3x3 the magazine of contemporary illustration

volume seven number three

Table of Contents {NO.21}

OpArt 3 Icon 4 SurveySays 6 Profile 7 CareerTalk 8 Valeria Petrone 10 Anna + Elena Balbusso 26 Bill Mayer 42 Twenty Questions 58 Spotlight 59 Children’s Show Winners 72

Picture This In this issue we take a look at picture book illustrators and those associated with the field as well as the winners of our 2012 children’s book show. Children’s books have always been a favorite of mine, I still have the copy of The Little Engine That Could my mother would read to me. Repeatedly. She said it was most often my choice for a bedtime read. I was fascinated by the artwork to the point that I scribbled on pages in a vain attempt to make similar marks that the illustrator had made; you can still see the erasures my mother made until she finally gave up. Next to my children it’s my most valued possession; in case of fire it would be one of the things I’d be certain to take with me. The story itself also had an unknowing impact on me that has lasted until this day. “I think I can—I think I can—I think I can” has become my mantra. Certainly at the time I didn’t exactly know what it all meant but the story resonated with me and the art took me to a new land. Illustrated books have always meant something, especially when I was younger before I let my imagination paint pictures in my head from words written on the page. Before I too drew pictures. I continue to tell young artists that illustrating children’s books is one field that won’t ever go away, that the simple act of reading to a child is a part of who we are. I now counter that with caution about the rise of interactive children’s books which appear not in print but in pixels. Ask any designer why they love print and you’ll hear the same story and observe the same action. A designer will pick up a new book and immediately open it and smell the pages. There’s a visceral sense to printed books that touches us deeply. The crack of opening the cover, the foosh of turning pages, the whiff of fresh ink and powder, the shininess of the wrap, the texture of the buckram, the indentions of the debossed title all add immeasurably to the sensation of reading. The experience is part and parcel of picture books. Sure there’s a convenience that comes with a Kindle but where is the tactile sensory experience? Where is the smell? Where is the intimate sound of the turning page? Images appear with a swipe of a finger, perhaps a bit too quickly. I can remember relishing the experience as a story unfolded, there was that leisurely second or two where the next page revealed itself, where one spread ended and another began. That few seconds of anticipation disappears with an eBook. We are hurried through the experience at a constant rate that dulls the sensation of anticipation. Certainly picture books still, and will always, offer illustrators a perfect platform to tell stories and that’s the good news. My only wish is that we say, ‘Mother may I have a real book to read?’

Charles Hively Publisher

cover illustration, Valeria Petrone. editor + design director, Charles Hively deputy design director Sarah Munt production advisor Bruce Cohen show coordinator katrina kopeloff. writers Anna Jane Grossman, beppe giacobbe, max casalini, goñi montes, gayle Gaynin and Vicki Morgan. photographers marta piazza, umberto sebastiano, rick anwyl. 3x3, the magazine of contemporary illustration (issn 1546-640x) is published three times a year, (fall, winter, spring/summer) by artisanal media llc, 244 fifth avenue, suite f269, new york, new york 10001 (p) 212 591 2566. subscriptions are available for $54 per year, prices vary outside the united states. digital subscriptions also available, $27.99 for all countries. to subscribe go to www.3x3mag.com. limited copies of back issues and annuals are also available. © Copyright 2013. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the express written permission of the publisher. 3x3 Magazine is designed by HivelyDesigns 631 Vanderbilt Street Second Floor Brooklyn New York 11218 (p) 718 435 4047. a publication of artisanal media llc. printed in canada. www.3x3mag.com