Today I want to introduce you to the book, The Meadow. It’s a book our whole family enjoys and Bracken requests for us to read. Awhile ago our market friend, Nancy, told us about a book she was going to be illustrating. We were excited for her (we love her artwork!) and looked forward to seeing what she came up with. Then she asked if we would be interested in being models for some of the illustrations and she came by our house for a photo shoot. Though most of the pictures from that day didn’t end up working out for the illustrations, there are some familiar snippets here and there throughout the book and certain pages that remind me of Jeff and Bracken that I just adore.
I had the pleasure of interviewing both the author, Eliel, and the illustrator, Nancy. I’m grateful to them both for taking the time to share with me and all of you about their work. Below you’ll see Eliel’s interview first, followed by Nancy’s. After reading, you’ll have a new appreciation for all that went into the creation of this book. (And at the end you’ll see the details of the giveaway. Yes, one lucky winner will receive a free copy of The Meadow!)
You can purchase the book, The Meadow, at the Holiday Market in Eugene, Oregon in both Eliel’s booth (143A) and Nancy’s booth (183 starting Dec.6.) It’s also available in Eugene at Tsunami Books and J. Michaels Booksellers. And it’s available online on Eliel’s website and on amazon. Nancy has more of her beautiful artwork available on her website.
How long have you been telling stories?
Eliel: I’ve been writing and telling stories since the age of eight. I told many tales to my three kids, Holly, Max and Maia as they were growing up, and also to hundreds of preschool children over the years.
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What inspired your book The Meadow?
Eliel: The Meadow was inspired by experiences I had when I was young. I would go outside, lie on the grass and listen to the stories of the grass, leaves, trees, wind, rocks. I thought everything was alive with stories, and that they were really important because grownups came home and talked about their day, my older brothers and sister told stories about school, and there were always stories on TV and at the movies. Actually writing the story was really quick, maybe an hour or two at the most. I originally wrote it in 2002, and then submitted it to the 2004 East of Eden Writers Conference in Monterey California, and won first prize.
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Was The Meadow a story you’d been telling for a long time or a sudden inspiration?
Eliel: I get my ideas from everyday life, but I don’t really try to write, the stories and poems just bubble up and want to be written down.
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What would you like to tell people about your new book?
Eliel: I think that the storyteller’s beard grows, because any time we tell or listen to a story, we grow in some way. I think that the Meadow is really for every age, because we can all relate to either being the storyteller who travels from place to place, the child who has to grow up and leave home, the mom who has to let go of her child, the king who wants things to stay the same, or the townspeople who want to dream of faraway places, but need to stay put.
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Do you have any other books in the works?
Eliel: I have written 10 stories ready to be put into book form, and my illustrator and I have already chosen the next one.
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How did you come up with the images for The Meadow?
Nancy: I carried the story around with me around everywhere, as well as a notebook. I pondered the story- the deeper meaning as well as the written words. ( I read the story over and over and over again and never tired of reading it. Each time, the story reached me at yet another level that had not touched me before.) I circled the phrases that presented themselves as easy visuals to me – images in my mind that automatically appeared when I read the words. I then made quick, simple sketches of the ideas and compositions, making notes on the sidelines. (See attached) (As I began imagining the scenes I would create for the story, I realized that being the illustrator for a children’s book posed great responsibility. I recall impact that storybook illustrations had on me as a child, and as an adult, some are still etched in my mind. It is extraordinarily gratifying to be the very first to create images for a story- knowing that they are not just another rendition of someone else’s work and imagination.) My sketches are usually indecipherable to others, but for me, they hold enough information to begin my final drawing. All of the images that originally came to my mind appear as final illustrations in the book, with the exception of two. Two phrases- “He kept resisting his mother’s attempts to pull him away, and no matter how hard she tried, it seemed he was stuck to the old man’s beard.” and “…the huge beard balloon floated up high into the sky with the old man dangling beneath it.”- did not lend themselves to images that would be pleasant visual memories if interpreted literally – as in my Virgoness I naturally tend to want to do. You might be able to imagine the scenes! I chose, instead, to draw a mother giving a loving send away embrace to her child, and in the other, depicted a glowing, drifting, beard balloon star.
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Tell us about the process of your paintings.
Nancy: Before plunging into the actual drawing process, I began to collect photos and look for models for the things that I would include in each illustration. I find it very easy to draw and paint what I see right in front of my eyes, but to imagine a scene and then go about producing the drawing and figuring out perspectives and all that is quite tricky and time consuming for me. Once the drawing is complete, the painting fun begins. I started out thinking that I would use live models, since there were so many different poses and people in the images I wanted to create. And, of course, as you know, Taryn, you and Jeff and Bracken were my first models! We did a wonderful little photo shoot, in which Bracken was quite the star! Then I began wading through the dozens of photos I took to find just the right ones. At this point, I realized that if I didn’t shoot the exact pose I needed for an illustration, the photos were not of much use. After creating the first couple of illustrations, I realized that the next ones would need many more people in them and I became overwhelmed at trying to figure out how I would round up all the models for the poses I needed, all in one place and at the same time. I then realized that I must diverge into the realm of fantasy and creativity, and not fret so much about having to make it look “real”. I remembered that it was important to Eliel for this to be a fun project for me. So I diverged from using models to trusting my own knowledge of form.
Nancy: One day, while Eliel and I were waiting to cross the street together at the Eugene Saturday Market, she looked over to me and asked, “Do you ever illustrate children’s stories? I have several that I would like illustrated?” Now this seems like an innocent enough question, but my heart immediately sunk. People tend to envy artists and romanticize that being an artist is a “gift’, believing that it comes quickly and easily. The” gift” part is the mind, but bringing the mind’s vision into two dimensional form can be very laborious and takes practice, patience, perseverance, intense focus, study and time. Having had the experience of having dozens and dozens of people over the course of my adulthood ask me to illustrate their stories for free, in hopes that one day we would both be rich from them, the question was extremely weighted in my mind. I simply and politely replied “If you have a budget for the artist, I will happily take a look at your story.” Eliel submitted about 5 short stories via email for me to read. I was immediately struck not only by the professional manner in which she presented her stories, but by the depth and consistency of each one. Not ordinary ho hum stories, but rich, meaningful stories that stir the heart and mind in wonderful ways. I was excited to let her know that I would be very honored to be the illustrator for The Meadow.
Nancy: Yes, I illustrated an adapted version of The Rabbit’s Umbrella by George Plimpton. Poet laureate, Lawson Inada, who was my poetry instructor in college, asked if I would be willing to illustrate the adaption. I created black and white drawings that turned out quite nice and I enjoyed creating animal characters for the first time. I was surprised that I could make them look so animated. It was a fun project. Unfortunately, Kid’s Matter Inc., the company that was going to publish the book folded before it was ever produced. Years later, Ariel S. Winter, who has a blog showcasing out of print children’s books and little known and never published writers and illustrators, wrote to ask if he could include my illustrations included in his blog, which he did.
Nancy: Eliel just handed me the story and told me that her work was done. She said, “Do whatever you want to do, I totally trust you! Let the story be what it wants to be.” It was an artist’s dream- to be handed a project and not be given any stipulations whatsoever. It is extremely stressful and hindering to try to second-guess what someone else wants when they are trying to convey an idea they have in their own mind. What my minds’ eye sees and what theirs sees never matches up. So to be given free reign to do whatever I wished to was the most I could ever ask for ! When I began painting and showed Eliel the first illustrations, she exclaimed, “How did you know the little boy had red hair?!” We both just smiled.
International entries are welcome. The giveaway will be open through Thursday, November 27th and the lucky winner will be chosen (and sent an e-mail with the happy news) on Friday, November 28th.
To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment in this post (located at the top of this post.) Simple as that.
Congrats Cris! The winner is Cris, who wrote:
“It would be wonderful to have this to read to the little ones. Beautifully illustrated as well. Thank you.”
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Thanks for the giveaway Eliel and Nancy!
Jenna Oh says
This sounds like a lovely book! 🙂 Hope I win it 🙂
Anja says
I would love to read this book to my little boy, just stunning artwork! Thank you!
Cris says
It would be wonderful to have this to read to the little ones. Beautifully illustrated as well. Thank you.
Angela says
Beautiful artwork. Thank you!
Sophie says
thank you for the chance.
Taryn says
Would love to read this beautiful work to my kiddos! Thanks!
Dana says
We are a family of ‘readers’! This is such a beautiful book – I’d love to have it in our library!
Susannah K says
Wow!!! Beautiful work! I just recently started practicing with watercolors and it is quite the process, I can imagine all the detail it took for the illustrations. Would make a great Gift 🙂
Libby says
Looks like a great book Thank you!
grandma julie says
So fun to hear “the story behind the story!” 🙂
Sonja says
I have a collection of beautifully illustrated children’s books. I always thought I’d like to do one myself. I think children really benefit from having books illustrated with really beautiful art – it develops an appreciation early on. Much more magical than simple, ‘cartoony’ drawings. Great illustrations stimulate their already incredible imaginations. You can get so lost in them and put off the urge to just turn the page. Much more like entering the story yourself. I would love to have a copy of this book to read to my grandson. If I don’t win the drawing, I will definitely buy one at Market. Great interviews, also.
Sherry says
I love children’s books, this one looks beautiful! Thank you so much!
Max says
love it!
Robin says
such a lovely book! thank you
Heather Joy says
Wow! Those are some gorgeous paintings! They make me wish I was a little girl again… 🙂
darla says
Very nice… thanks for the chance.
victoria says
This looks to be an interesting book for young children. I love kid’s books that have detailed illustrations not only because they are more interesting for the listener but help connect the listener with the story in a more concrete way. I have a 2 year old and 4 year old great niece and nephew who would love this book as an extra Christmas present.
Shirley says
Books are a favorite when grandchildren come.
Beautiful work in this one. . Thanks.
sarah says
such lovely artwork and artists too,this would be an amazing addition to my childrens ever growing collection of stories.
MNPglass says
We can never have too many books! thanks
Forestfirefarm says
many thanks! Books are the best giveaway!
Robin says
That artwork is stunning, great colors!
Max says
beautiful!!
Kris Sherrill says
Wow, what a beautiful book! I would love to win this. And how fun to have Jeff and Bracken as inspiration too.
Beverly says
Always looking for good books with beautiful art work to read to my grandson. This one looks amazing.
Lee Cockrum says
The artwork is totally amazing!! I’m not sure if this is the correct place to comment for the drawing?
tarynkae says
Yes, this is the correct place to leave a comment. 🙂
Beth says
Nothing I enjoy more than reading to my little girl before bed. Lovely looking book.