It was such a treat getting a chance to pick illustrator Melodie Stacey's brain about her newest picture book Else B. in the Sea, written by Jeanne Walker Harvey. Enjoy peeking behind the curtain with me to learn more about how the story of Else B came to life!
About the book:
Else Bostelmann donned a red swimsuit and a copper diving helmet and, with paints and brushes in hand, descended into the choppy turquoise sea off the coast of Bermuda. It was 1930, and few had ventured deep into the sea before. She discovered a fairyland six fathoms below the surface--fantastic coral castles, glittering sunbeams, swaying sea plumes, and slender purple sea fans. And fish! Flashy silverfish, puckering blue parrotfish, iridescent jellyfish.
Else painted under the sea! She painted what she saw with her own eyes, and, back on land, she painted the never-before-seen deep-sea creatures described by world-renowned scientist William Beebe on his momentous 1930s bathysphere expeditions for the New York Zoological Society's Department of Tropical Research. It was a daring and glamorous adventure and a dream come true for Else B., who shared this new, unfathomable world with humankind.
Else painted under the sea! She painted what she saw with her own eyes, and, back on land, she painted the never-before-seen deep-sea creatures described by world-renowned scientist William Beebe on his momentous 1930s bathysphere expeditions for the New York Zoological Society's Department of Tropical Research. It was a daring and glamorous adventure and a dream come true for Else B., who shared this new, unfathomable world with humankind.
Peek underneath the dust jacket:
And check out the endpapers:
Let's talk Melodie Stacey!
LTPB: How did you become the illustrator of Else B. in the Sea? What were the first images that popped into your mind when you saw Jeanne Walker Harvey’s text?
MS: I previously worked with Cameron Kids on the book Beautiful Useful Things, a biography about William Morris written by Beth Kephart, so I had that contact already in place. I was asked by them if I’d like to do another biography, and because I had such a good experience working with them before I said yes at once. I loved Jeanne’s (Harvey) story so much, both the writing and the subject excited me. I also found Else fascinating and wanted to find out more about her. I had no previous knowledge of Else and the idea of sharing her story to a wider audience was a great motivator in doing the story. The first images that came to me were the varieties of sea life I could paint. I also considered the era it was set in, how I would depict the 1930s world and fashion, more specifically how I would depict Else herself.
LTPB: Can you talk a little bit about the visual evolution of Else B. in the Sea? As you got to know Else and did your research on her, how did your illustrations evolve?
MS: I began with exhaustive research, this first stage is my favourite part of the process. It was however quite hard to find out much about Else online apart from little snippets. But I did manage to find some photographs and a little about her personal life, and also about the relationship with the scientist William Beebe, who she worked with to create her wonderful illustrations for the National Geographic magazine. I learnt she had some very upsetting events occur in her early adulthood, she was widowed at a young age and had a young child dependent on her. Else was very resilient and used her great talent to carve out a career in illustration which supported both herself and her daughter. She had great strength. I wanted the feeling of a strong independent woman to come across in my illustrations. Through my investigation I gained a vivid image of Else, this stayed the same throughout the process of creating the illustrations. I wanted her to have a strong build and distinctively 1920s style hair, a contrast between the 30s setting to depict her age and maturity at the time of the exhibition. As I started to sketch her I noticed a slight resemblance to my grandmother, who was around in the 1930s, though a slightly younger woman. Their build and hairstyle were very similar. As there were few photographic references for Else herself I decided to use old photographs of my grandmother and what clothes she wore as reference.
LTPB: What did you find most difficult in creating this book? What did you find most rewarding?
MS: The most difficult thing was the lack of photographs of Else, despite there being a lot of documentation on her work there was little to nothing about her as a person and her private life. Another difficulty I had to face during the process was depicting both the sea and the underwater world, this was something I’d never tackled before. I had to research that part of the Atlantic Ocean to know what aquatic life was native to that part of Bermuda, as it was important to make sure things were scientifically accurate.
The most rewarding part was telling Else’s story and seeing all my research on sea life slowly fit together. It was extremely satisfying to see my investigation into details like the tugboat which was used to bring specimens ashore during the expedition, the oil paints she would have painted with, and even the 1930s wash tubs come together on the completed pages.
LTPB: What did you use to create the illustrations in this book? Is this your preferred medium?
MS: The roughs were drawn digitally on my iPad. I also did this with Beautiful Useful Things and it made things so much quicker for me, though my initial research sketches were drawn in a sketchbook. Once the roughs were approved I started the finals in watercolour, gouache, pan pastels and coloured pencils. I wanted to use these materials specifically to create a more translucent and ethereal feeling. Gouache is my favourite go-to material, because of the rich deep colours it creates in my work. I had previously used pencils and gouache on Beautiful Useful Things and wanted to do so again to create a continuity of style between books. With every project I like to try new mediums so I purchased an array of pan pastels, which were especially effective for the sea ripples and waves.
LTPB: What are you working on now?
MS: I am currently working on my own story for a children's fiction picture book, which is something that I have wanted to do for a long time. It will be different in style to anything I’ve done before and I am very excited by the prospect. It’s still in its early stages and in the meantime I am producing work for and managing my online shop, and also working on various exciting private commissions.
LTPB: If you got the chance to write your own picture book autobiography, who (dead or alive!) would you want to illustrate it, and why?
MS: I previously worked with Cameron Kids on the book Beautiful Useful Things, a biography about William Morris written by Beth Kephart, so I had that contact already in place. I was asked by them if I’d like to do another biography, and because I had such a good experience working with them before I said yes at once. I loved Jeanne’s (Harvey) story so much, both the writing and the subject excited me. I also found Else fascinating and wanted to find out more about her. I had no previous knowledge of Else and the idea of sharing her story to a wider audience was a great motivator in doing the story. The first images that came to me were the varieties of sea life I could paint. I also considered the era it was set in, how I would depict the 1930s world and fashion, more specifically how I would depict Else herself.
MS: I began with exhaustive research, this first stage is my favourite part of the process. It was however quite hard to find out much about Else online apart from little snippets. But I did manage to find some photographs and a little about her personal life, and also about the relationship with the scientist William Beebe, who she worked with to create her wonderful illustrations for the National Geographic magazine. I learnt she had some very upsetting events occur in her early adulthood, she was widowed at a young age and had a young child dependent on her. Else was very resilient and used her great talent to carve out a career in illustration which supported both herself and her daughter. She had great strength. I wanted the feeling of a strong independent woman to come across in my illustrations. Through my investigation I gained a vivid image of Else, this stayed the same throughout the process of creating the illustrations. I wanted her to have a strong build and distinctively 1920s style hair, a contrast between the 30s setting to depict her age and maturity at the time of the exhibition. As I started to sketch her I noticed a slight resemblance to my grandmother, who was around in the 1930s, though a slightly younger woman. Their build and hairstyle were very similar. As there were few photographic references for Else herself I decided to use old photographs of my grandmother and what clothes she wore as reference.
MS: The most difficult thing was the lack of photographs of Else, despite there being a lot of documentation on her work there was little to nothing about her as a person and her private life. Another difficulty I had to face during the process was depicting both the sea and the underwater world, this was something I’d never tackled before. I had to research that part of the Atlantic Ocean to know what aquatic life was native to that part of Bermuda, as it was important to make sure things were scientifically accurate.
The most rewarding part was telling Else’s story and seeing all my research on sea life slowly fit together. It was extremely satisfying to see my investigation into details like the tugboat which was used to bring specimens ashore during the expedition, the oil paints she would have painted with, and even the 1930s wash tubs come together on the completed pages.
MS: The roughs were drawn digitally on my iPad. I also did this with Beautiful Useful Things and it made things so much quicker for me, though my initial research sketches were drawn in a sketchbook. Once the roughs were approved I started the finals in watercolour, gouache, pan pastels and coloured pencils. I wanted to use these materials specifically to create a more translucent and ethereal feeling. Gouache is my favourite go-to material, because of the rich deep colours it creates in my work. I had previously used pencils and gouache on Beautiful Useful Things and wanted to do so again to create a continuity of style between books. With every project I like to try new mediums so I purchased an array of pan pastels, which were especially effective for the sea ripples and waves.
MS: I am currently working on my own story for a children's fiction picture book, which is something that I have wanted to do for a long time. It will be different in style to anything I’ve done before and I am very excited by the prospect. It’s still in its early stages and in the meantime I am producing work for and managing my online shop, and also working on various exciting private commissions.
LTPB: If you got the chance to write your own picture book autobiography, who (dead or alive!) would you want to illustrate it, and why?
MS: If I could choose an illustrator alive or dead it would be Raymond Briggs. He died a few years ago but remains my favourite ever illustrator. His drawing skills were outstanding, and there was such a tenderness to his sketches. He did not shy away from the darker aspects of life, as documented in many of his books such as the devastating When the Wind Blows. If I could choose a living illustrator it would be Isabelle Arsenault. There are parallels with Raymond Briggs as in they both had/have remarkable drawing abilities.
One of my favourite illustrated books of hers is Cloth Lullaby written by Amy Novesky, a biography about the artist Louise Bourgeois. It's a beautiful and incredibly moving picture book, which I think is a rare thing to get right, but one that she does effortlessly.
One of my favourite illustrated books of hers is Cloth Lullaby written by Amy Novesky, a biography about the artist Louise Bourgeois. It's a beautiful and incredibly moving picture book, which I think is a rare thing to get right, but one that she does effortlessly.
My deep thanks to Melodie for taking time to answers some questions! Else B. in the Sea published earlier this summer from Cameron Kids!
Special thanks to Melodie and Cameron Kids for use of these images!
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