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I’m pleased to welcome illustrator Jeremy Holmes<\/a><\/strong> to 7-Imp this morning for breakfast. Back in 2010, I wrote about<\/a><\/strong> Jeremy’s delightfully creepy and beautifully bizarre adaptation<\/a><\/strong> (Chronicle Books, 2009) of the mother of all cumulative children\u2019s folk songs, \u201cThere Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly\u201d (complete with a slip cover and closing eyes on the lady’s head when she kicks the bucket). This book went on to win him a Bologna Ragazzi Opera Prima Award. <\/p>\n And it’s this Old Lady, which Jeremy notes at his site<\/a><\/strong>, who opened his eyes to the “imaginative and playful world of the picture book” (from primarily the world of graphic design, that is). <\/p>\n Jeremy’s here today to talk about his road to publication and what’s on his plate now — and he shares lots of art, especially from his latest illustrated book, J. Patrick Lewis’<\/a><\/strong> and Douglas Florian’s<\/a><\/strong> Poem-mobiles<\/a><\/strong><\/em> (Schwartz and Wade, January 2014). Fitting, since it’s National Poetry Month<\/a><\/strong>. Rah! <\/p>\n I’m very good with Jeremy’s favorite breakfast: English muffins toasted with a smear of salted butter; one egg over hard, heavily peppered; “some pancetta, if ya\u2019 got it, but Canadian bacon will do in a pinch”; a small glass of OJ; and a cup of strong, slightly creamed and sweetened coffee. (He got the coffee JUST RIGHT!)<\/p>\n I thank him for visiting. Without further ado … <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Are you an illustrator or author\/illustrator?<\/font><\/p>\n Jeremy<\/font><\/strong>: I\u2019m an illustrator trying to author.<\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Can you list your books-to-date?<\/font><\/p>\n Jeremy<\/font><\/strong>: <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: What is your usual medium?<\/font><\/p>\n Jeremy<\/font><\/strong>: My medium-of-choice is still up for debate. Currently, I\u2019m working with pencil, charcoal, watercolor, digital color, and paper collage. Maybe I should list my non-preferred mediums? But I\u2019m not sure I have any. Wait … I know. I\u2019d never make anything using Limburger cheese. <\/p>\n [Ed. Note: All of the pencil drawings immediately below are from J. Patrick Lewis’<\/a><\/strong> and Douglas Florian’s<\/a><\/strong> <\/em>Poem-mobiles<\/a><\/strong>.]<\/em><\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Where are your stompin\u2019 grounds?<\/font> <\/p>\n Jeremy<\/font><\/strong>: My family and I live in a quaint little 1920s’ bungalow just outside of Philadelphia, PA. <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Can you tell me about your road to publication?<\/font> <\/p>\n Jeremy<\/font><\/strong>: While in grad school, I took a publication class with the uber-talented designer Paul Kepple of Headcase Design<\/a><\/strong>, during which I created my first children\u2019s book, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly<\/a><\/strong><\/em>. Once graduated, The Old Lady<\/em> and I set out into the great wide world of publishing to see if anyone would have interest in making her. Everyone we met with revered the concept, but because of her complicated construction, no one felt she could be built for profit. So I sat her up on a shelf and began illustrating anything and everything that knocked at my door. Before I knew it, I was an editorial illustrator creating weekly assignments for the New York Times<\/em>, Wired<\/em> magazine, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, and CNN. Not exactly what I set out to do, but it paid the bills, and I was satisfied (for now) with the level of work being demanded by my clients.<\/p>\n Then out of the blue, I received a call from Victoria Rock of Chronicle Books. She had come across the elaborate marketing piece I had created for The Old Lady<\/em> three years ago (yes, three years had passed) and wondered if I would send my one-of-a-kind mockup of The Old Lady<\/em> out to her. They wanted to take her over to the Bologna Children\u2019s Book Fair to see what type of response she\u2019d garner. It had taken me over 100 hours of hard labor to build her, so I was a bit nervous to let her go but figured it would be best for us both.<\/p>\n A few (very quiet and long) weeks passed before I received another call from Victoria, saying she had some good and some bad news. Confused, I requested the bad news first. She went on to notify me that The Old Lady<\/em> had been kidnapped, swiped, stolen from the book fair. Victoria immediately consoled my broken heart, saying everything would be alright, because soon there\u2019d be thousands more of her out and about<\/a><\/strong>. And so it began. <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Can you please point readers to your web site and\/or blog?<\/font> <\/p>\n Jeremy<\/font><\/strong>: www.jeremyholmesstudio.com\/<\/a><\/strong>; twitter.com\/jeremysdesk<\/a><\/strong>; www.facebook.com\/jeremyholmesstudio<\/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 Jeremy<\/font><\/strong>: I\u2019m currently working with the fantastic Rebecca Sherman of Writers House<\/a><\/strong> on my first author\/illustrated picture book and a graphic novel, but it\u2019s all still too raw to provide any pictures\/pages. <\/p>\n But don\u2019t fret, there\u2019s still a few things I can share. I recently created a piece for Tiny Pencil<\/a><\/strong> … <\/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 [Ed. Note: All of the images in this response are from <\/em>Poem-mobiles<\/a><\/strong>.]<\/em><\/p>\n Jeremy<\/strong><\/font><\/strong>: I begin every project with a mind map. It\u2019s quite simple: I just take a piece of paper and start writing down everything my mind knows about the subject at hand. Depending on the material, this can go on for pages. As I\u2019m recording what I know, I highlight certain subjects or thoughts that fit the mood of what I\u2019ve read; I\u2019ll make doodles and note interesting connections. After this initial brain spill, I start gathering research from books, the internet and any other pertinent sources. I stuff all of this info deep down into my noggin and then just sit and let it marinate for a bit. I imagine it\u2019s a similar process to what an actor goes through when getting ready to play a specific part. The goal of all this is to try and figure out the essence of the story — something I can bounce ideas and images off of to see if what I\u2019m creating fits and feels appropriate.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/poemmobilescover.JPG\")
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I don’t know why she swallowed a fly.<\/em> PERHAPS SHE’LL DIE.”
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\n… and I\u2019m neck-deep in the jacket and interior art for a chapter book for Simon & Schuster (all still a work-in-progress).
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\nOkay, our coffee is ready, and it’s time to get a bit more detailed with five<\/em> questions over breakfast. (We’re too busy eating English muffins for all seven.) I thank Jeremy again for visiting 7-Imp.<\/font> <\/p>\n
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