Literacy Learnings
Léargais Litearthachta
Illustrator name: Shannon Bergin
Title of shortlisted book: Over the Red-Brick Chimney
1. What was your earliest memory of reading/being read to?
Books were always a huge part of my childhood but none stick in my memory like “The Jolly Postman and Other People’s Letters” by Allan and Janet Ahlberg. Every detail of the illustrations were poured over and the story was read again and again. So much so, that one rainy night, it was left up in the branches of a tree that I liked to sit in and I still remember finding it, the pages stuck together, completely wrecked. I got a new copy but missed the original.
2. When did you first begin to illustrate for an audience?
My first book was illustrated in 2020 but I’ve been illustrating stories long before that. My friend and I would staple folded printer paper in half to create our own books when we were little and as a teen, I began regularly exhibiting my artwork thanks to a very encouraging community who gave us so much opportunity to be involved in the arts, no matter our ages.
3. What book inspired you most as a young illustrator? Why?
I came across Jon Klassen’s “I Want my Hat Back” in the library, long before I knew anything about picture books and thought it was the best thing I had ever read. It gave me a whole new perspective on what the artform could be and I was soon checking out piles of picture books every other week, discovering endless possibilities. I was studying animation at the time and not loving parts of it, so swiftly started learning everything I could about how to become an illustrator.
4. What is the best thing about illustrating for a contemporary audience?
Probably the reaction I’ve received from kids when I work with them. The way they engage with the illustrations before they’re even able to read and how they notice the small details I’ve hidden away. They’re always brutally honest and funny and hearing how they feel about the work makes me a better artist.
5. What is the most challenging thing about illustrating for a contemporary audience?
Kids today have an almost infinite library of media they can choose from. Irish publishers alone are producing incredibly beautiful books, so it’s a challenge to create something new and exciting, that will stand out. Obviously, AI is a concern for most creatives too, but I feel optimistic that people want to engage with work that comes from another person’s soul. The connection between artist and audience has always existed and I don’t think AI can replace that.
6. What inspired you to illustrate Over the Red-Brick Chimney?
The story takes place in rural Ireland, the landscape is a mismatch of places I’ve called home. I grew up among farms and spent most of my time exploring fields and forests. My childhood kitchen range is in the book and the sheds belong to the old farmhouse I lived in after college. I’ve never come across a barnacle goose and I’ve never been to Greenland so there was a lot to research there, but otherwise, the illustrations were waiting in my memories.
7. What have you learned from the process of illustrating this book?
So much. This was only my second book to illustrate and with every book I learn more and more. About illustration of course, but also about the process of book making. There are so many pieces that need to come together with the help of many people and I’m just one of them. Most importantly, I can now draw barnacle geese really quickly from the top of my head, a mostly useless skill, but you never know when it might be helpful.
8. What advice would you give to an aspiring illustrator?
Make things, experiment, try new processes and techniques. If you want to make a book, make one, don’t wait for someone to give you permission. Explore other art forms and go outside. Art becomes boring if you don’t take the time away from your desk to fill your brain with inspiration. Take advice but only listen to criticism from people who know more than you about that thing. Be patient, you’ll make a lot of work that you’re not happy with but that just means you’re on the right path.