I
know I speak for many Tasmanians when I say how thrilled we are when our
local residents are recognised for their talents. This week Daniel
Gray-Barnett, recipient of the 2019 CBCA Award for New Illustration, shares his
recent acceptance speech and a couple of lovely photos taken during the Awards
presentation.
Daniel’s
talents were recognised for the delightful Grandma Z – the sort of a grandmother
that sings to the imaginative, dare devil and adventurous spirit hidden within every
child. If you have not yet had the pleasure of meeting Grandma Z watch this preview
courtesy of Storybox Library.
Now
to Daniel’s acceptance speech…
Daniel Gray-Barnett with his award winning book and medallion |
I’d
like to thank the Children’s Book Council of Australia as well as the judges
for this incredible honour.
A
big thank you to my publisher, Miriam Rosenbloom and the team at Scribble Kids
for their faith in my work and giving me the opportunity to bring Grandma Z to
life. It’s probably fitting that this book didn’t start with a manuscript at
all, but with some illustrations of the characters that I did just for fun. I
posted them to my Instagram and thought that would be the end of it.
Miriam
saw them and convinced me that these characters had a really good story to
tell. So we did. I’m very grateful, Miri, for your vision - working on Grandma
Z has opened up doors in my career.
My
earliest memory of falling in love with books was in Grade 2, when my teacher
Ms Wootton, was reading to us The BFG. Of course, there is no question
that Roald Dahl’s stories are captivating, but for me, the thing that really
hooked me onto this book thing, was Quentin Blake’s illustrations.
Something
about his scratchy drawings of a big-eared giant sparked my imagination. It was
magical and I was (and still am really) in love. It was a stepping stone to
imagining the rest of that world for myself. So for me, and I imagine a lot of
other kids, illustration was and is an equally powerful way of connecting with
stories and growing a love of books.
To
all the teachers, librarians and booksellers who champion illustration and
visual literacy with their students and kids - thank you so much, what you do
makes a difference.
Daniel Gray-Barnett with Bob Graham at the 2019 CBCA Awards event |
I’d
like to commend the other artists and their terrific work - what they each do
is so unique, skilful and difficult - and it’s important work too. I’m very
proud to be in such a talented group.
Lastly,
I just want to thank my husband, without his support I would find it very hard
to do what I do.
Thank
you everyone.
FB: https://www.facebook.com/dgraybarnett.illo
T: @dgraybarnett
T: @dgraybarnett
Editor’s note: Daniel is the guest speaker at the
CBCA Tasmania AGM at 11.00 am on the 2 November 2019 at Hadley’s Hotel. RSVP tas@cbca.org.au
Visit https://www.cbcatas.org/ for details.
Visit https://www.cbcatas.org/ for details.
Meeting Daniel at the Book of the Year awards in Melbourne was a wonderful experience. He is very interesting and engaging and obviously enjoys talking with people about his creative journey. l would like to encourage all available members to join us at the AGM in Hobart.
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