By Compendium Staff
Gifted creators craft entire worlds, then invite us in to make those worlds our own. Illustrator Elise Hurst has this special gift. Her newest book The Storyteller’s Almanac is a collection of fantastical illustrations, richly layered in fine detail for readers to explore. Like the beloved companion title, The Storyteller’s Handbook, there is no set narrative, only clues and intrigue Hurst leaves behind, waiting for each reader’s perspective and inner storyteller to bring them to life.
Within these pages you might find a giant octopus visiting a cottage beneath the sea or a towering toadstool sprouting in a town square. As you imagine the tales behind each scene, whether you’re 9 or 99, The Storyteller’s Almanac is sure to stir up creativity, curiosity, and wonder.
We asked Elise Hurst to share more about her creative process for the book. Here is what she had to say:
Can you share more about the word “almanac”? For centuries, almanacs have been used by people all around the world as a calendar and reference for the physical world we live in—charting everything from the seasons and tides, data on rainfall and storms to the movements of the stars and the sun. There are many kinds of almanacs, but they are all a resource to help people plot their lives. The Storyteller’s Almanac is a resource for the imagination—inspired by the seasons, tides, stars, and navigation, but also capturing snapshots of lives—intermingling the mundane and the extraordinary.
One of the wonderful things about your books is that there is something for everyone at every age. How do you hope this book will enrich people’s lives? This book is perfect for a writer looking to spark new ideas, a class creating stories, a family spending time together, or anyone seeking a place for daydreaming. Everyone who looks at these pictures is the expert on what they mean. There are no wrong ideas, no incorrect interpretations. A whole class of students could write responses based on the same picture and no two stories would be the same.
Imaginations need help and time to grow. Encouraging your imagination is not just about having fun. It builds a mind that is curious, adaptive, playful and that is not afraid to connect ideas.
All the advancements in the world come from an original mind looking from a unique perspective. No one else in the entire universe has your mind and from the moment you make your first connection the book becomes unique to you.
What mediums did you use? This book is created in pen and watercolor. I have always been very influenced by etchings and old illustrations, and the extraordinary scenes that could be created just through line and limited color. In just the same way that the images are filled with unanswered questions, so too do I use my technique to leave spaces for people’s imaginations to fill in the gaps. When I don’t include all of the background to a scene, the viewer can locate it anywhere. When I don’t provide all of the colors, I leave space for the viewer’s mind to complete it. When I include animals acting like people in a scene, the viewer can make that animal a stand-in for whoever would be meaningful for them.
Do you have a favorite moment in the creative process for this project? I collect ideas everywhere—taking photos wherever I go, collecting vintage photography books and jotting down scraps of inspiration. I love to sift through these and see which seems to suddenly call out for attention. Even more exciting is when very different ideas click together and two seemingly disparate things become a strange narrative moment all on their own.
As I draw, these scenes continue to develop with characters finding their way into empty spaces and details suddenly popping onto the page. I allow these things to happen while I work, without planning everything first. It makes the process as exciting for me as it is for someone turning the page and seeing it for the first time. I have learned to trust this process, giving my subconscious mind a chance to make connections that my planning mind would not see. It is the same thing when people look at the images.
What do you hope this book will inspire more of in the world? I want people to give themselves permission to enjoy their imaginations no matter what age they are, and how serious they think they are meant to be. I hope that people will take some time away from their screens and carve out quiet spaces where their minds can be creative and their own ideas can have a starring role. It is never too early or too late to give time to our creativity and see where it might lead us. Spending time with your imagination makes it grow and can help to give you a voice you never knew you had.
ELISE HURST is an illustrator and author of children’s books, as well as a traditional artist. She has illustrated over fifty books over the years, including Imagine a City, and The Night Garden, which received a Children’s Book Council of Australia shortlisting. She lives in Melbourne with her husband, Peter, and their twin boys. You can read more about her work at elisehurst.com or follow her on twitter at @EliseHurstArtistillustrator.
