I had an conversation yesterday with somebody I do not know very well.
- So what do you do?
- I am am an artist, I suppose.
- Oh, a painter?
- No, I do all sorts of things: ceramics, printing, murals. But mainly books.
- Oh, an illustrator!
- A kind of fine art illustrator, I suppose.
- So do you make children's books?
Well, I don't, really. But the best work I have made is appealing to children and adults alike. However, recently I have been struggling to keep my whimsical side alive. Is it a sign that I have started taking my work too seriously?
My kids had the school fete on Saturday. The theme was: "Round the World". I did not have time work on their fancy dress costumes, so we had a brainstorming session and threw something together. As a result - they won. And the reason they won - as I see it - is because we did not take it seriously! The girl with the chop-sticks in her hair and the leopard with somebody's foot.
Oh, but God! Sometimes, it's really hard to keep the whimsical self alive!
