me such huge respect for precedent, but I always begin with the assumption that whatever I\u2019m trying to do has been done before in some way or another and that if I can find the right examples, they will give me some guidance. Then, once my books are out in the world, I like to think of them as small, shy things, trying to enter a conversation with the big kids.<\/p>\n 2.<\/font> Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Describe your studio or usual work space.<\/font> <\/p>\n Deborah<\/strong><\/font><\/strong>: I\u2019m sort of spread out all over the place, although I do have a tiny, finished-attic, under-a-dormer studio to escape to — with a door that closes, where I do my final drawing and painting.<\/p>\n My favorite writing spot in the summer: <\/p>\n My studio:<\/p>\n 3.<\/font> Jules<\/font><\/strong>: As a book lover, it interests me: What books or authors and\/or illustrators influenced you as an early reader?<\/font><\/p>\n Deborah<\/strong><\/font><\/strong>: My mom used to take my brother and sister and me to the library regularly, where we checked out the same books over and over again, like The Little House<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, The Snowy Day<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, The Nutshell Library<\/a><\/strong><\/em>… but the picture books that meant the most to all of us—and that surely influenced me the most—were those written by our Aunt Mary Ann (Hoberman)<\/a><\/strong> and illustrated by Uncle Norman<\/a><\/strong>: Really<\/em> devoted 7-Imp readers will note that Alfred, pictured left, is joining me earlier than usual for today’s post. Alfred, who sprung from the mind and paintbrush of Matt Phelan<\/a><\/strong>, now lives at 7-Imp and always introduces Bernard Pivot’s<\/a><\/strong> famous Pivot Questionnaire, which is how I consistently close my interviews. (As noted elsewhere at the blog, Alfred makes good, strong coffee and tells wicked funny knock-knock jokes in a low voice. I like him.)<\/p>\n<\/a>
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and Lucie wondered what he was wondering.”<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n
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which was the color of EMMA’S PICTURE.<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n<\/a>
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