By Audrey Seilheimer
David Small and Sarah Stewart live in an expansive, traditional manor-style home surrounded by towering, old knotty trees along the St. Joseph River in Mendon. They are internationally acclaimed creative artists who tell stories as illustrator and author.
When I see Sarah at the reading of David’s latest book, “The Werewolf at Dusk and Other Stories” at the Western Michigan University Zhang Library on March 18, we speak quietly as David greets friends and fans who have come to get their book autographed and hear from the prolific illustrator, her husband.
I tell her how long we have been in Vicksburg, following our relatives, and we agree that the community and landscape itself adds so much inspiration toward creative energy. “Oh, well you’ve lived in the city too…so did we, so you know what (landscape) I’m talking about,” she says.
It’s the peace and connection to nature that is such a gift to the creative process for Sarah and David out in Mendon, along the beauty of the St. Joe. Their gorgeous home is perched above the river to enjoy the seasons and as a backdrop for David’s studio where he works on his books over a span of years.
During the Q&A portion of the night, David reflects that he creates images much like a filmmaker. One audience member asks if he would ever want to make films. “That would take working with big groups of people, and I like my solitary life.” He says wistfully, with a tiny smile.
His newest book “The Werewolf at Dusk” is definitely not for kids. David has had a foot in two publishing camps since 2009 with the debut of his graphic memoir “Stitches”, followed in 2015 by “Home After Dark.” Those past books and this new one, released in March 2024, are to be distinguished from his 50-plus picture books intended for children. David has the talent, and the publishing support, to flex both types of creative vantage points. He goes from visually articulating light-hearted stories for children to the opposite side of the spectrum where he illustrates for grown audiences with more mature themes in a graphic novel form.
This latest book is a collection of three stories curated, illustrated (and, in one instance,) written by David. The title story is by the novelist Lincoln Michel, the middle story is by David and the third is by Jean Ferry, a French screenwriter who worked with the likes of Luis Bunuel and Marcel Carne until his death in the early 50’s.
At the reading on this chilly evening at the Zhang Library, David describes the lengthy process of purchasing the rights to illustrate the stories that weren’t his, and how two siblings were divided over the benefit of the publishing deal. For a while, the book was in limbo; being an author’s nightmare after completing the manuscript. Luckily, it all worked out and the book is in his hands tonight in front of a crowd of about 40 people in the small interior enclave of the Zhang library.
He takes questions from the audience as he reads while we view a slideshow of his accompanying illustrations. There is an unvarnished fierceness to his graphic stories intended for adults which grips the heart. I have to remind myself of the intended tone after reading and enjoying his illustrations for youth fiction like “When Dinosaurs Came with Everything” with the kids. David explains he’s created his last few projects on his iPad after donating decades of paper sketchbooks to the WMU archive, and after resisting the technology for so long as a traditional artist.
“The tools on the iPad are just too magical.” He relented in good humor.
David spoke of the wonders of the iPad for illustrating but also said “I wouldn’t want any student to just jump to that. There is a foundation of skills in sketching (and traditional techniques), and it’s too easy to just leave mistakes in if you don’t have that base.” He explains how he originally learned print making and photo engraving and each chemical needed for the process and how that process educated him toward each step in developing his natural drawing talent.
Sarah and David stay and chat with everyone in attendance after the event. David signs books for those lined up before asking familiar friends in the crowd where they should go to have a glass of wine afterward. It is a delightful chance to ask David about the subtle wit and detail he layers in much of his work. He explains how he started as a caricature artist and one of his greatest influences was Ronald Searle, an English artist and satirical cartoonist, who himself was influenced by George Grosz, the German cartoonist of the 1920s. He goes into detail about “perspective depending on the thickness of the ink in line drawings.” That’s the moment I start grinning over realizing the connection each of these generations of artists, growing up in different parts of the planet, have impacted each other by sharing their reflections on life in their drawings and books.
What strikes me in listening to David and Sarah was how connected they were to their art being deeply reflective of their interior, personal lives along the St. Joe while creating visual storytelling through many versions of themselves. David grew up in Detroit and attended Cass Tech High School. Sarah was born in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Besides lovingly restoring the gardens, orchard and grounds of their historic property along the St. Joe, Sarah is a poet and lifelong diarist.
She is the author of five acclaimed children’s books and a recipient of the 2007 Michigan Author Award, which is judged by Michigan librarians. David is a National Book Award finalist and winner of the American Library Association’s Alex Award along with having been awarded multiple Caldecott Honors and Caldecott Medal.
While I photograph the discussion, David mentions how he still carries “a black book”, a sketchbook, when he’s out in public and is observing a stranger to quickly capture a rendering. “It’s less obvious when you have a black book (vs. iPad) and I’ll probably always carry one.” In his late 70s, he has new projects in the works and plenty of fresh ideas.
I marvel that we have these two profound artists living right here in southern Kalamazoo County and we are so fortunate to have opportunities to hear from them and read their books.
More at davidsmallbooks.com
