Jan Brett’s Blog

CINDERS a Chicken Cinderella jacket

Happy January!

This is my January Hedge a gram, the time each month I stop working on my book and give you an update on the work I’m doing.
I’m painting very intensely the finishes of my 2013 picture book, CINDERS A CHICKEN CINDERELLA, set in olden days Russia. Most of the interior spreads are finished, I have four more to go. The jacket, probably the most crucial art in the book is finished. Marikka, one of the talented designers at my publisher, Penguin Putnam, has shown me the final design of the jacket. The “display type” is what the the letters spelling the title of my book is called. Marikka found a type face in a giant book of different type faces that looked like it came out of a fairy tale. Then a calligrapher, a person who artfully forms letters with strokes of a special pen wrote out the title and my name using the type face as a guide. The calligrapher can pull the letters closer or further apart to balance them perfectly. If you are illustrating a story of your own, the cover of a book report, or any art that incorporates lettering, you have the opportunity to reflect the content with the style of lettering. For example, if you are writing something short and humorous, like a funny short story, you might choose an informal lettering style. If you were writing a story about dragons, for another example, you could be a little playful and decorate the display type with reptilian scales. Let’s say you were writing about volcanoes. The display type could be smokey and vaporous on the top of each letter, and the gray could turn to a molten orangey red an the bottom of each letter. Next time you are in a bookstore you can see the work of some of the world’s most talented book designers on the jackets of the books. The size and shape of the letters are important, as well as where they are placed on the jacket, and the color too. Sometimes its easy to guess what kind of book it is by the display type.
In this book, I have added a fold out page showing the fancy ball at the ice palace, the place where Cinders meets the Prince Cockerel. I needed a lot of extra room to show the chickens in all their finery dancing and swirling to the music. Normally, a children’s picture book has 32 pages, but in this one instance the printer will configure the dimension of the pages so they will open up from a folded position so I will have twice as much space to draw the dancing chickens. When the pages are folded, it will look like two ornate doors carved out of ice. I admire all the different breeds of fancy chickens, and it was fun painting them and choosing ball gowns for the hens and elegant jackets and britches for the roosters. When my husband Joe and I were in St. Petersburg Russia last spring, we visited the Museum of Ethnography, where I was able to see close up, and from all sides, the traditional dress from many parts of Russia. During early January I’m visiting my daughter and her family in Okinawa, Japan. During the long flight, and a few hours each day, I work on the doors to the ice palace. Because they’re ice I mainly use the colors; ultramarine blue (a deep icy blue) Prussian blue (a turquoisey blue),Van Dyke brown(the color of coffee), and Viridian green( a mineral green with not much yellow in it). I only need a very small palette to hold those four colors and that makes it easy to balance everything when painting in a small space. I also brought a special lamp that mimics natural daylight, and it takes up almost a whole suitcase. In case you have never noticed, the light bulbs in the lamps one uses can make colors look different.
Besides working on the finishes for CINDERS I am working on the manuscript for a book titled THE ANIMAL’S SANTA , hopefully for 2014. One night last summer, at about 12:00 AM I got an idea that intrigued me so much I had to write it down. This never happens to me because my mind is most ready to be creative in the morning. I couldn’t stop writing until the whole story was written down. My editor Margaret likes it but she doesn’t think its quite complete. During my trip I will work on it by reading it over and perhaps doing a simple dummy version of the book. This is probably one of the more difficult parts about creating a book. The publisher is the final decider so I must push myself more than I normally would to get the results that will make us both happy!
Since it is the first month of the New Year, I make a New Year’s resolution. This year I’m going to be more prompt about answering emails and phone calls. I am going to pick up my art desk and surrounding work space more often and not be late on my book next year. Those are very difficult goals for me.
I hope you will begin an exciting new creative project as well.
Happy New Year! Your friend Jan Brett

    In Norgorod  Russia for CINDERS a Chicken Cinderella research

Happy December,

This is the time I stop everything to write down a few thoughts about what I’m doing with my books. Since I begin work on the story in January, December is the time I’m tying things together – in this case my “chicken” Cinderella story. I love going out to visit my chickens in their backyard coop and in our barn. It is a beautiful warm day today for December in New England, so my chickens are taking sun baths in their enclosed outdoor pen and dust baths too. The ducks are in courtship mode, so the male Mandarins and East Indies are displaying to the females. For male Mandarins, I have a colorful one like the type seen in the wild, and a pale whitish one that stretch their heads up high and spread their hood-like feathers. All of the time they call out as if making sure the female is watching. The Indies who are a beautiful beetle green-black color, flap one wing on the pond surface repeatedly, or pretend to drink over and over to impress the females. I chose a Swedish duck to play the part of the horses to pull the sleigh. The ducks are harnessed three abreast in “Troika” fashion that is traditional in Russia, and their harness is set with bells. If you’ve ever seen the movie, Dr. Zhivago, you’ll remember the indelible scene where Dr. Zhivago and Lara sleigh to the snow bedecked abandoned estate with it’s onion domes. There is much traditional architecture in the movie, but it is not suitable for children as it has adult subjects. But I was very moved and inspired by it.
My editor has dear friends that have chickens and our conversation often turns to the chicken societies we observe in our flocks. We both thought of a chicken Cinderella when we discussed different strategies for helping out the chickens who were low in the pecking order. Lately, my chickens have been getting along well together. Around Valentine’s Day when the days get longer and the females begin laying, the chickens have more intense relationships. The roosters are fun to watch as they vie for the hen’s attention. Sometimes they’ll jump up into a box of soft pine shavings and twirl around until the nest is made. Then, the rooster who by this time has rounded up an interested companion, will call to her to get her attention. The roosters really do make a lovely purring sound to coax the females onto the nest. Usually the hen will hop right up and lay her egg. When I feed live mealworms in the morning, which is their favorite treat, sometimes the roosters will forgo, instead tossing the mealworm up in the air for the hen to notice. Sometimes they gobble them up themselves, you never know. Roosters are famous for the little dance they do if they are interested in a particular hen. It involves stamping their feet in a circle around the hen, or being next to her dragging one wing on the ground. It’s hard to describe what they do with their head, but they tip it and look out of the corner of their eye. I think that is what is meant when someone says a person “cocks their head” as the expression is short for cockerel, a young rooster. I’m not sure I have been able to put in all my chicken’s body language in my book that makes watching them such a treat. Truthfully, a chicken is hard to paint and to capture its beauty. The colors and shimmer of the feathers is gorgeous. When I do go to poultry shows where there are thousands of chickens exhibited, all sparkling clean and in top condition, it is enchanting to see all the varieties of color and patterns. Lacing, stripes, spots and spangles to say nothing of the iridescence of most plumage and you have a chicken fashion show. I was able to design a double page spread with two foldout pages to show different chicken breeds dancing at Prince Cockerel’s ball in the Ice Palace. Of course it’s a perpetual disappointment to paint the chickens because in real life, movement causes the light to shine in different ways that show a shimmer of changing colors on their feathers.
In the olden days, farms and estates would often have collections of fancy chickens above and beyond their table birds and egg layers. When we went to Russia, I was happily surprised to find the elaborately painted panel in Catherine the Great’s winter palace depict different elegant chickens, including the very unusual breed I keep, called Polish. It has a poof of feathers on top of its head like a snowball. Cinders of course is grey but when she is dressed for the ball and transformed by her fairy godmother the gray looks more like silver, and you can see how elegant she is. The male counterpart of the Silver Phoenix, which Cinders is, has a 4 foot long tail and flowing saddle feathers that sweep the ground. He has a huge red comb that sets off a snowy Collar of feathers on his greeny-black shining chest.
Fairy godmother is a White Silky, a fascinating breed that was described in the 1200’s when Marco Polo traveled to the Far East. The silky has fluffy fur-like feathers, a fluffy topknot, turquoise ear-lobes, and five toes instead of four. Strangely underneath all the feathers the Silky’s skin is dark, almost black, as is its eyes. I could not think of a more ethereal chicken to play the part of the fairy godmother than the Silky.
In CINDERS, inspiration comes not just from my journey to St. Petersburg Russia but also for my own backyard!
I hope you will transform some of your experiences to stories as well – happy imagining!

Your friend,

Jan Brett

Bend Oregon MOSSY

Happy November,
This is Jan Brett with my November Hedge a gram. I’m here to tell you what’s happening in my year of being an author-illustrator. Although I have written and illustrated children’s books since 1981, with the publication of my first book, FRITZ AND THE BEAUTIFUL HORSES, every following book seems like the most important book I’ve ever done. Like any creative project there is a feeling of vulnerability, because an artist’s work is so personal.
My husband and I spent three weeks in October on our tour bus, following down the East Coast of Florida to the South and into Texas, and up the Imperial Valley of California, ending in Washington state. Thank you to everyone who attended my booksignings. I hope many of you had fun drawing Mossy along with me. If you weren’t able to go to a booksigning, you can see the How To Draw demonstration on a video on my website. The demonstration also will appear on a smartphone when you place it over the QR code on the flap of the jacket on MOSSY.
The turtle organizations that joined me at many of my stops added a great deal of excitement to my appearances. I hope reptile lovers were excited to see live turtles and that nature lovers learned, as I did, that turtles have rich and fascinating lives. In Fresno, California I was astounded when the gentleman waiting to have his book signed told me of his one hundred and ten year old Sonoran tortoise. It is indigenous to the Southwest United States and lives in the Sonoran Desert. The turtle belonged to this man’s grandfather and has been passed down from grandfather to father to the man at my book signings, and someday to the man’s son. And, from the excited look in the boy’s eyes, I hope their turtle will live even longer and be cared for in the future by the boy. I don’t think tortoises of this size have natural predators, and the danger would be not having food or water. From what I understood, the tortoise had the run of their large yard.
I saw quite a few turtles that were very beautiful at the signing in El Dorado Hills, California. The local turtle Society brought a huge African tortoise that marched across the parking lot, stopping only to visit with children which it was especially attracted to. The best part of the tour was seeing the wonderful drawing the children bought for me to see. I’m sure they will be well known artists in a few years!
I learned a great deal from booklovers at my signings. I was pleased to hear that ARMADILLO RODEO is often given to children when studying the five senses, that THE UMBRELLA is used when studying Central America, and that THE THREE LITTLE DASSIES is one of the books compared when reading all the versions of the three little pigs folktale.
Now that I’m back in my art studio, I am hard at work on CINDERS which I need to complete by just after Christmas. I took special time with the jacket, a very important element in the book, because it asks the viewer to open the book and read it. I like books that have an element of curiosity or ask a question in the illustration. I picture CINDERS riding her sleigh on the way to the ball. She is wrapped in a down feather cape so her dress isn’t a giveaway. I saved the dress for when she stuns the revelers at the ball with her entrance. After seeing the gorgeously lavish and elegant fancy dresses in the St. Petersburg, Russia museums, it was hard to choose the right one. I finally chose white, because it looks innocent and Prince Cockerel was after all looking for a bride. I did add some pink feathers and rubies for glamour. I love working on the final drawings, it’s my favorite time in the creation process. The best part is when I start with the basic concept and then as I paint it goes in an unexpected direction. Memories of my trip to Russia flood back to me as well as the happy times I’ve sat on a hay bale in my chicken barn in the midst of my flock. After the chickens realize I’m not bringing them a treat or (horrors! trimming their beaks and toenails) they hop all around me, often flying onto my shoulder acknowledging it makes a nice perch. The most curious are the young males, or cockerels who often fly up to my shoulder or onto my head. It is interesting to see who’s the boss, because it changes from time to time in what season it is.
As CINDERS gets completed, my new story for 2014 is evolving and I have a go-ahead for my editor. It is about the wild animal’s Santa, who is a snowy owl.
This is Jan Brett wishing a creative fall as the days get shorter until December and our imaginations, larger!
Jan

Happy October,

Every month I gather my thoughts and try to describe my activities as an author illustrator. When I was a youngster, I knew I wanted to illustrate children’s books, but other than a notion that I would be coloring all day long, I didn’t know what else was involved. Now that writing and illustrating picture books is my profession, I find that there are many ways to be creative and support my books,

Next week a big bus will pull up outside our house, covered with artwork from my new book, MOSSY. Our publisher, Penguin Books, arranges for the bus to take us on a three week bus tour.  It’s indicative of the age we live in, that we can be rolling down the road, focused on the next signing, when we will receive an email from someone driving by who has seen the web address displayed on the bus. It is especially rewarding when the child of the passerby tells his parents that I’m the author he knows about from school.

You can see all the towns we’ll be stopping at all cross the country on my website. The bus travels long distances at night when we are sleeping in the back. We can watch a sunset in the desert in Arizona, and wake up the next morning in a fog bank next to the Pacific Ocean.  One thing is consistent, which is that many parents who have a child that either loves art or writing will visit the signing to encourage their child to create their own work. It is fascinating to see the artwork that kids bring to the signings. It is original as only children?s artwork can be, and it reflects a personal style that is fresh and authentic. I have high hopes that the child will keep on with their habit of creating works of art, precursors of future art projects that may shape our world. I am also in awe of the teachers that come with arm loads of books from their personal libraries. I sign one book for everybody, but I have bookplates for any extra books. If time allows I can sign every last book! It’s also exciting personally to meet teaching students.They will have so much impact on our country’s future. My sister Sophie is a teacher and she specializes in speech pathology, after teaching 6th grade for many years. I can always count on her to think up new ways to use my books with her students. For example, I write a newsnotes letter for children about each book that is published. For Mossy, I painted a box turtle, then all kinds of vegetation so a child can cut out the moss and flowers and create their own garden on Mossy’s back. In case you haven’t read my new book, Mossy the turtle grows a garden on her back. Sophie took my idea a step further. She cut out the pieces, laminated them, and then put a velcro dot on the back of each of the flowers so her students could craft their own gardens for Mossy. Now she’s going to add to the fun and find all kinds of objects Mossy can carry on her back, from toys to food. Then she can work on categorizing skills with the kids.

Since my husband and I travel on the bus, rather than fly around our country to booksignings, we  can set up my signings in a unique way. We are able to bring our own sound system, and a backdrop in case someone wants to take a photo.  We bring a huge amount of posters, which we give to the first 100 people at each signing.Since there are 25 destinations, that adds up to a lot of posters! We give buttons to everyone in line, and we also give out the All About letter I just mentioned. As everyone enters the bookstore, Hedgie the Hedgehog will be there to greet the children. He loves having his picture taken. I will be bringing my art materials so I can give the children a drawing lesson on how to draw a turtle. It will be like the video you can see from the the QR reader on the back flap of Mossy. If you like, bring a pad of paper and pencil for your child, I’d love to have children draw along with me.

In the past, I’ve left my artwork at home while I’m on my book tour, but this year I’ll be bringing artwork for the book I’m currently working on, CINDERS, a chicken Cinderella. I have a few mornings off, so I will work on the paintings. The book is set in olden days Russia, and I am intrigued by the gorgeous ball gowns and fancy uniforms that I will dress the chickens in. I’m at the stage in the book when I’ve got over 1/2 done, and my Russian chicken coop, that I am painting feels like a real world to me. Usually, I’m able to visit my chicken characters, because I have lots of real chickens at home, and I’ll miss them on the bus tour. They are getting quite agreeable about posing for me!

I hope I’ll meet lots of book lovers on the tour. I hope to see you there.

Your friend, Jan Brett