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Award-winning picture book author and illustrator Eugenie Fernandes has written 20 books and illustrated close to 100 stories to date.

After graduating from the School of Visual Arts in New York City, she began designing greeting cards and knocking on publishers’ doors with her portfolio. Before long she was submitting stories with her art, which led to the publication, in 1981, of her first book, Jenny's Surprise Summer (A Little Golden Book). Her more recent works include Earth Magic, One Hen:How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference, and Kitten’s Spring.

Eugenie, who has lived in places as diverse as New York City and a thatch hut in the South Pacific, now lives beside a lake in southern Ontario, Canada, where she works in a glass studio surrounded by her favorite things: trees, birds, brushes, water, frogs, sunshine, snow, and her family.

One Hen has been selected for inclusion in the 2010 Spirit of PaperTigersProject.

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Q&A

Your illustrations for One Hen provide an essential dimension to the book, which has received many accolades, including our Spirit of PaperTigers seal. What was the experience of working on this project like for you?

Whenever I'm illustrating the " far away", I have to learn all about that place. I have to know what the people wear and what they eat, what the houses and trees and animals look like. It's like taking a trip - exciting and interesting.

While I was painting the pictures for One Hen, Muhammad Yunus won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work with microcredit at Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, so that was a special link. For me, being connected to the world through this book is a gift.

Did growing up as the daughter of a comic-book illustrator influence your decision to become a children's book artist?

My father, Creig Flessel, was one of the original comic book illustrators in the 30's and the 40's .

My childhood was filled with art and stories and laughter.  I spent a lot of time in his studio, where I had my own desk right next to his. Words and pictures were always interwoven... so I guess it was a natural step for me to become a children's book artist.

Do you have a favorite technique, when illustrating books? How would you describe your style? 

I don't really have a favorite technique. I like to use whatever seems appropriate for the stories, so I go all over the place: gouache, pen and ink, water color, acrylic...  My current style is what I call multimedia collage – which means that I'm using... anything – clay (for the characters), acrylic paint, paper, shells, leaves, twigs, cardboard, tea, wire, cloth... whatever works.

What are you working on at the moment?

I'm using the multimedia collage I described for a series of four books. The first one, Kitten's Spring, will be released this spring by Kids Can Press. It's been great fun working on this project… each page is a  discovery for me!

If you were to pick a place anywhere in the world to send One Hen, where would it be, and why?

One Hen is already at the White House, so… after that I would like to send it... everywhere!, because it's a book that connects us all.

Posted February 2010

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