Aussies 'n' Fairy Tales Week: Shaun Tan, Artist and Alchemist

From the foreword - it's the Brothers Grimm themselves, being told stories by a fox

Shaun Tan, author and illustrator extraordinaire and winner of many, many awards, including:

• Three time winner of Best Artist for the World Fantasy Award

• Best Professional Artist Hugo Award (2011) and multiple award nominee

• Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award or ALMA (2010)

• Academy Award (aka Oscar Award Winner) for The Lost Thing, Best Short Film (animated)

It's very likely you know of him or know his work, especially if you follow children's literature, fantasy or animation (he also worked as a concept artist for Pixar's "WALL-E").

While Mr. Tan's illustrations have always had that uniquely Australian slightly off-kilter sense of fantasy underlying the mundane, and has always seemed to seamlessly weave the fantastic or 'other' into his largely suburban illustrations, it's only fairly recently that he created works specifically based on fairy tales. It turned out that he found this more challenging than he initially believed but, boy did it pay off!

Thousandfurs

Note: His Thousandfurs sculpture (shown above) was also a Spectrum 21, Dimensional Art Nominee/Finalist for 2014, which were held in May (they are 'the' coveted International Award for Contemporary Fantastic Art).

The Three Little Men in the Wood (Die drei Männlein im Walde)

As I've seen this quoted elsewhere in entirety, I'm including the whole of Mr. Tan's statement about the project here, as it will be of special interest to fairy tale folk, and those artists working to "illustrate" fairy tales (in whatever manner and media):

In 2012 I was approached by my German editor Klaus Humann of Aladin Verlag in Hamburg to consider a cover illustration, as well as perhaps some some internal drawings for a new edition of the Grimm Brothers collected folk tales written by Philip Pullman (the well known author of the His Dark Materials trilogy). I thought about this for some time, as I've always wanted to do something Grimm related but didn't have an ideal approach (or much time for commissions). Philip had chosen a selection of 50 favourite fairy tales, and written them with a thoughtful clarity that will appeal to modern readers yet keeping true to their original spirit. I was particularly interested in the scholarly notes at the end of each tale, offering background, critique and even a few suggested improvements from a writer's point of view; I was also interested in Philip's introduction which praises the concise, 'cardboard character' narrative of Grimm's fairy tales and points out they do not necessarily benefit much from illustration. A good problem for a visual artist! And one I'm inclined to agree with: I'd long ago researched fairy tales as a possible illustration project, but soon gave it up as the tales had such an abstracted quality about them, I couldn't think of a suitable 'way in' as an artist who favours representational imagery. While I love such illustrations as those byArthur Rackham, I've always felt they conflict with my own less literal experience a reader. And in many cases, the tales are just too strange or irrational for conventional 'scenes'. 

The Frog King, or Iron Heinrich
(Der Froschkönig oder
der eiserne Heinrich)

So I was a little reluctant at first, but soon began to think of ways I could avoid painting or drawing altogether. As a child, I was actually more obsessed with sculpture than painting and drawing, working with clay, papier mache and soapstone, and was reminded of this when browsing through my collection of books on folk art and particularly Inuit scultpure and Pre-Columbian figurines from Mexico. Many of these small, hand-sized sculptures are strongly narrative and dreamlike, and offered a 'way in' to thinking about Grimm's stories as part of an old creative tradition. The works I ended up creating hopefully convey the spirit of each tale without actually illustrating them, like anonymous artifacts in a museum open to all kinds of interpretation.

Though Philip Pullman's Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm was published in the UK and US, each with a nice cover, it's the German edition that is the most wonderful, thanks to the inclusion of illustrations by the, incredibly adaptable, Shaun Tan.  Mr. Tan created some fifty sculptures representing Pullma's chosen fifty tales, which are photographed beautifully and are displayed in the edition throughout. While there are no plans at present, to translate it into English, (I don't understand why myself, as the edition with Shaun Tan's sculptures would be my first choice), one of the wonderful things is that Mr. Tan hasn't stopped there. He continues to be inspired by the tales and is in the process of enlarging the collection of fifty sculptures to at least 60.

Here is a very recent one, from Shaun Tan's blog, with his note:

"One of several new sculptures inspired by Grimm's Fairy Tales, this one for a the story 'The Blue Light' (Das blaue Licht), about a solider taking revenge against those who have wronged him (including the witch above). I began this series as a set of illustrations for the German edition of Philip Pullman's Grimm Tales published last year, and have since continued to create additional works for other stories that I found particularly intriguing outside of that collection. By 1850, the Grimm Brothers included over 200 tales in Children's and Household Tales, so there's certainly no shortage of inspiration; as Margaret Atwood notes, 'no emotion is unrepresented'." (Shaun Tan)

          

Little Red Cap (Rotkäppchen)

         

Godfather Death (Der Gevatter Tod)

I find it interesting that, in a discussion with Neil Gaiman, Shaun Tan says the way he uses words is, he believes, not just his style but also a cultural thing:

Gaiman: Your stuff is always laconic. One of the things I love about it is that a picture is worth a thousand words and you make your pictures work very hard. 

Tan: Part of it is that I don't trust myself as a writer. I still lack confidence, probably because the first 20 or so stories I wrote were roundly rejected. I actually started out as a writer and then converted to illustration because I realised that there was a dearth of good illustrators in genre fiction, at least in Australia at that time. I diverted all of my resources to visual imagery, and as a result I noticed that my writing did become more and more pared down, until it started to approximate my normal speaking patterns. When I write a story I imagine I'm telling it to someone like my brother. And we don't talk that much [laughs] – it condenses everything down and that's a very Australian thing, too.

And that trait might just explain why Australians on the whole seem to be so drawn to fairy and folktales and enjoy working with them.

The Nixie of the Mill-Pond (Die Nixe im Teich)

There is a wealth of information on Shaun Tan's work all over the internet, from his website to interviews to articles and awards, so I won't repeat much more here. I will only say that I am so glad Mr. Tan found illustrating fairy tales to be such "trouble" and found his own way around it. The sculptures are unique and beautiful and, now that they exist, it seems odd they didn't before.

           

The Stolen Farthings (Der gestohlene Heller)

A Riddling Tale (Rätselmärchen)

The Twelve Brothers (Die zwölf Brüder)

I can't wait to see what tales he tackles next in his Grimm sculptures and hope to see the collection together on day as well.

Iron John (Eisenhans) - (Not to be confused with The Frog King or Iron Henry)

(You can see many more of the sculptures from the German edition HERE in a previous post of mine and from a related one over the the SurLaLune blog HERE with an additional write about the book.)

Rumpelstiltskin (Rumpelstilzchen)

In the meantime, he is back to being very busy as author and illustrator and already gathering awards for his latest offering, Rules of Summer, about two brothers, living in a world of fantastic creatures and crazy gizmos, in which one breaks all the rules and the other does his best to stop him doing so... or save him. At home in Australia, this last month, Shaun Tan won both the Ditmar and the Chronos National Awards for Best Artwork for Rules of Summer, and just this past week he also won the 2014 Illustration Prize for Children's and Youth books from the German Gemeinschaftswerk der Evangelischen Publizistik (GEP), another prestigious illustrators award, also for Rules of Summer.

These 3 sculptures were sold at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2013 (sob!)

Here is a brief list of popular works as author and illustrator (or illustrator only, where indicated):

• Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link (2008 - interior illustrations)
• The Lost Thing (2000)
• The Arrival (2006) (Which has also been made into an amazing piece of folktale-like theater - see pics below)
• Tales from Outer Suburbia (2008)
• Grimm's Marchen (German edition only) by Philip Pullman (2013 - illustrations/sculptures)
• Rules of Summer (2013)

Shaun Tan's website can be found HERE.
He blogs HERE, usually with works-in-progress or pieces that likely won't be published elsewhere, as well as occasional news.

Aussies 'n' Fairy Tales Week: Juliet Marillier, Daughter of Tales, Writer of Legends

Heir to Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier - Full cover illustration for Tor UK by Jon Sullivan

Here's a multi-award winning, epic historical fantasy novelist and fairy tale writer whom you will likely be familiar with: Juliet Marillier.

If you haven't read any books by Ms. Marillier, you're in for a treat. "Epic" is an excellent description of the stories she writes (many are, or become, series) and it's clear she does a lot of historical research into time, place, legend and related tales as she's creating her worlds. She cites traditional fairy tales and folklore as being among her biggest influences, and that she continues to read them all to this day. It's no surprise, then, to find folk motifs woven throughout her books, or to discover that she's written some wonderful stories inspired by specific tales (retellings is probably not quite the correct term).

The AFTS spoke to Ms. Marillier recently, asking her just what it was about fairy tales that attracted her. Here's an excerpt:

* Many fairy tales weave through your books and short stories. Daughter of the Forest is based on ‘The Six Swans’ and Wildwood Dancing on ‘The Twelve Dancing Princesses’. What is it about fairy tales that attracts you? 

Juliet Marillier & furry family

I’ve loved fairy tales since I was a small child. Back then, it was the sense of wonder, the huge possibilities opened up by the idea that a magical realm exists alongside, or maybe inside, the world we know; and it was the thought that each of us can be a hero and achieve the apparently impossible. It’s often the gormless youngest brother or the quiet youngest sister who ends up saving the day – a person thought unimportant by his or her family and community. For a shy, bookish child, that was a reassuring message for the future! 

Over the years I’ve continued to read fairy tales, folklore and mythology and to read scholarly discussions of them, and the magic has never died for me. Fairy tales are powerful. They make sense of real life dilemmas. They give people codes for living wisely and well, and they provide hope and reassurance in times of fear and doubt. When I use fairy tale material I do so with immense respect for all the storytellers who have come before me, each of them reworking the story to suit his or her circumstances.

You can read the whole interview on the AFTS website HERE.

Since there's a very good chance she's already on your radar, I'll just list the books that are most distinctly linked to a tale (or tales) with a little added information.

Daughter of the Forest
Based on the fairy tale The Six Swans, it remains one of my favorite retellings of all books to date. A series of five more books followed to expand the story.

From Ms. Marillier's website:

In Daughter of the Forest, the fairy tale story - a youngest sister must maintain complete silence while weaving shirts from nettles in order to return her swan brothers to human form - is combined with a family drama set on both sides of the Irish Sea. More than anything, this is a story about the bond of love between siblings. 

The framework for Daughter of the Forest is a Germanic tale, The Six Swans, from the collection of the Grimm brothers. Beneath the classic fairytale elements (a wicked stepmother, a transformation, a trial by silence) is a story of courage born from loss, and lives forever altered. With its swan imagery and its remote forest setting, the Germanic story settles easily into the Irish landscape and may indeed even owe something to the Celtic tradition, a major influence on European folktales from the thirteenth century onwards. The Children of Lir, the tale of Aengus Og and his swan-bride, these are Irish myths in which child turns to swan and swan to beautiful maiden, in the space of an eye blink.

Wildwood Dancing
Using the fairy tale of The Twelve Dancing Princesses (& referencing another...).

Description:

There are many mysteries within the wildwood. Jena and her sisters share the biggest of all, a fantastic secret that enables them to escape the confines of their everyday life in rural Transylvania. They have kept it hidden for nine long years. 

When their father falls ill and must leave their forest home over the winter, Jena and her oldest sister Tati are left in charge. All goes well until a tragic accident allows their over bearing cousin Cezar to take control. The appearance of a mysterious young man in a black coat divides sister from sister, and suddenly Jena finds herself fighting to save all she holds dear. With her constant companion Gogu by her side, she must venture to realms dark and perilous in her quest to preserve, not just those she loves, but her own independence as well.

And a bonus question from the Writer Unboxed mini-interview on the book:

Q: What would you like people to know about the story itself?JM: It combines fairytale fantasy, history, family drama and love story. The Transylvanian setting allowed me to explore some of the darker aspects of the Otherworld, but I’ve tried to avoid vampire cliché. The relationship between Jena and Gogu is central to the book. I’m always puzzled by those Frog Prince stories in which the girl is so thrilled when the frog morphs into a handsome prince. I mean, would you fall instantly in love with someone who had just … appeared? So I wrote a story in which the strongest bond of love is between girl and frog.

Heart's Blood
Inspired by the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast.

Author's Note:

Beauty and the Beast has always been one of my favourite fairy tales, and readers will recognise the bones of it in Heart’s Blood: a mysterious house with an alienated, disfigured master, a priceless plant growing in a forbidden garden, magic mirrors and unusual household retainers. The story of my novel has the same general shape as that of Beauty and the Beast. 

However, this is far from a fairy tale retelling. It’s not even a close reinterpretation of the traditional tale. Heart’s Blood is a love story, a ghost story, a family saga, a story about people overcoming their difficulties, and a little slice of Irish history, as well as a homage to a favourite fairy tale. 

Prickle Moon
Ms. Marillier's short story and novella collection.

Review:

"She sang them in, verse by verse, name by sweet name ..." So begins Prickle Moon, Juliet Marillier’s first collection of short stories, and what stories they are. Each tale, whether inflected by fantasy, horror or science fiction, is powerful. Each bears the bones of its fairytale ancestors, inviting you to sit by the fire and hear stories at once timeless and ancient, yet shot through with the silver veins of modern life. Entertaining and enchanting, lyrical and lovely, Marillier will sing you in, too. (British Fantasy Award winner Angela Slatter)

AND COMING SOON:

Dreamer's Pool (Blackthorn and Grim Book 1)
Set in medieval Ireland, this book contains both fairy tale and mystery elements. Release date is set for October 2014 for Pan Macmillan in Australia, and November 2014 for Penguin's US edition.

Description introduction:

What if you were locked up awaiting execution and a stranger offered you a bargain that would set you free?  What if accepting bound you to certain rules of behaviour for seven years, rules you knew you were likely to break within days? And what if the penalty for breaking them was to find yourself back where you started, eaten up with bitterness and waiting to die?

Blackthorn chooses life, even though she must promise not to seek vengeance against her arch-enemy, Lord Mathuin. In company with a cell-mate, the hulking, silent Grim, the one-time healer and wise woman flees north to Winterfalls in Dalriada, where she settles in a derelict cottage on the fringe of the mysterious Dreamer’s Wood.  Blackthorn has promised her benefactor, the fey nobleman Conmael, that she will use her gifts only for good. But she and Grim are both scarred by the past, and the embittered healer finds her promise increasingly hard to keep. 

Read the first chapter excerpt HERE.

Other books by epic fantasy books (all with folktale motifs!) by Juliet Marillier:

   

You can find Ms. Marillier's website HERE
Her Facebook page is HERE
And she's a regular columnist on Writer Unboxed HERE.

Aussies 'n' Fairy Tales Week: Kate Forsyth, Author and Enchanting Word Weaver

I read recently this interesting quote (source sadly unknown)...

Words cast spells.

That's why it's called SPELLING.

Words are energy.

Use them wisely.

... and it immediately made me think of Kate Forsyth, because that's what this amazing author does: she captivates you with her words and shows you worlds - ours and that of fairy tale, woven together - that you never knew existed. And when she sets about to tell a fairy tale, people start to realize just how real these stories can be.

Ms. Forsyth is an award winning and internationally best selling author and much in demand so we'll have to wait for another time when we can ask her some questions for fairy tale folk here, but the AFTS conference was privileged to have her speak about Rapunzel, which she wrote her recent PhD on (the title of the talk was Rapunzel in the Antipodes), discuss her book based on the story (Bitter Greens) and to also have her on the panel for Cultural Editing: How Some Fairy Tales Get Lost in the Woods. (We are hoping for video eventually but I've yet to hear if all went according to plan for the recordings. Keep your fingers crossed!)

The one thing you should know, apart from being the recipient of many awards over many books for her writing (she is also the author of numerous lovely fantasy novels), when it comes to fairy tales Ms. Forsyth has as tendency to delve into the history behind the tales and weaves them together with the tales themselves. (Her newest adult novel, Dancing on Knives is more contemporary novel, set in Australia and it has a murder...)

Her books have been released one after the other in quick succession this year, with UK version not far behind the Australian ones and now, finally US versions are appearing as well. (So many lovely covers!)

Here are some of her recent books interweaving fairy tales and history with the magic of her words, as well as a new children's fairy tale retelling "duet" and her latest release which puts a little mystery into a very different Little Mermaid story. You'll note she's also been gifted with some of the prettiest book covers out right now.

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BITTER GREENS

A retelling of Rapunzel, interwoven with the story of the real life woman who first told the story, Charlotte-Rose de la Force.
(Released in Australia March 3, 2013)

A lovely stew of sex, fairytales and, well, sex really. THE AGE. An exquisite rendering of the story behind the Rapunzel fairy tale. 

Charlotte-Rose de la Force has been banished from the court of Versailles by the Sun King, Louis XIV, after a series of scandalous love affairs. She is comforted by an old nun, Sœur Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, is sold by her parents for a handful of Bitter Greens ... 

After Margherita's father steals a handful of parsley, wintercress and rapunzel from the walled garden of the courtesan Selena Leonelli, he is threatened with having both hands cut off ... unless he and his wife give away their little girl.  

Selena is the famous red-haired muse of the artist Tiziano, first painted by him in 1512 and still inspiring him at the time of his death, sixty-four years later. Called La Strega Bella, Selena is at the centre of Renaissance life in Venice, a world of beauty and danger, seduction and betrayal, love and superstition. 

Locked away in a tower, growing to womanhood, Margherita sings in the hope that someone will hear her. One day, a young man does ... 

Three women, three lives, three stories, braided together to create a compelling tale of desire, obsession, black magic and the redemptive power of love.

From Kate Forsyth:

I began by wanting to retell Rapunzel as a historical novel ... as if it had really happened. So I began to wonder about the source of the tale ... who first wrote it?  

I began to research the sources and and so stumbled upon the life of Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de la Force, one of the most fascinating women ever forgotten by history. Her story was just a gift to a novelist. It had everything ... romance, intrigue, drama, black magic ....  

I ended up doing my doctorate on Rapunzel, all my research was so interesting and no-one had ever really looked at it in so much depth before. 

THE WILD GIRL
The untold true love story of Wilhelm Grimm and Dortchen Wild that lies behind the tales of the Brothers Grimm. It also weaves in many of the Grimm tales throughout.
(Released in Australia on March 3rd, 2014)

One of the great untold love stories - how the Grimm brothers discovered their famous fairy tales - filled with drama and passion, and taking place during the Napoleonic Wars.
Growing up next door to the Grimm brothers in Hesse-Cassel, a small German kingdom, Dortchen Wild told Wilhelm some of the most powerful and compelling stories in the famous fairy tale collection. 
Dortchen first met the Grimm brothers in 1805, when she was twelve. One of six sisters, Dortchen lived in the medieval quarter of Cassel, a town famous for its grand royal palace, its colossal statue of Herkules, and a fairytale castle of turrets and spires built as a love nest for the Prince-Elector's mistress. Dortchen was the same age as Lotte Grimm and the two became best friends. 

In 1806, Hesse-Cassel was invaded by the French. Napoleon created a new Kingdom of Westphalia, under the rule of his dissolute young brother Jérôme. The Grimm brothers began collecting fairy tales that year, wanting to save the old stories told in spinning-circles and by the fire from the domination of French culture.  

Dortchen's father was cruel and autocratic, and he beat and abused her. He frowned on the friendship between his daughters and the poverty-stricken Grimm Brothers. Dortchen had to meet Wilhelm in secret to tell him her stories. All the other sisters married and moved away, but Dortchen had to stay home and care for her sick parents. Even after the death of her father, Dortchen and Wilhelm could not marry – the Grimm brothers were so poor they were surviving on a single meal a day.  

After the overthrow of Napoleon and the eventual success of the fairy tale collection, Dortchen and Wilhelm were at last able to marry. They lived happily ever after with Wilhelm's elder brother Jakob for the rest of their lives.

 

TWO SELKIE STORIES FROM SCOTLAND 
A retelling of the Scottish fairy tales, The Selkie Bride and The Seal-Hunter and the Selkie
(Released in Australia in May 2014)
Illustrated by Fiona McDonald (Children's)
You can read a lovely guest post from Ms. Forsyth HERE on creating the book and on her ancestry which, apparently, might just involve a selkie!

From Kate Forsyth:

My grandmother’s grandmother was Scottish. Her name was Ellen Mackenzie and she grew up on the Black Isle in the Highlands of Scotland. Ellen’s mother was called Margaret McPhee, and as everyone in Scotland knows, the McPhee clan was descended from Selkies. The name McPhee is derived from an older version of the name MacDuffie, which comes from the Gaelic term MacDubhSithe, meaning ‘son of the dark fairy’. Family legend says that the first McPhee took a Selkie as a bride!    

...I always loved the tales of selkies, who were seals in the water and humans upon the land. It seemed the best of both worlds. I loved wondering if I had Selkie blood in me, and if one day I’d find the way to transform into a seal. 

(See? Seriously. Go read!)

DANCING ON KNIVES
Using the fairy tale of The Little Mermaid and referencing The Red Shoes
(Just released in Australia on June 2nd, 2014)

A damaged family and their generations of dangerous secrets 
At twenty, Sara is tormented by terror so profound she hasn't left her home in five years. Like the mermaid in the fairytale her Spanish grandmother once told her, Sara imagines she is dancing on knives. She feels suffocated by her family, especially her father – the famous artist Augusto Sanchez – whose volcanic passions dominate their lives. 
Then one stormy night, her father does not come home. His body is found dangling from a cliff face. Astonishingly, he is still alive, but the mystery of his fall can only be solved by the revelation of long-held family secrets.
At once a suspenseful murder mystery and a lyrical love story, Dancing on Knives is about how family can constrict and liberate us, how art can be both joyous and destructive, and how strength can be found in the unlikeliest places.

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You can see more information about Ms. Forsyth's books at the Random House Australia site HERE.

Ms. Forsyth's books have been reviewed all over the internet so there are plenty of opinions out there letting you know how much they love her work. She's been interviewed in a number of places as well so you can glean little bits of information about her research and process if you do a quick search but best of all, there's a video (though 46ish minutes, the time goes quickly listening to her!) in which Ms. Forsyth talks about Bitter Greens and The Wild Girl.

Have a listen (& a look):

She also just wrote a very interesting post on the history of Sleeping Beauty from Troylus and Zellandine (around 1300) to Matthew Bourne's recent ballet and the recent Disney revisioning in Maleficent, including a brief look at criticism of the tale. It's very comprehensive yet easy to read and includes her favorite novel versions of the tale. While I wasn't surprised to find Jane Yolen's Briar Rose there (with a WWII setting) I was pleased to find Adele Geras' Watching the Roses there (a lovely device throughout is including descriptions of various rose varieties that ultimately provide a subtle commentary on the story). You can find the post HERE.

Kate Forsyth

Ms. Forsyth can be found all over the place speaking on fairy tales these days. Whether it's with regard to her books and work, or discussing the importance of fairy tales with world renowned fairy tale scholar, Professor Jack Zipes, discussing the relevance of fairy tales in the 21st century on the radio, or being involved in a lively discussion panel for the Australian Fairy Tale Society, I have a feeling we will see even more fairy tale inspired work from her. With her enthusiastic fan following, including many among the young adult crowd (though her books aren't specifically YA), you know that she's doing a lot of good in having people consider fairy tales, their importance and their relevance.

I have a feeling... the best is yet to come.

Kate Forsyth's website and wonderful blog is HERE (she's also in the Other Fairy Tale News Sources blogroll on the right of the page here at OUABlog).
She can also be found on Twitter HERE.
And her Facebook page is HERE.

For Australian buyers, Booktopia is recommended. For the UK and US, Amazon.com. Some of her many awards are listed below.

TWO SELKIE TALES - released May 2014

DANCING ON KNIVES - releaseD June 2014

THE WILD GIRL - voted the Most Memorable Love Story of 2013 by Australians

BITTER GREENS - shortlisted for the 2012 Aurealis Award, the Ditmar Award & the Norma K. Hemming Award, for which it received an Honourable Mention 

THE PUZZLE RING - shortlisted for 2009 Aurealis Award & named an Unsung Hero of 2009 

THE GYPSY CROWN - won the 2007 Aurealis Award & was nominated for a CYBIL Award

THE LIGHTNING BOLT - named a CBCA Notable Book in 2007

THE CURSED TOWERS - shortlsted for the 1999 Aurealis Award

DRAGONCLAW - shortlisted for the 1997 Aurealis Award