Author/Illustrator Interview with Manya Tessler

An author/illustrator's first book is an exciting event that calls for celebration!  I am very pleased to introduce  Manya Tessler and her first book, Yuki's Ride Home, which has just been published by Bloomsbury Children's Books. Manya went to the School of Visual Arts for the graduate program in illustration and I got to know her later when she took my shorter evening course at SVA. She had already finished her book and was starting her next project. It always takes about a year from when the illustrator finishes the book until it is actually published: a long wait! Her beautiful book is finally here - Congratulations!

It is a warm, inviting story about a little girl and her special relationship with her grandmother. With quiet help from her loving grandmother, Yuki takes an important first journey on her own. The story takes place in Japan and there are many specific details about Japan in both the words and pictures.  To begin with, I asked Manya about her connection to Japan.

Did you live in Japan? Do you speak Japanese?

After high school and during college, I lived abroad (I wanted to actually use the languages I had studied: Spanish and Italian).  I loved it so much that I knew I wanted to do it again. I read about the JET (Japan Exchange Teaching) Program, in which native English speakers are hired by the Japanese government to co-teach in public schools in Japan, and thought that, since I'd always loved teaching that it could be an amazing experience. It was.

I went not knowing any Japanese, but became engrossed in the language once I moved there. I love learning languages. They are like math problems in which there are formulas for putting together different parts (in this case, words), and they are actually useful! It's one of the most amazing feelings when you can finally go out into the world and hold a conversation with someone in their language, learning about them and exchanging ideas.

Transitioning to living in Japan was really hard for me. It was culture shock like I'd never experienced before because I didn't speak the language. Not to mention learning about the way things worked (between people, at work, etc.). It wasn't like Italy or the Latin American countries I had been in; The culture was much harder for me to delve into and understand. But the few close friends that I did have in Japan were some of the dearest, closest friendships I've ever had in my entire life. I think about that amazing town and the people I knew there (friends, students) every single day.

When did you know that you wanted to be a children’s book writer and illustrator? How did that
happen?

Here is the only photo I have in NY of me when I was younger (my friend sent it to me--I'm on the right. We've been friends since kindergarten).
I always loved making pictures, but it wasn't until late in high school, when I started working on an alphabet book, that I realized how much I loved illustrating a book.
Actually, it took what my former college printmaking professor considered an insult to make me think about becoming an "illustrator." He complained that my thesis contained "illustrations," alluding to his idea that "illustrations" are not "art." I've seen so many children's books which are wonderfully illustrated that I know that that's not true. If anything, I prefer illustrations because they tell a story.

Then, while living in Japan after college, I methodically worked my way through "The Artist's Way," by Julia Cameron. The book's theme is realizing one's dreams by putting them out into the world. Only then, according to Cameron, will they come true. I finally admitted that I wanted to write and illustrate children's books. I applied to grad school in Illustration, and returned to the States to attend SVA here in NYC.

Can you tell us about the process of creating Yuki’s Ride Home, from first idea to publication? How did this book get started?

"Yuki's Ride Home" is about the difficult time that I had adjusting to life back here in the States without loved ones and friends I had met and grown close to in Japan. It is about learning to let go of some of those attachments by realizing and accepting that everyone is in the place which is best for them. It's about realizing that we can't always take loved ones with us. Ultimately, it's about me learning to forge a new, independent life for myself, and learning to grow up.

Did the idea for the book come first with words or with images?
Which stage was the hardest, most challenging, which stage the easiest, or
most fun?

I think the idea came with both words and images. They influenced each other. The process of coming up with a suitable book dummy took forever! I was so caught up in the original idea and inspiration for the story that it took me a long time to let go and let the story unfold (not to mention A LOT of help from my critique group, and also from my critique partner, Susie Lee Jin , from back then).

What was some of the give and take between you and your editor and agent with revisions and changes?

My agent from back then (Ronnie Ann Herman) helped immensely. She wanted the story to be the best that it could be, and put in so much time and effort to making it that even before we sent it out (but also after, too). I'm grateful to her and my editor, Jill Davis, for believing in Yuki.
The art director, Donna Mark, helped a lot as well by believing in me. She said the minimal amount of words, but those words were so incredibly helpful (such as "vary the perspective"). She gave me a lot of free rein, which was scary to me (I know I bothered her numerous times by constantly sending in images and asking if they were okay). But actually the free rein helped me find my own voice.

What is your technique for your artwork?

I scan my drawing into the computer, and then scan other papers (papers I've painted on, origami paper, etc.) into the computer, and then manipulate them in Photoshop. (You can see a before-and-after image here on my website .)

Is Yuki’s grandmother based on someone real, perhaps on your own grandmother?

Yes, Yuki's grandma is visually based on a combination of my own grandmother, and my dear friend, Mrs. Mary Hirata. Yuki's grandma's personality is a combination of both of my grandmas, and is built upon the memories of all the fun things they did with me over the years. Here is a photo of my Nanny (the adorable silver-haired woman on the left. The woman on the right is her best friend).

Did you have a favorite pet as a child? Do you have pets now?

Yes, I had lots of pets growing up (dogs, birds, gerbils, and some stray cats we used to feed out in the barn).  Now we have two amazing, adorable "kids": Dessi and Petunia. They're wonderful and hilarious.  Here is Dessi in his favorite chair (he sits at the kitchen table), and Petunia sitting on my desk surrounded by my drawings (including an early image of Yuki).

       

Thank-you so much, Manya, for sharing all this with us!

Here is Manya's website: www.manyatessler.com

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