…
OK, this is absolutely the last Thaliad decoration I’m posting until the book is launched later this year. (There have to be some surprises!) I finished it late last night, and this morning I can’t resist sharing.
…
I like the stencil too, almost as much as the design!
Clive Hicks-Jenkins' Artlog: 
Oh, that’s lovely! Simple and bold and so in keeping with the narrative and the other vignettes.
And I’ll say for Clive friends and fans who pass by that the other images are wondrous and will be worth the wait.
Hello Marly. I’m surprised (though delighted) to find you here, knowing all of the books that you’re having to get through as part of the judging process for the NBA-YPL award. But thank you for dropping by in what must be the teensiest bit of spare time you have. Your ability to do many things extremely well, astounds me!
it’s amazing how you pick just the right ‘symbol’ to capture a feeling. just from the images, i have such a strong sense of the story. for each project, you seem to have picked up a new process and made it your own…so many wonderful surprises here!
Zoe, it all comes from the text. While I didn’t take the more obvious ‘illustration’ route with this project, I did listen very carefully to the author’s poetic voice so that I could construct an atmospheric ‘landscape’ for the story and characters to inhabit. Marly did all the hard work. Thereafter I just had to empty my head and let her words be heard. Occasionally illustrators go head to head with a text, vying for attention. That, in my opinion, doesn’t work to the advantage of either. The other route which I steer clear of, is illustrating what has already been said in the text.
There’s a wonderful scene in the poem where two of the protagonists take up weapons and fight. It’s staggeringly well written, full of kinetic energy and visceral horror. A terrifying account. When I read it my mind was filled with the clashing of weapons and the stench of sweat and blood-letting. I could see how it might be played out in a film or in a graphic novel, with extraordinary view points and expressive perspectives. But then I took stock and realised that Marly had done all the work necessary. Anything I might do to illustrate her words would be a version of the same in another medium. The two, side by side, would simply cancel each other out. There is a reference to the encounter in the decorations, but it’s static, hieratic, a prelude to the violence the author unleashes so evocatively in words. I’ve made the chapter heading, but Marly delivers the chapter. That’s the way it needs to be in this book, each art form giving space to the other. They coexist without jostling for room, and that makes for a perfect marriage.
That is a very useful guide to illustration work, the “getting out of the way” approach, letting the author speak. I don’t find this approach at all surprising given your generous spirit. i confess I do love illustrators who take up arms with the author and declare their supremacy; but your approach is equally effective and wonderful. Once again I am reminded of mid-19th page ornaments, evocative yet not necessarily literal. The text sounds right up my path, you certainly collaborate with fantastic narratives.
Take care my friend, if you don’t hear from me for a bit it is only because i have difficulty typing on my phone’s keyboard- i will of course be following!
LG
That glove is sooooo sweet and tender, love it. Thanks for posting the pic of the stencil, too, Clive, I agree, it’s great too. The contrast of the stencil and collage works beautifully, it goes with what you were saying in the post yestreday about always trying new things and not getting stuck in a particular repertoire, all these pieces seem to have their own unique bit of inventiveness and experimentation going on – to wonderful effect
Marly’s narrative poem was such an inspiration to the way I approached the decorations for the book. When you read it I think you’ll see how my mind was working.
Oh yes! simple but perfect. Yes I agree the stencil is really interesting too. If I didn’t know I’d say it looked like a cut out hand on top of a darker hand shape rather than the darker shade round the ‘hole’. But did you cut out the heart stigmata or place it on top of the darker shade?
Thank you for sharing. Really looking forward to seeing the finished book.
Thanks Jacqui. I made this quite quickly… unlike the ark image that took all day… but it really hits the spot for this project, having a simple naiveté combined with the reference to human presence, both absent and present, so vital to Thaliad.
The heart ‘stigmata’ was applied over the top of the stencilled glove. Could have done it with a paper mask that would have left the negative shape, but pasting the heart on afterwards was the slightly simpler option.