PUBLICATION OF THE ANGLESEA COMMUNITY HOUSE
ISSUE 122 WINTER 2015
Artist: Trudy White By Terrence Hoffmann
Trudy White was born and raised in Melbourne although she has lived in Aireys Inlet for the last seven years. She studied art and design at Box Hill TAFE before completing a Bachelor of Art in Fine Art (Painting) and a Master of Fine Art at Victorian College of the Arts. Further studies in bee-keeping, plant science, writing and editing have ensured that she is well prepared for her life as a practicing artist. Trudy has published three books, contributed to several others and has illustrated the best selling novel ‘The Book Thief’. She has also held a number of exhibitions of her paintings and drawings. On the New York Times list of top selling books for much of the last few years, ‘The Book Thief’ by Markus Zusak is a novel based in World War 2 Germany. It tells a tale of a young girl, Liesel, who steals books and shares
Highlights Trudy White
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Mr. Universe
10
Underhanded
11
Winter in Venice
13
Melinda Solly
15
Kayak Quest
21
Jessica Smith
29
Molly Powell
33
Grey Nomads
37
In a House of Rocks
them with others. In the story, Max, a Jewish refugee, is being sheltered in the basement of her home. Max and Liesel become friends when he teaches her to read and write. When Max arrives he has a copy of Hitler’s “Mein Kampf”. Lacking any other paper, he whitewashes over the pages and uses these to draw a simple tale.
It is this, Max’s story, that Trudy White has created with her art. For readers of the novel, it’s a book within a book. Trudy’s drawings are alarmingly direct. Simply drawn figures in ink on paper but carrying undertones that somehow touch memories and feelings. Figures that may seem child-like yet have an underlying power and menace that grabs the attention. They are just marks on paper, but they are also a device that connects a story to you.
Consider the images in this story that are taken from the Book Thief. Zusak’s book is not always cheery, and he evokes the horror of Europe at war and the variety of responses of everyday German people. However it is a grim time and the looming threat is there beneath everything we see. It’s like touching a nightmare. Many reviews of the novel rate it very highly. It has had a major impact and Trudy’s drawings help to complete the connection of the story to the reader. This is often an unacknowledged task of an illustrator. Rather than simply provide decoration, the illustrator must try to fan emotions and feelings about characters. How this is achieved is the core of the art. As a child, Trudy decided that all she really wanted to do was read and draw. She wanted to become an artist. Trudy’s Grandma was something of an artist. She made clothes, sewed cushions and curtains to decorate her home, and also Continued on page 4>
Community Houses are for Everyone
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