FEATURE
BOOK LAUNCH Freya is holding a book launch for The Great Rabbit Chase at Two Grey Elephants in Pym Street, Millthorpe at 10:30am on Saturday 28th October. The book includes many scenes inspired by the Orange area and her unique style of visible pencil linework, watercolour and oil.
Freya Blackwood Finding Her Niche
Freya Blackwood has always loved to draw. Growing up in our beautiful city of Orange, Freya attended university in Sydney before a stint living in New Zealand, returning to the Colour City so her daughter Ivy – now 11 – could be closer to Freya’s parents and grandmother. But that wasn’t before Freya dabbled in the film industry, working on Lord of the Rings to make “Hobbit Feet”, among other things. On leaving the film industry she made a career in doing what she loves – illustrating children’s books, and has worked alongside big names including Libby Gleeson and Nick Bland. After winning many awards for her illustration work, she’s kind of a big name herself, too. Freya has recently released her own book which she’s written and beautifully illustrated, called The Great Rabbit Chase.
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OCTOBER 26–NOVEMBER 1, 2017
WORDS BY DENISE MILLS
Is this your first book that you’ve both illustrated and written? I did write one several years ago, but it was a little bit smaller than this. I feel like this is my first picture book that I’ve written. The first book is called Ivy Loves to Give, and just like this one it was based more on personal experiences. I added lots of elements from being a parent and having a child, living in a little community. I really like it, I really love all the characters. You started illustrating in 2002. What did you do before that? I grew up here, I finished high school here and then did my university study in Sydney. I worked there for a few years, and then I moved to New Zealand for Lord of the Rings work. I worked on all three of those films in prosthetics. I wasn’t an illustrator then. I was in prosthetic makeups – it was effects, physical effects. I worked in the film
industry for a while, in Australia and New Zealand, but I think the match wasn’t quite right. And I’ve always liked drawing, so I just made that work for me. Lord of the Rings – wow. Was your film work related to your university study? No, not really, it was just an opportunity that came up. I studied Visual Communications at university, and I did a little bit of study in Production Design for Film. Then I went and worked in film for a while, but I decided I’d like to do something smaller—it was so massive! What exactly did you have to do? It was hobbit feet, makeups…I was just a small part of a big team, but yeah, it was lots of fun [laughs]. I think what I like about illustration is it’s much smaller, and controllable. It’s intimate and very direct. I was in the film industry two or three years. Not very long. It was enough. [Laughs]. Illustrating is different. People give you time to do the work, it’s not rushed like film industry work. It’s a really nice pace. Especially when the publishers know they need to give you time to do the best work. It’s quite nurturing, as an industry. I work well with a deadline though
—I have often thought I need a stricter boss, but I don’t have a boss!
Bland—really well known Australian authors.
How did you switch careers? Well I haven’t studied illustration, so I started drawing a lot more when I was looking for another job opportunity. It was what I like to do and what I’m better at, but it did take a while. It took a lot of sending portfolios around to find the right fit. I think I was very lucky because I did find a niche for myself. My first job was with Scholastic Press in Australia, the publisher there went looking for a text for me to illustrate, and that was my first picture book. I was very lucky. From then on it just gathered I guess. So the first book come out and that won the Crichton Award in Australia for first time illustrators, which was pretty fantastic. I’ve looked back on winners of that award and there’s been some really well known Australian illustrators who’ve won it, so it was a really good sign. From then on, the work has just kept coming.
How do you choose which stories you want to work with? I’ll weigh up whether it might be commercially viable, because I’ve still got to earn money. And obviously whether the story means a lot to me. Or, whether it’s an author I love working with. There’s lots of different things, lots of different reasons.
And the awards. Yeah, I’ve been lucky. I’ve worked with very very good authors, mostly Australian authors as well. I’ve been very selective about what I’ve chosen to work on, and I’ve been very lucky coming across certain authors as well. Libby Gleeson, Margaret Wild, Nick
Ah, so you sometimes put your business hat on. Yes, you do have to put a bit of a business hat on – but I don’t know if my business hat is all that good! [laughs]. But I also need a balance in the type of work I do. So sometimes I’ve done lots of jobs that are a bit sad, and I have to swap over and pick something that’s a little bit more uplifting, or a little more light-hearted. I think you can get—well, not pigeon holed—but if you do something like that you tend to attract more jobs like that. So I’ve always made sure I’ve had a balance. It’s been a lovely range so far that I’ve worked on. I can’t think of a better thing to be doing. I always wanted to do my own books, but that’s been more of a challenge for me. Drawing’s my main strength, but I’ve always loved telling stories with drawings.