Hello, it’s been a minute. What have you been up to? What have I been up to?
Here I am being a ham, turning a wheel.
I recently finished taking an etching class at Open Studio here in Toronto. I spend so much of my creative life sitting in front of a glowing screen, I can’t tell you how nice it was to spend a few hours in the studio every week getting my hands dirty, getting out of my comfort zone, and learning some new ways of making images.
And I have to say, I love a tedious process, so etching really hit the spot. There’s something intensely satisfying about all the labour, preparation, and trial and error that goes into getting an image onto a copper plate, then finally inking it up and running it through the press to see the end result:
When I work digitally, the results are so instantaneous, it often feels lazy. And it often is, just speaking for myself. I enjoyed having a reminder that the act of making art—the effort—is often more rewarding than the end result. But what a high when both are satisfying!
I took the class with my friend, the incomparable Jillian Tamaki. I watched as she effortlessly drew this stunning image on her copper plate one evening, leaned back, and said, “God, I love drawing!”:
Agreed!
Drawing: it’s good.
2022 Alcuin Awards
Last week the winners of the 2022 Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada were announced, and I barely know what to say — In a crazy sweep, I have been awarded 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes in the Children’s category for my work with Tundra Books.
In a tie for 1st place is Thingamabob, written and illustrated by Marianna Coppo, which features a fun die-cut case and a vibrant Pantone orange throughout:
In a tie for 2nd place is Babble! and How Punctuation Saved It, written by Caroline Adderson and illustrated by Roman Muradov (who is here on Substack at DADA Issues):
And in an upset for the ages, I tied with myself for 3rd place, first with Water, Water, written by Cary Fagan and illustrated by the amazing Jon McNaught:
And then, in an especially rewarding win, with Crocodile Hungry, written by Eija Sumner (author of The Eel Report here on Substack) and illustrated by yours truly:
If you missed it, more about the making of this book in my last post:
I’m also so pleased to see an honourable mention for for my colleague Sophie Paas-Lang who designed Star: The Bird Who Inspired Mozart, written by Mireille Messier, illustrated by Matte Stephens. How great is this cover?
A huuuuge thank-you to the authors, editors, and everyone at Tundra (it takes a village, etc.), but especially to Marianna, Roman, Jon, and Matte for making our jobs easy! Just between you and me, it’s not all that difficult to make beautiful-looking books when one gets to collaborate with such talented illustrators, and any award for designing these books is one I share with them.
Until next time!
gosh I love your etching!! and a belated congrats on the wins, what stellar books.