Ryan Stride interviews skilled illustrator, Mary Jane Begin Mary Jane Begin is a wonderful illustrator and a professor at The Rhode Island School of Design, where she has taught for over 28 years. Originally from Rhode Island , Mary Jane has been able to use her artistic talents in various areas from advertising to education. Her clients include Disney, Hasbro, Celestial Seasonings and Mead Johnson. With an innate, vibrant ability to use colour, she brings a magical touch to her illustrations. She has a gentle ability to share profound insights useful to her students and others. This can be seen in Mary Jane's beautiful picture books for children which include: My Little Pony, Under the Sparkling Sea and Dragons on Dazzle Island as well as A Mouse Told His Mother and R is for Rhode Island Red. Her latest book, Ping Meets Pang, will be available in Fall of 2021. RS: Mary Jane, great to do this interview with you and welcome to The Peace Dimension... How have you been over the last few months? MJB: Thank you! It's nice to meet you virtually, and exciting to be a part of this engaging project. I've been well, keeping myself in good spirits by constantly creating and connecting, despite the pandemic and the difficulties we all face together around the globe in the time of the pandemic. I've been teaching RISD Illustration students, MFA students in a Children's literature program at Hollins University, and students from China- all remotely. I'm also painting the illustrations for my new children's book Ping Meets Pang. The greatest challenge is finding enough time each day to get it all done! The other great challenge is doing all of it in isolation... I deeply miss the contact in the actual classroom, and socializing freely. Facilitating connection has become so important through writing, zooming, painting and carefully visiting with family and friends. RS: As an illustrator you are often observing life and manifesting it on paper. This must mean that on some levels you are a very much an observer and no doubt a good observer of life. What would you say about that? MJB: I tell my students that the best teacher is all around us. Observational drawing is the key to understanding forms, light, perspective, anatomy etc. Observing how people behave, interact and share their stories is the essence of creative inspiration. Stopping to deeply notice and express what I see is fundamental to my creativity...and it's also incredibly fun! I take a ridiculous amount of photos everyday, and find that they not only help me remember my life as I live it, but also provide ideas for books and paintings. My current project was inspired by a visit to Chengdu, China when I visited a panda sanctuary. I'd never seen a red panda before and thought " What is that, a raccoon?" It gave me an idea about a story of misunderstanding between the pandas. Today I saw a horseshoe crab on the beach, and am thinking of all the wonders of that amazing creature...it may turn into a book about them! RS: This idea of the best teacher being all around us is an interesting one Mary Jane. I think when we can depict and share something we see or something that is being revealed it is a powerful connecting experience with others. It creates a bond. Ok, so leading on from this I would like to ask you how do you see the way the world is in 2020, with all that's been going on right now, particularly from an American perspective? MJB: I think we're all as a global village, experiencing a spasm as Mother Nature pushes back against what we've been doing to her for decades. Animal-born viruses happen when we encroach on their spaces and don't leave room for them to survive and thrive. Here in the States, we have a real opportunity to think innovatively and creatively about how to change our ways and clean up our act. It's interesting that at the same time as we're experiencing the pandemic, we're also going through a sea change in how we treat each other, fairly and unfairly. People are coming together to counter the notion of "otherness" in an attempt to see ourselves as one people, no matter our heritage, age, gender or ethnicity. This is both a difficult time but also a watershed moment in history. The picture book that I'm working on is about that very subject, using pandas - a red panda and a giant panda- as the symbols of otherness. They accidentally come upon each other in a panda sanctuary, and don't believe the other is a panda because they look and act so differently. A sense of otherness is the opposite of connection- I believe it's the source of many ills in the world and I'm constantly playing with that theme in my stories. RS: I've been watching and listening to the ideas presented by various thought leaders and authors recently. I have been even listening to those who really look at life through a vibrant or fresh lens. As well as those who are sharing some interesting insights with the general public such as author Robert Kiyosaki and others who, to my mind, are looking at the present events from fresh angles. It seems there are a lot of free-thinking minds that really feel there is something else going on in the world or the world is heading into a very distinct new phase. Some feel it is something to be concerned about; others see it as opportunity for positive and real change. What are your thoughts on this Mary Jane- do you think the world is entering a phase of change? MJB: As I mentioned above, I think we are in a new phase, and have the opportunity to work together across international boundaries, not only while trying to discover a new vaccine for Covid 19, but also for the efforts to solve some of our larger problems that affect us all- namely the environment we all share. Growth, whether personal or universal, is always attended by some painful awakening, acceptance and a desire to change and transform. That's where we are right now. If we truly see how interconnected and dependent, we are on each other, perhaps great minds, young minds and creative minds can turn this time into a Renaissance period of growth and inspiration. I've been referred to by a good friend as "a silver lining girl"...I take it as a compliment! RS: As a professor at The Rhode Island School of Design you have invariably shared your knowledge with many young people. Watching some of your clips I can see you have a really calm way of teaching. Which is what suggested to me you would be a fitting person to interview for The Peace Dimension. Can I ask though, do you find in sharing your expertise that you find yourself sharing insights that are applicable to life and not simply to the artistic process? MJB: I try to teach my students how to embrace their true spirit and talk to the fear that often stops their creativity. Fear holds all of us back, sometimes for good reason, but sometimes it keeps us from being our true selves. By encouraging students to be brave enough to recognise what they really want to do, to make, to say in the world, I feel like a spiritual guide. I think this is really a life hack that plenty of people talk about: Speaking to your own fear, and be honest with yourself about what makes you happy, and be brave enough to try something, and risk failing at it. The absolute BEST lesson comes from trying new things and making mistakes. Go ahead and risk making a crappy painting! Take a chance- you'll fall off that bike a few times for sure! That made from scratch cake may be inedible- so what! The risk of failure stops us in our tracks, so accepting that we will likely mess up as we try something new, is a key to learning and discovering hidden and wonderful surprises about ourselves. Surprise is the first word that I learnt to read and one of my very favourites. RS: Looking at some of your illustrations in your picture books, I can also see that you are able to delve deep into the imagination to create these rather magical images. So, what do you do to inspire your imagination? MJB: My inspiration arrives by looking and by resting. I kid you not, some of my best ideas come to me when I'm about to nap. The muse waits till you're not really thinking to connect the dots and come up with a new idea. You have to be both paying attention and not working at "thinking up" an idea. It's a strange contradiction to be at rest and playing in the mind at the same time. One of my favourite quotes is: 'The world is but a canvas to our own imagination' (Henry David Thoreau). I actually illustrated a poster that depicts that exact thought...I'll share it as it is a visual expression of how I picture my imagination. RS: Yes I think rest and the relaxation it brings allow the imagination space to then take the stage. Does it also help you that you have a son and a daughter when it comes to creating these wonderful books aimed at children? MJB: My kids are grown now, both very creative- my daughter Gates, designs and fabricates puppets for stop motion animation and my son, Liam is a software engineer. When they were little, I had the best excuse to buy a gazillion children's books and delighted in making up stories with them. They were truly a constant inspiration as I played and imagined with toys, stuffed animals and explored nature with them. Kids are also tough critics. They would pop into my studio and freely share what was wrong in the illustration that I was working on...and they were always right! Kids are AMAZING observers and visual trackers of consistencies and inaccuracies in images. RS: Mary Jane are there are any films or books that especially inspire you at the moment? MJB: I recently re-read a book by Terry Windling titled The Wood Wife. It's a realistic fantasy set in the Tucson desert with characters that are so richly visual, I'm obsessed with the idea of painting portraits of each fantastical creature. I am busy on my book right now, but I am continuously "nagged" by the muse to do these paintings. I'll oblige at some point; the muse is persistent and won't let me off the hook. As a result of being Chair of Illustration for the Children's Lit. program at Hollins University, through zoom- I was able to meet Terry. She was our keynote speaker for a conference we hold every year, and this year, it was virtual. I feel like it was a message to get on this soon. The muse and the universe sometimes conspire! RS: The muse and universe sound like a good team! On your website you mention favourite songs such as 'Home' by Talking Heads and 'Goodbye' by Ulrich Strauss. Do you usually listen to music when you work? MJB: If I'm writing, I need absolute quiet, but if I'm painting, it's podcasts or loud music vibrating the room. I LOVE music and often can be found cranking the tunes at midnight and bouncing all over the house. I save the dancing for the am in the summer out of consideration for my neighbours :) RS: Art as a creative process can be a way to express emotion and or allow emotions to make their journey so that they don't overburden the human consciousness. Do you practise any other specific disciplines such as Yoga as you seem like a pretty peaceful and centred person? MJB: I turn up the volume of the music loudly and allow the vibrations to pass through my feet and out the tip of my fingers. I find it very centering. Walking to the end of the beach, I live by Narragansett Bay, is my daily ritual. Stopping to un-focus, smell the air and rest my active brain is so important...I also find great peace in laughing with my family and friends. I can get into a giggling jag when I zoom or get on the phone with my kids or my sweetheart that will resonate for hours after we chat, like a tickle in the belly that rides up to my brain and bounces around in my soul. RS: Giggling or laughing that bounces around in the soul. That's a wonderful concept! I understand you have been involved in projects with Hasbro. I seem to remember they were involved in creating the action figures for Star Wars. Have you ever been involved in comic book style or cartoon animation or illustration? MJB: I've never worked on any animation, but had a wonderful experience writing and illustrating the My Little Pony picture books. For a large company, they gave me a fair amount of creative freedom, and what was really exciting was seeing that some of my ideas from my book, My Little Pony, Under the Sparkling Sea landed in their comic book series about the animation MLP, Friendship is Magic and in their feature film about the ponies. RS: Your illustrations have also been used to bring new life to older stories such as The Sorcerer's Apprentice and some of the tales from The Wind in the Willows right? So, are there any other children stories you would like to awaken on paper? MJB: I'll share some images from the book I'm working on right now- Ping Meets Pang. RS: Yes, they are great and I like the soft use of colours which seems to nicely capture the gentleness of the characters. Hand drawn illustrations still have a place in the games production and as you have children, I am sure as a mother you have been exposed the world of video games. Have you ever been involved in any gaming projects? MJB: Not yet! Although I taught a class which involved creating Visual Development Illustration for a video game opera... a ground breaking new form for an opera entitled PermaDeath. My students' work transformed to CG and premiered on stage in Boston, MA Fall 2018. RS: Not so long ago I did a great interview with Helen Slater who I think you would really get on with. Although Helen is well known for her work as an actress, having played Supergirl and been in many other films and television shows. I noticed that Helen also has a fascination with mythology and she is doing a PhD in Mythological Studies. She made an interesting point in that interview about what mythology and folklore can convey. Have you ever thought about doing a book on mythology? MJB: I have written some mythological tales, but have not yet pursued publishing them. I'd love to illustrate a book about reinventing a mythological tale, seeing an ancient story through a modern lens. Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth is always worth visiting and revisiting to remind me of the power of story in human culture. We are all living, breathing stories, from the time we get up until the time we go to bed. We tell ourselves who we are, what our day was like, our past or potential future and everything in between, through language and story. I'm deeply interested in personal mythologies as well as familiar tales we all share. RS: Living breathing stories...I like that and hopefully you will get your tales published. Sometimes I am asked how to help people to turbo charge their creativity and this is where I present meditation from interesting and refreshing angles. Right now, the world, more than ever before, may need some new dose of creativity. Any tips for people on how they can become more creative in the way they engage with life. MJB: Grab a camera, pencil, recorder or any device that gives you a portal to document even the simplest of inspirations. Leaving an idea or a kernel of an idea in your head is not enough. It must be watered to grow. Put it down SOMEWHERE, even if the idea is a single word. Plant the seed somewhere, then let it guide you. Don't try too hard to make it work- ideas have a funny way of nudging you along once you commit to documenting it in some way. RS: That is good advice Mary Jane and I found myself doing that when I started my book- The Peace Dimension- Ten Meditations for Testing Times. The book also conveys some interesting ways meditation can be used for energy and creativity. The Peace Dimension is more than a book though and it's what inspires me to do these interviews and encourage bright minds to share their message. Mary Jane what does The Peace Dimension symbolise to you? MJB: The title alone conjures an image of a place full of vibrant playful hues, with no walls, floors or ceilings. It's a beautiful place where the imagination runs freely like a child with open arms and a smiling face beaming at the sky. RS: That's lovely! Mary Jane thanks for taking the time to do this interview and do keep us up to date with your future art projects or books you are involved in. I have really enjoyed the way you thoughtfully convey ideas and the useful thoughts you have shared with us. Also, good luck with your new book, Ping Meets Pang. Mary Jane's website is: www.new.maryjanebegin.com The Peace Dimension by Ryan Stride is available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk Copyright © Ryan Stride 2020 All rights reserved Comments are closed.
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AuthorBorn in London, England, Ryan wishes to share with people how the mystical can be found in the moment, allowing great things to happen. Ryan is also a writer and social commentator who is currently working on a script and several new book titles. ArchivesCategories |