Tasmanian illustrator and artist, Ben Clifford, shares the delights of his latest ventures - from illustrating the lavish and adorable Giselle to his foray into working with children to share his talents and love of a good story.
Richard Turner's Giselle Giraffe, published by Starfish Bay Publishing, tells the story of the long-necked, long-legged and somewhat gangly Giselle. At first full of insecurities about her body image she not only becomes accepting of her size but also learns to recognise its valuable and unique benefits.
This imaginative story was a delight to illustrate for my fifth picture book. I was given the manuscript with no guidance, allowing freedom to dance with ideas. The illustrations took me over 2 years to complete with my upmost thanks to all staff at Starfish Bay Publishing and author Richard Turner for giving me the time needed. As I progressed with the art work, I came up with treasure hunts and activities to include so there are things to find within the illustrations and a guiding list to help readers investigate the images more closely. I love layers within a story! In creating the setting I gave it a timeless look choosing technology and architecture from no later than early 20th century.
The story finds Giselle entering a chic boutique clothing shop, hoping to cover up her insecurities of body image.
Failing, she returns to the wilds where she finds her answers elsewhere; shining proudly for what she is by using her unique body parts to help others.
It has been great fun to start sharing my work with young people. To kick off my school appearances I worked with young families at Sorell Library recently. Giselle Giraffe became the finale of the presentation. Displayed on a big screen, our overbooked group read through the story with one of many treasure hunts included on each page. It was a delight witnessing families bond over the work, and objecting to turning the page until the treasure hunt item was found!
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We also read through The Wildlife Winter Games - a book that demands that the reader chooses from various creatures to decide who would win when competing in the different Winter Games events. The day included large displays of the illustrations and takeaways I had created. Many thanks to Libraries Tasmania staff for one of the best experiences of my life, and the food! You can view photos of the day.
Ben Clifford
Ben was born, raised and works in Tasmania. He began illustrating after living in a nice place with cuckoos and sparrows in England. Ben was first published in 2017 for Elliott's Rainbow Heart with more titles to follow. When he’s not drawing or writing stories, he likes to help others if they’re sad or happy, scaly, fluffy, furry or feathery.
FB: https://www.facebook.com/ben.clifford.art/
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