{"id":4740,"date":"2018-10-17T09:22:01","date_gmt":"2018-10-17T15:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=4740"},"modified":"2018-10-17T09:39:42","modified_gmt":"2018-10-17T15:39:42","slug":"pearl-a-visit-with-molly-idle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=4740","title":{"rendered":"Pearl<\/em>: A Visit with Molly Idle"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Early sketch and final spread: “Some tended to the towering forests of kelp
rising from the ocean floor.”<\/em>
(Click each to enlarge)<\/center>
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\nAuthor-illustrator Molly Idle<\/a><\/strong> visits 7-Imp today to talk about her newest picture book, Pearl<\/a><\/strong><\/em> (Little, Brown, October 2018). It’s the story of a small mermaid, eager for a big job. When her mother tells her that Pearl’s job is to care for and keep safe a single grain of sand, Pearl is disappointed. She doesn’t truly hear her mother’s words: “The smallest of things can make a great difference, Pearl.” (And that’s all I’ll tell you about the plot so that I don’t ruin the read for you.)<\/p>\n

Molly is here to talk today about creating the book, and she shares work-in-progress images and final art from this glimmering beauty of a thing, filled as it is with flowing lines, expert compositions, and a drop-dead gorgeous palette. Let’s get to it, and I thank her for sharing. <\/p>\n

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Jules<\/font><\/strong>: What is the genesis (the pearl, if you will!) of this story?<\/font><\/p>\n

Molly<\/font><\/strong>: First of all, may I just say, NICE wordplay. I am known by my family as The Sugar Pun Fairy, due to my deep and abiding love of good puns (and bad puns \u2014 any puns at all, really). But I digress. Let\u2019s dive* back into your question. <\/p>\n

* Sorry about that. See** what I mean?<\/p>\n

** It took all my will power to type \u201cSee\u201d and not \u201cSea\u201d in the previous footnote.
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\nJules<\/font><\/strong>: Impressive.<\/font><\/p>\n

Molly<\/font><\/strong>: The genesis of Pearl\u2019s story mirrors the creation of an actual pearl. Do you know how they\u2019re made? The whole thing begins when a single grain of sand finds its way into an oyster. <\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve ever been to the beach, you know how uncomfortable a tiny bit of sand can be when it gets stuck to you. Well, when oysters get that uncomfortable feeling, they coat the sand with a soothing, iridescent substance called nacre, also known as “mother-of-pearl.” Over time, layer upon layer of nacre is added to the sand until … ta-da! A pearl is created.<\/p>\n

A few years ago, I realized that I had been so busy with work that it had been ages since I had drawn just for fun \u2014 without a project in mind or deadlines attached. And that realization stuck in my mind, like a grain of sand in an oyster. It made me uncomfortable. So, I took out my sketchbook and started to draw. Without a plan. Without a purpose. Drawing just for the sheer joy of making lines on a page. And when I put down my pencil, there was a mermaid.
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\nI\u2019ve always loved mermaids. Drawing one felt so good that I drew another the next day. Then another. And another. As happiness is best when shared, I started sharing my mermaids on Instagram.
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\nAnd that\u2019s when my agent, Steve Malk<\/a><\/strong>, wrote to me saying that he loved the mer-drawings I had posted and asked if I thought they could become something more. And I said something like, You mean like greeting cards? Or like a calendar? No, no wait. Paper dolls!<\/em> To which Steve said something, like: I was thinking more like … a book.<\/em><\/p>\n

A few days later I drew this:
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\n… and I knew I wanted to tell her story.<\/p>\n

Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Was it daunting to create an original mermaid tale in a world filled with many of them?<\/font><\/p>\n

Molly<\/font><\/strong>: Again, \u201ca mermaid TALE\u201d? Jules, you\u2019re a wordsmith after my own heart. We\u2019re PUN PALS.<\/p>\n

Jules<\/font><\/strong>: I didn’t even mean<\/em> to do that.<\/font>
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Early sketches and final spread: “Some guarded the giants of the deep.
And Pearl deeply yearned to be one of them.”<\/em>
(Click each to enlarge)<\/center>
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\nMolly<\/font><\/strong>: More daunting to me than the thought of creating an original mermaid tale was the prospect of creating any tale using so many words. I am so<\/em> much more comfortable communicating my ideas visually than I am verbally. And the prospect of creating a story that was neither wordless (like the Flora<\/em> books) nor a how-to guide (like the Rex<\/em> books) \u2014 but a traditionally-told tale \u2014 terrified me. <\/p>\n

And that\u2019s what convinced me to try it. I always want to keep pushing myself as an artist. And if I\u2019m completely comfortable with the the process, I know I\u2019m not challenging myself. I often think of this David Bowie clip:
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