TOMRORROW NIGHT at 7:30 Central, Andrew will be hosting a LIVE CHAT with author Douglas Kaine McKelvey. Doug wrote our Wingfeather Tale "The Places Beyond the Maps." He is also in the process of republishing his book The Angel Knew Papa and the Dog.https://youtu.be/tym_7loNi4cRecently at the Rabbit Room, Doug reflected on the trepidation and blessing of finding a new illustrator whom he could trust with his story. He asked,
...what makes the difference in any successful artistic collaboration versus those that fail?Undoubtedly there are many nuanced factors that might come into play, but I’m convinced it’s mostly about the ability, and the simple willingness, of the collaborator to enter into a creation that is not their own, and to find a way to translate it into a new language that is their own. Which is maybe the same as to say that you actually have to bring your full self to the project. And to do that, you actually have to care about the original piece. You have to foster a deep connection to it. You have to crawl inside it emotionally. You have to go to that daunting and dangerous place where you are actually risking something creatively, rather than just coasting on the rote mechanics of your craft, phoning in something that’s passable (but that doesn’t add any new layer of richness to the original vision). At the end of the day, it can’t just be about collecting your paycheck. ...As an author, one always secretly hopes in these situations that the artist will not settle for merely illustrating the text, but will instead set out to make the project their own, moving beyond mere competence and into the realm of deep creation, yielding that visual poetry that has its own interior substrata of symbolic meaning.
As I was reading this, I couldn't help but think of "The Places Beyond the Maps." Thank you, Doug. You brought your full self to your Wingfeather Tale, and we are deeply grateful for your kindness and the generous gift of your collaboration.(You can read the rest of his article here.)Join us on Facebook Live tomorrow night as Andrew and Doug talk about "The Places Beyond the Maps."
This week is the last week of our Wingfeather Tales book club! Madame Sidler will be reading part five of "The Places Beyond the Maps." See you tomorrow at the live chat, here on Friday for an excerpt, and all week in the forum. :-)