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FamilyCares Author and Illustrator Interview - Aliki
“And every day I draw another picture, “Mari told Mama. Through Mari in Marianthe’s Story: Painted Words, Spoken Memories, Aliki tells her own story of starting school unable to communicate with her classmates. Mari speaks only Greek; her teacher and classmates speak English. The only way Mari can express herself is through her drawings and paintings. When a classmate hurts her feelings, Mari draws a picture depicting her hurt and sadness. Her teacher uses Mari’s drawing to illustrate to the class the effect their words and teasing are having on Mari. Soon, Mari earns the respect and admiration of her class through her drawings. Aliki’s books help children to understand themselves, others, and the world around them. Through her illustrating and writing, Aliki has focused her creative energy on children. Through her community service, her special interest in literacy, and her work in schools, she continues to encourage children to create and to celebrate their own story and to express it through the arts. In Marianthe’s Story: Painted Words, Spoken Memories, was Marianthe’s experience your family’s experience? “Painted Words is about me. I was born in America. My parents were born in Greece and we spoke only Greek at home. I went to a Greek School three times a week. When I started kindergarten I did not speak English. As Marianthe did, I expressed myself through art. Bell Avenue Elementary School was my school. Mr. Petrie is a combination of two teachers I know. I love teachers! Spoken Memories speaks of my aunt and my mother’s experience. In Greece in those days, girls did not go to school. My aunt and my mother were the first girls in the village to go to school. The school was about 2 miles from home and they started out very early in the morning when it was dark to get there. Many of the words [of advice] in the book actually, come from my grandmother. In my book, We are Best Friends, Robert also uses pictures to express himself in letters to his best friend.” Has illustrating and writing helped you deal with issues in your life and heal from painful events? “Oh yes, The Two of Them was written right after my father died. I went up to the mountains and wrote it all out. I never thought it would be a children’s book. The girl in the book was the age of my daughter at the time of my father’s death. I always tell kids that I started writing in the third or fourth grade. That’s how I got over my shyness, anger and hurt – by writing in my dairy or letters. For me it is the only way – it clarifies you. If I’m confused or someone has hurt me, I can untangle the reasons by writing. Drawing is something different; drawing is something I had to do.” Have you used your art in community service projects? “Yes, all the time. If anyone asks, I do something. I have done large posters for the YMCA, I have donated my art for library auctions, and I visit schools all the time. When I go to a school, I see the school as one big family. I spend the whole day at the school. I don’t go to only one class, but I talk to the entire school about myself, and my books. I read a book to them. I draw a picture for them. If they sell my books at the school, I try to sign them one on one. One on one is the way to do it and I try to personalize everything. I go around from class to class to see their projects and answer their questions. Recently, I was asked to design bookplates that children can download free to promote literacy and to encourage children to create a home library.” [see http://www.myhomelibrary.org/colourbookplates.html ] “Yes, I was trying to find myself. I went to Philadelphia College of Art. I studied illustration but went into advertising. Once, I wrote my first book, I realized I wanted to be my own boss. The murals I did then were for private homes, but in school I worked on all the murals. That is a great way for kids to come together. Often when I visit a bookstore or a school kids have made murals to greet me. Next to my studio I have murals that kids have done for me- big dinosaurs, an aquarium, it is important for children to work together like that. So, if I am not the example of creating community murals, the kids have responded to my books and to me with murals.” Studies have shown that art education benefits many areas of child development. It stimulates imagination and critical thinking and refines cognitive and creative skills. Could you comment on your experience of the importance of art education? “Well, I’ll just tell you, I went to the most wonderful elementary and high schools. We had so much art and music. We sang Mozart and Bach, there was a chorus, a glee club, a band and lots of art - oil painting and all kinds of art, during and after school. For someone like me who never connected with a typewriter, there was art. That’s how you learn a language in the first seven years of life. It is so important for children to have art in these years. I got all my writing experience from writing in my personal journal and writing letters. If I didn’t have it in my life, imagine what I would have lost. Your books are very sensitive to children’s issues and deal with them in a positive way. You have won awards for your science books and have written many biographies for children. Do you choose your subjects from your life experience? “Yes, of course, they are all about my kids or me. I say to the children, ‘You know my soul;’ I’m actually 7 yrs old! The kids in my books are a mixture of my children and children I know. I write not only for children but also for me. If I see something and I don’t know about it, I have to research it. I have to write about it so that children can understand it. The first time I saw a dinosaur, I was pushing a baby carriage around the Museum of Natural History. I said to myself, ‘that dinosaur sleeps in a big bed!’ I spend a lot of time on my books, even though some of the figures may be very simple: 2 dots for eyes and a half circle for the mouth, I still have to think of somebody I know and the feeling this face will show. It takes a long time to get the right tilt of the head. What are your ideas on how children can reach out to others in need through art? “They can draw cards. My children still send me cards that they have drawn. They can bring a dairy or journal book to another child. I always tell the children, ‘Sign and date your drawings because you won’t be the same person tomorrow and you will forget when you drew them.’ The kids can also draw each other. They can bring a book to another child and make a bookplate or a bookmark. Kids can make decorations and give them to people. [Christmas Tree Memories] They can use acorns or cork figures, bread dough figures, make cornhusk dolls and wreaths.” Is there anything else you would like to share? I am very Greek. It is very important to me. I think it is wonderful in the United States that children celebrate their backgrounds. I am partially dyslexic. I’m a very slow reader and I can’t remember numbers and names. I try hard to remember names by association, a hairstyle or a look in their eyes. I had a very happy childhood. My first three teachers as well as my parents and family are responsible for who I am today. Wow, that is an experience - to go to school and grow up to be an author! This interview was conducted by telephone. Thank you Aliki for sharing your time and gentle, caring spirit. Aliki has written and illustrated 55 books and illustrated over 150 children’s books both fiction and non-fiction. Her earliest memories of drawing are two of her paintings that were exhibited in kindergarten. She studied art and worked in advertising until her first book was published in 1960. She has won many awards for her books, is known for her biographies and has received critical acclaim for her historical pieces. She is married and has two children. Discussion Questions for Marianthe’s Story: Painted Memories Spoken Words How do you think you would feel if you had to start school and you didn’t understand what the teacher or the children were saying? What did Rachel mean when she said, Mari “is talking with her paints.” Have any of you tried like Mari to draw “what you can’t talk?” What did Mari do when Patrick called her “dummy?” Do you think that was a good way to respond? Why? If a child like Mari didn’t speak our language, and was to join our group today, how could we communicate with her? |
Marianthe’s Story