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\nIt is the first Sunday of the month (in the last month of the year — WHUT), and so that means today I welcome a student or newly-graduated illustrator. I’m happy to have Susan Haejin Lee<\/a><\/strong> visiting. She graduated last year and tells me more about her work below and shares more images, so let’s get right to it. <\/p>\n
I thank her for sharing. Be sure to visit her site<\/a><\/strong> for more art. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Susan<\/font><\/strong>: Hey! I\u2019m Susan Haejin Lee, and I am a loud and proud Korean-American illustrator. I graduated from Washington University in St. Louis<\/a><\/strong> in the Spring of 2017, where I studied under the esteemed John Hendrix<\/a><\/strong> and Douglas B. Dowd<\/a><\/strong>. My illustrations tend to center around themes of travel and celebrating internationalism. Here is some information on some of my favorite pieces: All images reproduced by permission of Susan Haejin Lee.<\/em><\/p>\n 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 I love seeing Susan’s art, and I imagine good things in her illustrating future. <\/p>\n 1)<\/strong><\/font> Reading about Little Willow!<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n 2)<\/strong><\/font> Ed Harcourt’s<\/a><\/strong> new instrumental album, which is especially lovely on a cold winter’s day: 4)<\/strong><\/font> Khaled Hosseini’s<\/a><\/strong> beautiful new book: 6)<\/strong><\/font> This<\/a><\/strong> is hardly a kick, but the kick is that I’m grateful for Trevor Noah’s smart, honest words. <\/p>\n
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\nWhile I was in school, I digitally emulated a printmaking process by scanning in \u201cplates\u201d of pen and ink drawings and altering the colors in Photoshop. I love being surprised when the plates overlap digitally to create areas of new colors. I try to use a variety of textures, because I\u2019ve found that this method best allows me to visually emulate a wide variety of colors, even when I\u2019m only using two color “plates.” However, I\u2019ve recently discovered that I enjoy illustrating most when I\u2019m working off of the computer, so lately I\u2019ve been experimenting with going back to my more traditional fine arts training roots. It\u2019ll be interesting to see how that affects my current style.
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this was featured in their August 2018 issue<\/em>
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\nI enjoy myself most when I\u2019m telling stories. I was absolutely enamored with Roald Dahl<\/a><\/strong> while growing up, and I even wrote my first research paper in high school on Matilda<\/a><\/strong><\/em>. Those stories helped me develop how I view the world, and it\u2019s a wonderful feeling to do that for children today. I try to really pay attention to being inclusive of minorities in my illustrations, especially since there tends to be a lack of representation in children\u2019s books. My goal is to make books that help children feel safe in this scary world, just like how Roald Dahl did for me. <\/p>\n
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\nNow Boarding<\/em> [above] is my senior thesis about finding a sense of home in the airport and a place of multicultural intersections. Ever since my first trip to South Korea in 1998, I have been fascinated with airports. Growing up as a child of South Korean immigrants in Atlanta, Georgia, I struggled to find a sense of belonging. The airport was the one place that seemed to encompass my two identities; I felt that I could fully accept my Korean-American status in the diverse environment of the airport \u2014 a place where people understand and accept that you are culturally from somewhere else, a place of transition.
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\nWe Have Now Arrived<\/em> [above] is an extension of Now Boarding<\/em> and captures the timeless and symbolic reunions we see every day at airports between friends and families and those who have just arrived. The mural stretches 34 feet across three sides of a conveyor system atop the U.S. customs baggage carousel in Terminal 2. The Airport commissioned my work as part of the renovation of the Federal Inspection System (FIS) area completed earlier this year.
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\nThis is a personal piece, inspired by Amy Tan’s<\/strong><\/a> “Mother Tongue,”<\/strong><\/a>, which is a written piece about how her mother’s accent and “broken” English affected her writing for the better. <\/p>\n
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\n3)<\/strong><\/font> The television we’ve watched lately, including Homecoming<\/a><\/strong><\/em> but, most especially, My Brilliant Friend<\/a><\/strong><\/em>. <\/p>\n
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\n5)<\/strong><\/font> A Tiny Desk Concert<\/a><\/strong> from a band I’ve loved for a long time.<\/p>\n