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| The Mitten's newest banner by Lori Eslick |
Kendall, Hallmark artist, aneurysm, plein air, Favorite Inch: Featured Illustrator Lori Eslick
Charlie Barshaw coordinates our regular Writer Spotlight feature and interviews writers of SCBWI-MI. In this piece, meet artist and writer, Lori McElrath Eslick.
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| Photo by Jennifer Green |
You’ve said as an early student your favorite time was when you got to draw
and paint, so you were an artist from the start. Did you like the colors, the
shapes, the tools, the paper? What drew young Lori into the world of art?
Crafts. I loved to do
crafts.
I didn’t necessarily have the right tools to make art while
growing up. I loved to draw, and paper around my rural house was at a premium. Meaning with 4 kids, we all fought to get our hands on paper.
My brothers and
I loved cartoons, such as Charles Schultz and in our teens: Mad Magazine. Maybe
that tells you too much about my artistic leanings. I love the line-work of
these artists, and did grow to love drawing.
And drawing (according to my
Kendall professor) is the basis of all art.
Kendall College of Art andDesign was an obvious choice for an artist. Were you painting with watercolor
and oil in high school? Was there any concern that you were choosing the life
as a “starving artist”?
When I talk at schools
(to anyone, really) I will tell them that I’d never met a ‘working artist’
except my art teachers in high school/middle school. So the concept of making a
living as an artist wasn’t on my radar.
I feel particularly happy
to tell young people “I am here to tell you…that I am a working artist, you can
do this too!” Of course it is hard, it wasn’t easy for van Gogh (extreme
example warning!) either. However it is a burning desire for me (most people,
my opinion) to create. I do ‘get that’.
As far as painting, my high school art
teacher was a very good teacher, and it was he who encouraged my parents to
send me to Kendall. So I applied and presented my high school art portfolio,
and got in to Kendall.
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| Magpie postcard |
While there I did illustrate my projects in watercolor,
not so much in acrylics. The oils came much later, when I could afford to
invest in the paint & supplies. So I guess you can say that I am (mostly)
self taught in both oils and watercolor, because our illustration classes didn’t
teach us “how-to’ with the various art mediums. Rather, our instructors taught
us a lot of drawing and design. We accomplished it with the materials of
choice. I chose to illustrate in collage in pen and ink often, as it was the
least expensive way to get my illustration ideas across.
You helped change a policy at Kendall. How?
At the time when I was at Kendall, the office of ‘placement’ only lined up three companies (most likely the companies contacted Kendall) to interview us graduating Illustration students.
They were: a sign company in Indiana, American Greetings Card Company, and Hallmark Greeting Cards. We could sign up to interview for only them.
I questioned them only lining up 3 companies at the time.
Fast forward times have changed: I was a speaker/portfolio reviewer this past Fall at the college, and the Children’s book illustration class there invited myself and several other working illustrators that same week to come in to talk about our careers, and the possibilities for illustration students.
I am happy to also report that I told the students about Bologniafiere and one of the students entered right then and there!
You were recruited by
Hallmark Cards. Did that mean you had to move to Kansas City? Laurie Keller
also followed that path. Did you two meet somewhere along the way?
Hallmark did interview
me at Kendall, and then they flew me in to Kansas City: their headquarters to
interview me there. Which I did, and because it was my first plane ride I didn’t
interview well. Meaning I was still a little nerved up (shall we say) from the
airplane ride over Lake Michigan, and had to excuse myself from some of the
face to face interviewing. Yet, as I also share with students, the portfolio
speaks for itself. Or at least it should.
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| 4x6 postcard image |
Ironically, Laurie Keller and I had a very similar path, a year apart (I’m older, she’s wiser): same small town, we both went to Kendall (different years) she and I were hired
and consequently worked at Hallmark also different years, as I left prior to her
starting. However, I continued working for Hallmark freelance and she was in
house…we shared some friends at Hallmark even. But we didn’t meet till we both
met at a West Michigan Bookstore signing. And as nice as she is: she explained
that she’d heard about me at Hallmark, etc.
Since Hallmark recruited artists
around the country, you got to know the few artists who were from your state.
Alas, we didn’t meet till we both moved back to Michigan, and back to the
Muskegon area, as I’d said: where we are both from.
You were born a “blue baby,” due to poor circulation.
You were having a routine exam when a bulge in a valve indicated an aneurysm in
process. Your mother had died during surgery for a brain aneurysm three years
previously. How did you prepare yourself for heart surgery?
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| Young Lori |
Oh, you have seen my
TED X Muskegon talk (about this)! Yes, I was born a blue baby, the circulation
was poor as my bicuspid heart valve
should have been a (normal, like everyone’s) tricuspid valve. Fast forward after
lots of doctors ‘watching’ that valve,
and it never ‘interfering’ in my life to a happen to catch an aneurysm (s) of
the type that killed the actor John Ritter.
Because aneurysms are silent
killers…just boom, and well you know. My mom had a headache and the brain scan
showed a difficult to fix aneurism in her brain stem. My two surgeries have
held me in ‘good stead’.
And what I can say is that we never know with our
lives…what is around the corner. So it is best to do good (also turns out that
doing positive things for others is good for our own hearts) and what we
wish to do with our lives. Like Children’s books for the most important people
in this world: CHILDREN!!
To answer: I am very
lucky that the aneurysms were monitored and
they were found/scanned ‘at surgical size’ when they were found, yet not
emergency surgeries.
I am fortunate that the University of Michigan Frankel Heart Center (the good guys) did my open heart surgeries and now monitor the
aneurysms (I had and the ones I now have) as well as my heart valve that was
replaced with a pig valve.
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| Sydney paints |
I am blessed to have a team at U of M that MRI scans
me regularly, because now there are and will be no surprises, and possible
surgery fixes. I now know three people who have died suddenly of undetected
heart aneurysms, at young ages, sadly. All 3 adults were very healthy runners,
hikers, etc.
So I say all of this to let you all know if you have a family
history of aneurisms get checked out, as this is genetic.
I am uncomfortable
sharing this with you all, as, 2 things: we all go through something, I am
aware this is hard for me, and you have your difficulties that you are going
through…life gets tough for all of us!
Secondly,
I am sharing more health information to possibly help someone. If you have a
family history of aneurisms, please look into your genetics. If this
information is of use to you, my message maybe helpful to you, or a family
member and friends are family too, I only say this to help. Please, because we
need you!!
It was scary to go to
the same hospital that my Mom did and consequently died of the surgery not
working out for her. Scary to be scanned in the same department, even. And I am
claustrophobic too!
You’ve told the story of searching the doctor’s office for something, anything, to take away the anxiety of an
impending dangerous operation. You found the photo of a bicycle leaning against
a fence and sketched it in your artist’s
journal. How did this help calm you?
I was more surprised
than anyone! Yet, I did know to bring my sketchbook, which is pretty telling,
no? Who brings a sketchbook to a heart surgeon’s appointment, especially the
appointment to tell me about my impending open heart surgery?
I found the picture on the wall, a bicycle in France and sketched it, immediately I felt myself
grow calmer, more relaxed. Drawing is something I do to practice my art
with ‘down time’, but this was epic. No idea that it would help me so
much.
I have now taken to bringing sketchbooks
to waiting rooms such as the MRI waiting rooms, and leave instructions for the
folks who are going to have a scan for whatever they are going through to write
or draw in them.
The results are stunningly, heart wrenchingly, beautiful! A
tech at University of Michigan ‘watches’ over the books. If one fills up, she
alerts me, etc. The drawings and writings that people do in the sketchbooks are
such a saving grace, I know.
You were on deadline when
this unexpected operation happened. THE GOOD FIRE HELMET’s story had more significance, spoke more
deeply to you, after your successful surgery. Can you talk more about it?
THE GOOD FIRE HELMET is
a story about the death of a dad: a fireman, without mentioning what his two
surviving sons are afraid of, but one of the boys saves the other from
drowning. Sometimes we (like the boys in the story) are afraid of things
unseen, like the fear of dying. I often feel so very fortunate that the
aneurism (s) were found, and repaired. And in the open heart surgeries, I am so
very fortunate to have a surgeon, and to be able to have and survive the
surgeries. Especially since I personally have known 3 people who have died
young of undetected aneurisms.
The story almost always makes me cry to tell it
to the children in the audience. As children know fear, and they also know
courage. The fireman author: Tim Hoppey wrote the story to honor a friend who
died in the twin towers; he was also a first responder there as well.
I think more seriously
about the projects and the work I do take on as our lives are very short. If we
can do the art & writing that we really want to do, what a wonderful
thing! If and I do art/illustration for my work, what a wonderful thing I get
the honor to do! I am grateful to be illustrating for ‘product’ too.
You are famous for your
plein air painting. You’ve got a small wooden suitcase that opens up
into a tripod and pallet and paints and stand for your canvas. When did you first
paint in nature, in plein air?
You stumped me with
this question, as I cannot remember when I first brought paints out of doors to
paint with. I didn’t have the fancy (and it still is, though I acquired it some
time ago!) box. It is now over 20 years old and the maker has come up with
fancy add ons … but I’ve found the simple “Guerrilla” brand box serves me just
fine.
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| Lori plein air painting the Pacific Ocean |
I always loved nature, observing what it has to show us. As a college
student I became aware of the Michigan Magazine, the art director was the now
famous children’s book illustrator: Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen
…and I wanted his
job! In a round about way, I got ‘his job’, as I am a children’s book
illustrator, and have painted many a wildlife painting. To answer: I remember
drawing from life as a teen. I would try to find paper to draw with (not
abundant at my home growing up), and pencil or pen and draw flowers or animals
and both were in abundance on our 40 acres.
Not an abundance of neighbors,
really none except the kids a country block away who I babysat for… so I really
did ‘hone in on nature’. Now I find I cannot get enough of trying to paint her.
You’ve got more than 20 books that you’ve
illustrated, for publishers large and independent. What are some of your
favorite illustrations?
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| Carrying the Future |
My very favorite
painting that I’ve done, has been published in the picture book, MOMMY POEMS edited and written by John Micklos, Jr. It was also chosen and in the Society of
Illustrators. I’ve had lots of wonderful confirmation that the
painting is good. It is titled “Carrying the Future”, and it is still my
favorite paintings that I’ve done.
Most all of my paintings are for sale. Most of the paintings of my kids such as the cover of
DOES GOD KNOW HOW TO TIE SHOES? are not for sale. As an illustrator I think
it helps to not think in terms of our art as ‘precious’, because it is
initially done ‘for other’.
Some other favorites of mine are emotional works
inside/interior paintings, for various
books, I find it fun that kids get our best art. I imagine a child reading
along and being ‘gifted’ our best art, while they learn to read.
In the story:
READ FOR ME, MAMA, by Vashanti Rahaman, I like the painting that I did showing
the Momma telling a story to her son. The picture book is about a Mom who ends
up confessing that she doesn’t know how to read, always gets me in the heart
when I tell this story because we all know someone who ‘struggles’ with their
reading.
I like a cover art painting that I did for Cricket Magazine titled:
Lost Lake.
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| Lost Lake |
One of my favorites that received the Magazine Merit Award from
SCBWI was for a painting done titled, “Paints”, no surprise that I really
enjoyed painting “PAINTS”.
You introduced Ruth and
Leslie Helakoski to the concept of the “Favorite Inch.” Please
explain.
O.k. but this may take
a while…
I got my first illustration job at Hallmark Greeting Cards in Kansas
City, MO right after Kendall College of Art and Design. Yay!
While there
another artist friend and I would be very critical of our own artwork (even
before our work was critiqued by our bosses!)
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| BALLAD FOR MLK |
So we came up with an idea.
Whenever we took a look at each other’s work, we would ask each other, “what is
your favorite inch?” In this simple way we didn’t focus on the whole, or one
area that wasn’t working to our liking, we found the favorite part first. We
started our thing, and it did help us to feel better about our work to first
find our “Favorite Inch” of the art rather than cringe immediately about the
whole work.
As a mentor to Leslie (Initially, as a SCBWI sponsored
event) and in our writer’s group I introduced both Ruth and Leslie to this
Favorite Inch concept.
When I teach a class, I point out to the
students, it seems rather a thing for us to find what doesn’t work first, but
we can also find what DOES work first. And celebrate that!
Your work has been
displayed in the Bolognafiere Annual Exhibition in Italy. How did it come to be
for your paintings to end up in an international art show? Were you able to go
yourself? What was the result?
Yes, I did get into the
Bologniafiere in Bolognia, Italy! It has been one of the highlights of my
career!! And if you have the means, and are (as we all are!) into children’s
books the Bologniafiere features picture books from around the world. It is so wonderful
to see book art and its varieties and expertise from around this world, it is
so inspiring!
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Pumpkins as displayed at the
Bologna Art Fair |
The painterly art that I did for the Cricket Magazine, cover art
and interior story titled, WHO GETS ALL THE PUMPKINS?, I entered myself (I
still am my own agent) as really I’d gotten a lot of wonderful feedback about
the illustrations for the story I’d illustrated from the Children’s book world,
such as: Trina Schart Hyman who was formerly the Art Director for Cricket
Magazine Group. As Trina kept up with the magazine after leaving this position,
she wrote to tell me she liked the illustrations. So at that time I sent the
originals (the entry requirements) to Bologna. And when I received the
notification that my art had gotten in, my family and I decided to make a trip
to Italy. My husband (high school teacher) and our daughter had to go back to the USA to resume school, but I stayed on the next week to
attend the fair after the ‘spring break trip’ of our lifetime.
I had
illustrated my very first children’s picture book in watercolor for LION Publishing, UK publisher, and was already working on the picture book for Eerdmans Books For Young Readers: DOES GOD KNOW HOW TO
TIE SHOES? when I attended. So my portfolio helped to introduce myself as a
much easier proposition, because I now had two books under my belt.
And of
course having my art in the Illustrator Exhibition was a grand conversation
opener. I did meet several American Publishers, such as Boyds Mills Press, and
after Bologniafiere, I have illustrated 3 books with them.
It also was a great
way to meet many editors, I met Arthur Levine (full circle) at the
Bologniafiere…he recognized my illustrations at the Bologniafiere Illustrator’s
Exhibition.
How do you use a camera to
aid in your painting? What is your favorite camera to use?
I do use my own photos,
and love to use my Canon digital camera. As then I can adjust the photos on my
Mac computer to my liking. I also use my smart phone now…most often. Sigh. It’s
handy, what can I say?
I’ve also illustrated for a long time so I feel certain
that I can adjust my artwork a lot to make it work. And since my style is loose
and not ‘photo realism’ it is o.k. if the photos are not including all of the
information, I know how to make it up.
Most often everything is made up…the
life of an illustrator is so dependent upon knowing how to do so. In other
words: take the information and make the composition work, rather than using
the photos and their ‘composition’ only. Awkward, one word to say it will not
be a great composition…if you are dependent upon photos including everything
you wish to see. It’s our jobs as an illustrator to make it the best image,
with all of our tools. Boy, I didn’t expect to say so much about cameras. ;)
You have compared using
oil paint as “butter. Who doesn’t love butter”? How do you determine whether to use oil or
watercolor for a particular subject? Are there other mediums you use as well?
I love all sorts of art
making mediums. All of it is ‘a candy store’. At a recent exhibition of my art,
an artist friend mentioned, “I didn’t know that you do pastel!” Well I do, and
I have a minor in printmaking too, but I
tend to pick up watercolors or oils whenever. I do enjoy the wonders of that
oil paint ‘butter’.
To choose what works best for an illustration job is one of the pure joys of
illustration. It is hard (for me) to say what dictates the reason. Sometimes it
is what I wish to ‘challenge’ myself with when I choose to paint an
illustration in oils vs watercolor. Or the size of the job. The details such as
illustrating a job in watercolor because I wish to paint more details. But I
tend to handle oils very loosely like watercolor, and I know this because many
people have assumed that my oils are done in watercolor. Butter, is good, no?
For oils, to let illustrators know: I use a dryer medium-like liquid. It is
smelly, but it will help to surface dry an oil almost overnight. I have a large
scanner, and I can scan the painting that soon. So I am not (usually) worried
about drying time with the oils for an illustration.
You’re mostly known for your art, but you’ve said, for you, the picture comes first, and then the story. Do you
have stories you’ve written?
I keep working on
picture book manuscripts. And have been published as an author in magazines. I
have lots of manuscript/stories I juggle.
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| Mehndi article in Cricket |
One time I approached Cricket
Magazine to ask the editor if they’d ever published anything about Mehndi, as I
became familiar with Mehndi after illustrating a poem in the picture book I’d
illustrated for WordSong, Boyds Mills Press titled: BAREFOOT, POEMS FOR NAKED FEET. The poem that got me wondering about the same subject matter as a non
fiction story. I approached the Editor who I work with as an illustrator at
Cricket, who then replied that they
hadn’t ever (to that point) done a story about Mehndi, and asked me to send a
proposal.
Which I did, they accepted the proposal, and I wrote a “How to do
Mehndi” a non fiction story. Even included “how - to” make a cheap version of
Mehndi paste using food coloring for kids who might not be able to purchase the
store bought paste. Science experiments always geek me out…especially when they
involve colors!
I keep trying as I say
to the picture book illustration classes that I teach, “if you don’t try, it
will not happen”. So keep after it, and
I will happen for you too.
Your art has been
exhibited around the world. How do you prepare a painting to go from your home
studio to somewhere like Italy or Japan?
The wonderful folks at
Bologniafiere pack the art to travel on…for me, probably using my packing
materials. And all has been returned to me in great care. Publishers are also
careful in their handling of my art.
To answer: Foam core.
You can purchase foam core at the dollar store. Pack something tight, meaning
make sure it is not going to slide around in its box. Make sure it is covered
in water resistant plastic, so as it will not get wet. Scan the art so as to
have a copy of the art in a printable size, because it has been rare for me,
thank goodness, but it is a risk to send it off. Insure it, as I have
(unfortunately) had paintings lost, and stolen. I say this, yet, again if you
don’t try, (to submit your art) it won’t happen.
You’ve spread your passion for art to artists young and old. How do you
fashion a lesson plan to take your years of varied experience and distill it to
a couple of hours?
Thanks so much, the
passion is real (me and art), and I do wish to inspire others to find their
passions. Life is short and I find that I tend to smile (like a loonie,
sometimes, reference to Monty Python) while I work.
I plan with the
students (that I imagine) in mind first, for instance: I teach with beginners
in mind, providing a template to paint from and then invite the students to ‘do
their own’ thing. Open ended-ness. I remember as an art student feeling ‘talked
down’ to if a teacher should do so by ‘telling rather than inviting’. I most
often offer the idea jump offs, and how to handle tools, like watercolors, and
allow students to show me what they know (NEVER by putting them on the spot,
just my observations) and wish to convey as they play (do art), and my job is
to guide with my demos…and of course: encouragement.
I love to encourage others
to do what they love. Encourage people to do their art form.
Two classes I am teaching in Picture Book
Illustration coming up:
A Watercolor Workshop,
World Building and a Character, with Lori McElrath Eslick
@ the Arts-place in Fremont,
Michigan, Feb. 8, more info.
https://www.ncca-artsplace.org/event/watercolor-workshop-with-lori-eslick/
A Picture Book
Illustration 3 day class!
Taught by Lori McElrath Eslick, Special Guests: visiting Eerdmans Books for
Young Readers Editor and Art Director!
June 10 – 12, 9 AM – 4 PM, Lowell, MI
https://lifeprocesscenter.org/events/lori-mcelrath-eslick-childrens-book-illustration-mini-class/
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