K. 4 Volume 04
Š Katie Chappell
The Beginning of Kokoni Magazine
In 2017, two master of fine art graduates from Edinburgh College of Art established PIED Studio to explore their love for illustrations and designs. In order to share their passion for picturebooks with other people, and to support picturebook creators, they then created Kokoni Magazine, a quarterly published magazine about the art of making picturebooks. In each issue, readers can find interviews of established and emerging picturebook artists, articles about picturebooks, news, new talents' submissions, tips for making picturebooks, step-by-step and games about creating picturebooks. Kokoni means "Here" in Japanese, it means: "no matter who you are, a professional, an emerging illustrator and author, a hobbyist, or a picturebook reader, Kokoni is happy to lead you to admire picturebooks from different perspectives from here, from Kokoni!"
ŠJie Ho
CONTENT Editor's Note
03 - 04
Meet the Rising Star: Jie Ho
05 - 10
Meet the Rising Star: Katie Chappell
11 - 16
Into the Woods: @picturebooksandpapers
17 - 18
The Hidden Gem: Ray He
19 - 20
Courage
is what we need to launch a new project, to start a new journey, to try new things, to ask and answer questions, to overcome difficulties, to know yourself, to love and forgive and to make the world a better place.
KoKoNi Press
Editor-in-Chief Boris Lee
Design Director I-Shan Chen
IT Manager Justin Chen
Issue04 Contributors Jie Ho, Katie Chappell, Ray He
Editor's Note
by Boris Lee
Compound /'kɒmpaʊnd/, noun “A thing that is composed of two or more separate elements; a mixture.” -by Oxford Dictionary.
In the fourth issue of the sample version of Kokoni Magazine, we continue explore how illustrators deal with the frustrating moments in their creative life. In our previous issues, the illustrators showed us how frustration can also become their source of creativity. The frustration is not only a negative state, it also inspires. In this issue, we interviewed two illustrators, one is Katie Chappell, a British illustrator, who is also a children’s workshop co-organiser. The other one is Jie Ho, a Taiwanese illustrator, who is also a poet. Do their multiple identities influence their creating process? How do they strike a balance between their different work? We also launch a new project, which we will introduce you what we like on social media platforms. This time we recommend @picturebookendpapers, an account that focuses on sharing beautiful endpapers of picturebooks. Apart from the interviews and the Instagram recommendation, we present a set of tranquil illustrations from an emerging illustrator Ray Ho. This set of illustrations will make you feel the breeze when you are looking at them. Enjoy the magazine and peace. If you have any opinions about Kokoni Magazine, please feel free to share with us: hello@kokonimagazine.com.
Signature
Meet The Rising Star x Jie Ho
Jie has been writing poetry and making illustrations from a young age. As she grew up, she started making picturebooks to combine her poems, stories a n d i l l u s t r at i o n s. To h e r, picturebooks are books that convey concepts, mainly use pictures and sometimes with words. “It's a great way of reading, pictures and text can be a good combination making a narrative speak out more,� says Jie.
I Believe in the Power of Art and Literature. Taiwanese Illustrator & Poet Graduated from MA in Illustration at the University of Edinburgh Website: https://j-ho-art.wixsite.com/j-ho-art E-mail: ednaho4@gmail.com Instagram: @j.ho.art
“I think a good picturebook is one easy to read, successful expressing the author's thoughts. The book Michael Rosen's Sad Book is a strong example of a great combination of the story and the pictures.
In her work, Jie aims not only to entertain readers, but to “raise awareness of issues, and give people strength and hope”. “I have always believed in the power of art and literature,” she says.
It tears me up every time reading it.”
The Square is about fitting perfectly in a square: a square the society draws, that everyone needs to fit in. What is normal? And what is abnormal?
The picturebooks that Jie creates are usually with less text, the stories are more like poems. When she was studying in Edinburgh, she had a one-year project about homelessness. To finish this project, she talked to homeless people, and made and provided food to them, she even emulated their general experience of sitting on the streets. All these actions and experiences influenced her and her work. As a result, she made a zine The Square and a picturebook Parallel Universe.
This zine gives us a chance to discuss this issue, it is for everyone.
When Jie was doing the homelessness project, since it is a touchy subject, she encountered many problems. Among all the obstacles, the biggest one was she frequently got refused when she spend a lot of time doing research and ethnographic studies about the reality of people’s life on the streets.
Parallel Universe is written after talking to shelters and homeless people, it looks into the cause and the reality of homelessness. When Jie was doing the homelessness project, since it is a touchy subject, she encountered many problems. Among all the obstacles, the big gest one was she frequently got refused when she spend a lot of time doing research and ethnographic studies about the reality of people’s life on the streets.
Including some of the reasons people being homeless, such as relationships breaking up, week support web, etc.
Jie didn’t face problems only when she was gathering materials for her books. While making picturebooks, Jie had some difficulties too, and they often made her anxious. The method that comforted her was “looking and reading other people’s works”.
"Picturebooks make me calm," says Jie.
Speaking of reading picturebook, Jie says that she had read a self-published picturebook about overcoming difficulties, and she would like to recommend it. The book is This Is My Masterpiece, written and illustrated by Boris Lee. “I read it on ECA MFA degree show,” says Jie, "a great book describing the difficulties a creator can encounter, and can help people have the courage to find their voices.” - Kokoni.
“Sometimes, difficulties make me think more about the book and issues, and help me create works that are sincerer.�
Katie is the founder of Making & Moving- a Workshops for children- in Berwick-upon-Tweed. She loves children, drawing and travelling. As an illustrator, Katie’s approach doesn’t only focus on picturebooks. “ I l ove t o m a k e i m a g e s, paint, draw, tell stories,” she says. “If they’re sometimes squished out of my brain into a picturebook, that’s nice.”
Meet The Rising Star x Katie Chappell
Meditation, Go for Walks, and Make Arts. An illustrator based in Edinburgh & Northumberland Founder of Making & Moving Workshops Website: https://www.katiechappell. com E-mail: katiedraws.hello@gmail.com Instagram: @katiedraws
The very hungry caterpillar captivated me as a child (maybe just because I like to eat and dreamed of eating that many things).
In K atie’s opinion, “a picturebook is stor ytelling without words.” And to make a good picturebook, the creator has to weave colours, images a n d w o r d s t o g e t h e r, e ve n though colours and images communicate to readers on totally different level to words.
Also, Quentin Blake’s illustrations for Roald Dahl were some of my favourites growing up.
I felt like I knew the BFG personally. More recently, I love the work of Esme Shapiro and Laura Carlin.”
Katie grew up surrounded by picturebooks, she thinks picturebooks are “fun to read” and “they can teach us things.” “Any time I’m babysitting I insist on reading about 5 bedtime stories (because I’m selfish like that),” says Katie. “Children never seem to mind.” Moreover, from her point of view, illustrators and artists can gain inspiration from picturebooks.
So far, she mainly collaborates with writers to make picturebooks, which means “the concepts and issues have been in the writer’s control.” When we conducted this interview, Katie was working on a project that “touches on disabilities and feeling different, but succeeding despite these challenges.”
During the process of creating, Katie often has to find a method to stay focused at work. “I struggle with distractions, time keeping and staying focused,” she says.
“Recently I’ve discovered making my iPhone ‘distraction free’ after reading an article online. I don’t even have emails on there anymore. I set up an out of office reply for my emails saying, if it can’t wait until 3pm, please text or call me. It’s been working a treat so far, and I’ve been freed from the merry-goround of checking all the apps on my phone for updates.”
“Recently I’ve discovered making my iPhone ‘distraction free’ after reading an article online. I don’t even have emails on there anymore. I set up an out of office reply for my emails saying, if it can’t wait until 3pm, please text or call me. It’s been working a treat so far, and I’ve been freed from the merry-goround of checking all the apps on my phone for updates.”
“I’m very lucky to live in a town with lots of other amazing illustrators and we all try to go for coffee about once a month. Helen Stephens, Gerry Turley, Julia Patton, Tania Willis, Mick Manning, Brita Granstrom and Anna Chapman Parker. “Recently I’ve discovered making my iPhone ‘distraction free’ after reading an article online. I don’t even have emails on there anymore. I set up an out of office reply for my emails saying, if it can’t wait until 3pm, please text or call me. It’s been working a treat so far, and I’ve been freed from the merry-go-round of checking all the apps on my phone for updates.”
It’s incredible to have such a successful, loving creative community on my doorstep."
Before we finished the interview, we asked Katie if she could think of any picturebooks that might help overcome difficulties, “Right now I cannot think of one specific book, but I really want to read Yak and Dove by Esme Shapiro,” she says. － Kokoni.
Into the woods, what can you see? Start: Intro: Since social media platforms appear, there are many interesting things on them. Some social media accounts have already attracted many followers, some are yet to be discovered. In this chapter, Kokoni walks into the woods of social media platforms to discovers the worth-noticing accounts. To us, they are inspirational and worth following, and we would like to share them with you. Enjoy!
@picturebookendpapers, platform: Instagram. As the description says: “Let's start from the beginning�, this account shares beautiful picturebook endpapers. The endpapers usually exist in hardback books. There are two types of endpapers: the front endpaper and the back endpaper. The front endpaper is a double page spread with illustrations or colours that you will see immediately when you open a picturebook. The back endpaper is the last double page spread with illustrations or colours that you will see before closing a picturebook.
There are many different ways to design endpapers, and sometimes they contain secrets and clues of the stories. In fact, an endpaper is just as important as the actual story, it could be the trailer of the picturebook. Some good endpapers to look at are The Arrival by Shaun Tan, I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen, Where Is The Elephant by Barroux.
Here are the three reasons we love this account: 1. 2. 3.
Inspirational Diverse Entertaining
The Hidden Gem
“Last Sunday morning, I was about to go to church. But along the way, my mind whispered an invitation to feed the birds instead, and my feet carried me to the small park uphill in town.
Ray He Taiwanese Illustrator MA Illustration, ECA Instagram @_rayhe https://tictail.com/fureilige
Once, I saw a long-haired young man sitting on the bench near the entrance, pigeons crowding his feet, his eyes on a sketching pad at hands. I took a picture of that scene. I sat on the same spot just like he did then. When the birds flocked to be fed, their feathers would brush against my ankles from time to time - such softness evoked something deep down: the fact that one can be touched by other living beings, simply by chance and without intention, is a precious thing.
I could recall how aloof and indifferent the birds were every time I wave goodbye to them. It was one of the most delightful scenarios in life - I was nothing but a food-providing passerby, nothing but a human being making fleeting contacts with Nature.�- Ray