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\nI’ve got some local talent today, Nashville artist Sarah Kaufman<\/a><\/strong>, whose picture book The Circus<\/em><\/strong><\/a> (Greenleaf Book Group) is out on shelves. She will also have a book launch<\/a><\/strong> next Saturday, June 13, at Parnassus Books at 2:00 p.m., where she will do a reading and answer questions. <\/p>\n
As you’ll read below, Sarah used some of her existing paintings to create this book. I had the pleasure of meeting her in person recently, and she has a real passion for children’s literature and learning even more about picture book-making. (This is the first picture book she’s both written and illustrated.) She has a BFA in Painting and an MAT in Education and taught for many years. She’s a big believer in nurturing children’s creativity: “Look at art, make art, read books, and write stories,” she says. “That creativity is in everyone; it just needs a little encouragement.”<\/p>\n
Below, she tells us more about herself and shares some paintings from the book. I turn things over to her now, and I thank her for visiting. <\/p>\n
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As far as children’s books go, I am a huge fan of Maurice Sendak<\/a><\/strong>, not only for his amazing illustrations, but also for his willingness to tell a strong story. And Maxfield Parrish<\/a><\/strong>, illustrator extraordinaire. When I was a kid, I used to copy his illustrations in my sketchbook, and my mom would critique them for accuracy. It really helped me with drawing. The illustrations from Alice Adventures in Wonderland<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, The Chronicles of Narnia<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, the original Oz books<\/a><\/strong> by L. Frank Baum<\/a><\/strong>, and the paintings of Alphonse Mucha<\/a><\/strong> all had a big effect on me as a child. My first experience illustrating was The Tale of Bambu Mouse<\/em><\/strong><\/a> by Marianne Bouldin. It is a charming story about a little mouse in China, who learns lots of lessons about home, friendship, and patience. The book also incorporates Chinese phrases, so the reader can learn a little about Chinese language along the way. I lived in China for a year, teaching English, and Marianne Bouldin’s grandmother was Chinese, so it was really fun to draw on those experiences to make the book. Because of my career as a painter, the illustrations were the driving force for this story. They had been painted previously and worked into a story after the fact. As I paint, I am always telling myself the narrative of the painting — something is always happening visually, and there is always tension in it. I always wanted to bring the stories of these pieces together as a children’s book, but the business of being a painter and a mother took so much time. It was one of those dreams on the back burner. I paint on canvas. The first thing I do is lay down a texture of plaster and gesso. I seal that by applying many translucent layers of acrylic paint, very loose and messy and chaotic. I mostly use giant brushes, paper towels, and paint splatters. After I get the ground of the painting rich and exciting, I stop and let an image or idea come to me. Then I get the oil paint and render it on the abstract background. The idea for the painting develops as I paint it, so the process it very integral to the work itself. After the book launch, there are a few projects on the calendar. I have a show in Madison, Wisconsin (Art Fair on the Square<\/a><\/strong>), and an exhibit at Blend Studio<\/a><\/strong> in Nashville. I am in Proto Pulp book fair in Nashville as well — and have a list of commissions to paint in between it all. And in March, I am the featured artist, along with sculptor Preston Farabow<\/a><\/strong>, at the Webb School in Knoxville. We will be creating a circus installation, complete with performers! Note for any new readers: 7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks is a weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you. New kickers are always welcome. <\/p>\n
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\nDuring this time, I have to say, though, my biggest influences were my mother and father. My mother is an artist, and she guided and encouraged me in drawing and painting. My father is a storyteller, and we used to take long walks and he would make up stories about “The Bubble Man,” who would create a giant bubble to transport me, my brother, and himself to any time, any place. The stories were fascinating, and listening to my dad create them on the spot was one of my favorite things to do. This enormous encouragement and modeling of creativity and development of my imagination laid the foundation for all my work today.
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\nI was amazed at how the illustrations influenced the story. Obviously, the story is the inspiration behind the illustrations. But surprisingly, as I created the paintings, Marianne was able to further edit and change the story, because it was clear that some elements were fully realized in the illustrations. What a wonderful way to edit a book and completely integrate the words and pictures! It was an fantastic experience, because I learned how a children’s book is created — from the ground up. A huge amount of work but so rewarding! At that point, I was hooked.
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\nMy current book is The Circus<\/em>, and I both wrote and illustrated it. The reader is brought along with the audience of a mysterious circus. The patrons arrive in magical contraptions to be entertained by an assortment of surreal and magical performers. Flying boats, floating animals, rhinos on stilts. It is written for younger children, and my intention is for each page to create an opportunity for the parent and the child to talk about the mysterious and surreal images. Like my parents encouraging my imagination as a child, my hope is that it gives other parents and kids the opportunity to go off on some creative tangents as well.
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for the First Time:<\/font><\/strong><\/center><\/p>\n
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\nOne day, I decided to give it a try. I looked over all the circus paintings I had done over the past several years and used some of them to form a narrative. It is not a traditional story line, but rather like a true visit to a circus. There is the journey to the carnival itself, and then the beginning of the show, then all of the performers and their acts, and finally the end of the show and the circus moves on. It is set up more like an art exhibit; you go from one painting to the next on a trip through an experience, rather than the traditional protagonist, antagonist, conflict, and resolution plot line.
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\nI chose to self-publish using Greenleaf Book Group<\/a><\/strong>, mainly because of my impatience! Once I wrote it, I was ready to go and did not want to wait to be picked up by a publishing house or have the story changed. I had my vision for the story, and I didn’t want to deviate from it. I decided to use Kickstarter<\/a><\/strong> to get it funded, and it was an awesome experience. The energy of getting so many orders for books from all over the world was an amazing and validating thing. And with Kickstarter, if you don’t reach your goal, you don’t get any of the money, so the stakes are high! It was a real nail-biter. Once the goal was reached, I paid the balance on the publishing, and Greenleaf did an amazing job of laying out the book, giving me editing suggestions, and publishing it. Once it arrived, I was over the moon!
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\nTHE CIRCUS. Copyright \u00a9 2015 by Sarah Kaufman. Published by Greenleaf Book Group, Austin, TX. Illustrations here reproduced by permission of Sarah Kaufman.<\/em><\/p>\n
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