{"id":5219,"date":"2020-11-01T00:01:50","date_gmt":"2020-11-01T06:01:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=5219"},"modified":"2020-11-02T18:39:09","modified_gmt":"2020-11-03T00:39:09","slug":"7-imps-7-kicks-715-featuring-sarah-williamson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=5219","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks #715: Featuring Sarah Williamson"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\nToday, author-illustrator Sarah Williamson<\/a><\/strong> visits to talk about creating Elevator Bird<\/a><\/em><\/strong> (Knopf), which will be on shelves in late November. I’ll let her tell you about the story below. <\/p>\n

Sarah’s brightly colored illustrations are filled with the kinds of little offbeat details that make this a book that children will pore over. And fans of the Eloise<\/em> books may be especially delighted, given the book’s posh hotel setting. Sarah shares some spreads below, as well as some early sketches from the book. <\/p>\n

Let’s get to it, and I thank her for sharing. <\/p>\n

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\nSarah<\/font><\/strong>: I started working on Elevator Bird<\/em> in the summer of 2017. I had been banging my head against the wall, trying to think of a new idea. I had piles of children\u2019s books around me, which I would read and reread in hopes of getting inspiration. A few titles that surrounded me and, I think, ultimately influenced Elevator Bird<\/em> are the Eloise<\/em><\/a><\/strong> books and M. Sasek\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> This is New York<\/a><\/strong><\/em>. I sketched and sketched and, in a burst of inspiration, I drew a little bird sporting a tie and donning a hat with a feather in front of an elevator. The words came to me very easily. I remember it clearly: \u201cThis is Elevator Bird. He works at The Hotel.\u201d Below is the original sketch for the spread and cover (done digitally on a Wacom tablet) and a painted sketch of the cover.
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\nThe next three spreads came effortlessly. Elevator Bird \u201cwelcomes everyone small and tall.\u201d He loves his job and takes pride in it, as evidenced by the hat and tie. Elevator Bird is your classic cheerful and optimistic character, who has a kind word for everyone. But there is a problem. He lives in the basement with the housekeeper Mousey, but his quarters are cramped and creaky. He longs for a room with a view and a sky filled with dark lights and city lights. Once Mousey tells Mr. Rumpley, the hotel manager, about Elevator Bird\u2019s secret wish, the animals band together to make a new home for Elevator Bird on the roof. Kindness begets kindness.
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\nOne of the most fun things about the book was writing the character dialogue and visually experimenting with the characters. When I was writing the book, I was Elevator Bird<\/em> in the elevator, wishing everyone a kind word or noticing something special about each person. For me, often the best parts of life are in the details, and I truly believe that there is something special and interesting about everyone.
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\nMy wonderful editor at Knopf, Nancy Siscoe, wanted me to introduce the characters (it\u2019s a big cast) so that the reader knows who Elevator Bird\u2019s friends are and to depict them as a team. This spread was not in the original book dummy that I sent to my agent and Knopf; it came later. And I think it did the story a big service. Below is my original sketch and the final spread.
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\nI also played around with different looks for Elevator Bird. Below are some character sketches.
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\nIn the end, the final Elevator Bird ended up being close to the original sketch, except that he became plumper.<\/p>\n

Elevator Bird<\/em> is a fantasy, of course. As we know in real life, not everyone is kind. But I think it\u2019s vital for children (and adults) to read and explore positive messages so that we can all work on being better people and kind to one another. We are living in such a divided time, and this feels timely and essential. <\/p>\n

I made the book by hand using gouache, acrylic paints, and oil pastels. Below are some of the original paintings and sketches. Some spreads I painted in mostly one sitting, and others were made piecemeal. I paint on 280 gram Rives BFK printmaking paper. It\u2019s heavy and absorbs paint and water very easily.
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A final spread from the book: “Each night Elevator Bird goes back to the basement.
He loves his job, but he wishes he could get out more. Elevator Bird longs
for dark nights filled with city lights.”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge)<\/center>
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A final spread from the book: “Mousey tells Mr. Rumpley Elevator Bird’s wish.”<\/em>
(Click spread to enlarge)<\/center>
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A final spread from the book: “Mr. Rumpley calls everyone together for a secret meeting,
and they hatch a plan.”<\/em>
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\nELEVATOR BIRD. Copyright \u00a9 2020 by Sarah Williamson. Published by Alfred A. Knopf, New York. All images reproduced by permission of Sarah Williamson.<\/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

* * * Jules’s Kicks * * *<\/strong><\/font>
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I think I’ll just share this week this video that illustrator Rob Dunlavey shared with me. We’re all feelin’ it, right? I hope everything goes as well as it possibly can for this week’s election. Everyone, please stay stafe. And hopeful!
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