An Interview with ELAINE CLAYTON

illustrator for 42 Miles

1. What was your process like to develop the whimsical and layered 

illustrations for 42 Miles?

 When I create, I start with a build up of feeling--in this case feeling for Jo Ellen.  When I got the manuscript it was like I was holding ancient scrolls--precious words which would unveil secrets and treasures for the world.  I made sure I was in total silence, and I slipped into that world Tracie created.  I read each poem as though I had written it as Jo Ellen, and allowed all that feeling to take me where I needed to go.  It took me to random places.  One of the clearest places the writing took me was into the way I used to save things when I was a young teenager.  I myself have saved those letters, notes, bits and pieces from my school days, so it was easy to go there literally!  Somehow, I felt connected emotionally to the writing if I respected the way I had worked out my feelings when I was young and the way teenagers might work out their feelings today.  Saving tickets or ribbons and gluing them into a sketch book or scrap book (or shoe boxes and other boxes) seemed to help me as a teenager.  It helped me get perspective on myself, on things I had done, on what I aspired or hoped to do one day.  I didn't just imagine Jo Ellen doing that with all the pieces of her life, I became Jo Ellen doing that!

2. When you read are you always thinking about the illustrations 

you'd create?

 My mind is very cinematic, so when I read I do see the book unfold as if I were watching a movie in my mind.  When I see letters and numbers, I get strong impressions. For example, when I see a number, like the number 2, I see it, I hear it, I taste it!  To me, it is yellow, perhaps it is a lemon drop.  I hear lovely chatter, or laughter, like that of a very young girl laughing.  To me everything has a personality, every piece of furniture, every object in my world shows a certain amount of character. A chair might be sneaky (think a wrought iron chair), or it might be caring if not a little sad (think big easy chair).  I remember reading as a child and being quite upset if a book was not illustrated the way I saw the book in my mind--so I do think I am humbled by my awareness that readers may see their own movie in their own minds, and my illustrations which I present may not be as compelling to that reader!

3. What advice do you have for young people thinking about a career 

in illustrating children's books?

My advice would be:  BE BRAVE and CREATE.  I have learned from teaching children that we are truly each miraculously unique. We each have our own power and essence and we each see and feel and think in our own way. That uniqueness can influence the entire world.  It is essential that you develop a voice and a vision based on your experiences because without that we lose a perspective (YOURS) which truly matters!   It is so easy to say, "I can't draw" or "I am not a good speller so I'll never be a writer".  We can listen to our own "inner editor" and stop before we ever get started.  We can listen to those around us who may not always be encouraging.  Someone may even say something we made "isn't good" or "is bad".  Don't let anyone steal your joy.  Stand tall and continue to create.  The nourishment and information you get from creating is way more important than comments anyone might make.  If you seek to be published, this kind of self strength is essential because there is a lot of rejection in the field of publishing.  It should not stop you--nothing should!

4. Which piece in the book is your favorite?

 I can't say I have a favorite piece because each work of art is like one of my children to me--I love them all!  I was moved quite a lot by a particular poem, though--which lead to making a certain piece of art I could tell you about.  On page 7 the poem is SYMMETRY.  The lines which struck me so forcefully were:

They try to split me

like an apple's pale heart

on either side of the blade,

pretending my life is like

Mr. Howard's hexagon,

equal parts

no matter

how many times they cut it.

I read this poem and went out and took a very tiny apple from my apple tree.  I cut it in half.  If you go to page 7 and look closely at the art, what do you see? (HINT:  I see faces everywhere I look--on the walls, in the trees, on the sidewalk, in the sky.  In an apple?)