Food for Thought
A guest post by Elizabeth Haidle, Illustoria’s art director.
I was recently visiting the Kansas City Art Institute, as a guest artist this fall. I ran a special assignment, asking students to illustrate a topic related to food & to pair words with their images in any style of their choosing. I was pleased with their surprising variety of responses—family recipes, history of food, cultural traditions, comic journalism featuring food, and food-related ethical concerns. Some went the scientific route, with food diagrams and food traveling through the digestive tract. (Yuck, but fascinating!) Here are some of my favorites, with comments by the artists about their choice of imagery / subject matter:
————————
Art by Nicole Richardson
@crimsonrib
“With my piece, I wanted to illustrate some things you might find in your kitchen that you might not want to eat. I chose to do this in a style like a medieval herbal manuscript.” — Nina Gookin
@NinaGookin
"This illustration was inspired by an emotional revelation i had late one night about how dumplings mirror the human experience. Despite the vast differences in food around the world, nearly every culture has some variation of the dumpling, as diverse in form as the cultures they come from, but all the same in their basic form. It is nice to remember that no matter where you come from or who you are that we all understand the universal comfort and appeal of a small packet of dough." — CJ Nelson
@crowclub
“For the Illustration, I was struggling to create a fun artwork for anyone to learn and appreciate. Then I got inspired by my nostalgia for bubble tea when my friends and I recalled our memories. I remembered that I almost always go to a Bubble Tea booth to get a tea with my friend weekly. It was one of my favorite memories. Yet that hangout time with my friend led me to a new drink that I grew very fond of. I realized that I barely know anything about my own favorite drink, thus the informative illustration!” —Lacey Vonderschmidt
@Impossibmax
“The recipe I chose to illustrate is a very important one. During the holidays my family and I always make this yummy tea together as a way to bond. We take turns juicing the fruit while mom gets the other ingredients ready. Its always a wonderful time and the house is always left smelling delicious!” —Lana Laughlin
@lanalaughlinillustration
“Because I'm originally from Oklahoma, I chose to bring up one of the wackiest facts I know about the state! Most people don't believe me when I tell them about my state vegetable, so I created a colorful comic about it!” — Parker
@Hardcoreparker
"When people think about the ethics of eating, they normally think about vegetarianism and animal abuse. I grew up knowing that my extended family were produce farmers that used migrant labor, grew up worrying about the human rights abuses that farm workers have suffered since the days of Cesar Chavez. The food industry is a huge, wasteful, looming titan that consumes workers and animals alike, and I wanted nothing more than to illustrate exactly why it took up so much space in my head." — Malachi Peters
@malachi_makes
“My interest in honey began with by my agricultural roots. My aunt and uncle are beekeepers. When I moved to the city, I was surprised to learn that some people don't know where food comes from. Migrant workers and small family farms perform the difficult labor that makes our food possible. I love honey in particular because it has beneficial medicinal properties and because beekeeping directly improves the health of the environment. We rely on farmers as much as farmers rely on bees!” —Casper Warren
@Holytheft
We at Illustoria are always so amazed to see how various artists and writers interpret a theme—often in ways that we would have never imagined ourselves, and certainly in styles and voices that are original and captivating. Thanks to Elizabeth and the students at the Kansas City Art Institute for sharing their beautiful, thoughtful, and inspired illustrations with us!
Who We Are: Genny McAuley
illustration by Agnes Lee
Name: Genny McAuley
Location: San Francisco, California
Profession: Book Peddler at Chronicle Books & florist
Genny with Grumpy Cat
Favorite artist/illustrator: Jon Stich & Oliver Jeffers
Best book you've read in the past year: The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau
Kids' book you could read every night: Weird Parents by Audrey Wood or Bears on Chairs by Shirley Parenteau
Best memory of being a kid: Going on road trips with my family. One time, we all went camping in Yosemite and after the first night, my mom and I decided we were too cold/the ground was no fun to sleep on so we left the boys in the woods and drove to my grandmother's house for the rest of the long weekend. I like camping now, but it was fun to fly by the seat of our pants and surprise my grandma with a visit from her girls!
Favorite weekend activity: Weeding the garden with my 18-month old nephew
Song currently on repeat: (this is embarassing) "Sorry" by Justin Beiber and (this isn't so embarassing) "Standing In the Shadow of Love" by The Four Tops
Genny dressed as an 80s hip hop cat (duh)
Favorite meal: A giant nicoise salad and chocolate coconut ice cream for dessert
Last time you made something with your hands: Yesterday! I put together many bouquets and hand-wrote notes for their recipients
Fun fact about you: My left eyebrow was born turning down at the end--it's grown up that way, too, and everything turned out all right!
Who We Are: Elizabeth Haidle
Name:
Me & Eli
Location:
Portland, OR
Profession:
Freelance artist & musical saw player (& Creative Director of ILLUSTORIA)
Favorite artist/illustrator:
recent discovery: Nathaniel Russell; also Jillian Tamaki, Brecht Evens, Emily Carroll
Best book you've read in the past year:
Your Illustrated Guide to Becoming One with the Universe, by Yumi Sakugawa
Kids’ book you could read every night:
What Was I Afraid Of? by Dr. Suess
Best memory of being a kid:
Dressing up as a ham sandwich for Halloween, made with scraps I scrounged from my dad's studio. My head stuck out of a bite mark at the top. I had a little trouble climbing on the bus & standing during the ride to school, but it was worth it. Absolutely zero other people were a ham sandwich that year.
Favorite weekend activity:
3-course breakfasts. Also anything involving a hammock.
Song currently on repeat:
"The Very Thought of You," by Billie Holliday; I just know everything's gonna be alright when Billie sings.
Favorite meal:
Last time you made something with your hands:
Accordian fold mini book entitled: 'Inner Donkey'
Patterned postcards using eraser chunks as stamps
Fun fact about you:
I'm terrible at wrestling and my son always wants to, so I made up my own moves. One is called 'Cheek Pin', where you press the other person down by smushing your cheek really hard against theirs. Also they are maybe paralyzed by laughter, which helps. Another is called 'Cashmere Head Clamp' and requires one to be wearing a cashmere robe. Which I wear often.
Who We Are: Joanne Chan
illustration by Agnes Lee
Name: Joanne Chan
Location: Berkeley, CA / hometown: Oakland, CA
Profession: Mom of Sonia & Marcas and publisher of ILLUSTORIA
Happy Together: Marcas, Mark, me, Sonia
Favorite artist/illustrator: Pina Bausch and Hayao Miyazaki
Best book you’ve read in the past year: A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
Kids’ book you could read every night: Spider & the Fly by Tony DiTerlizzi (because we really do), Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing by Judi Barrett & Ron Barrett, Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown.
Best memory of being a kid: shaking the blossoms off our plum tree and pretending it was snowing in Oakland; generally being out in the backyard and helping my dad water the garden, picking and eating apples, plums, mandarins, loquats and the sweetest cherry tomatoes on earth…catching butterflies and, sad to admit, putting them in jars to admire.
Favorite weekend activity: making granola and watching the kids play pirate-Harry Potter in the yard (a trip to the art museum at some point is a plus)
Marcas as pirate-Harry Potter with Dumbledore's staff
Song currently on repeat: Three White Horses by Andrew Bird (at home) and Piggies by The Beatles (in the car)
Favorite meal: any pasta dish made by Mark shared with family and friends, darkest chocolate and mint tisane for dessert
Last time you made something with your hands: lavender satchel necklace + denim tote bag + pencil case for Sonia’s 10th birthday
Birthday lunch note
Fun fact about you: I once choreographed and danced in a duet (with my dearest friend) in an abandoned subway tunnel in Brooklyn.