Two talented illustrators will make their way to the Mountains after securing coveted spots in a week-long residency program.
The WestWords/Pinerolo Illustrators in Residence program closed in August and the winners were announced last week as Sadami Konchi and Delene White.
The mentorship program includes daily mentorship with Margaret Hamilton, a former professional publisher of picture books who is based at Pinerolo, the Children’s Book Cottage, Blackheath and one of the people on the selection panel.
The selection panel for the residencies also included WestWords executive director, Michael Campbell and Linsay Knight, publisher at Walker Books Australia. They praised the applicants for their diversity of styles and media but said the two illustrators to whom residencies were offered were “outstanding”.
The first residency starts on September 11 with illustrator Delene White.
White graduated from the Canberra School of Art before winning a DAAD scholarship to study in Germany prior to starting a family and studying graphic design. On completion she received the faculty medal, along with eight industry awards. This was followed by a graduate diploma in marketing and communications and national and international communication projects. In 2014, she started her own art and design business.
White said she is excited about the opportunity to work at Pinerolo. “Whilst I have designed hundreds of publications for others, I have not been published in the children’s picture book world—but would love to be,” she added.
Sadami Konchi will take up the second residency for a week from October 23.
Konchi studied sociology, linguistics and social work at the University of Sydney and specialised in the areas of the Medicare system, human rights and endangered languages. She is also an award-winning watercolour portraitist. In her practice as a picture-book illustrator she seeks to create a bridge between the text, reality and imagination. Her figures are lively and emotional. Her style is broad, from whimsical cartoons to fine art for multifarious subjects. She was an Accessible Arts NSW grants recipient in 2015. Her second picture book My Dog Socks, written by Robyn Osborne, will be published by Ford Street in October.
Konchi said of the residency opportunity: “It’s like a day dream, a really wonderful opportunity for me.”
Pinerolo promotes Australian children’s picture books and has an extensive collection of original artwork from picture books as well as a large library. WestWords, Western Sydney’s Young People’s Literature Development Organisation partnered with Pinerolo to offer the unique opportunity to illustrators.
Margaret Hamilton at Pinerolo is looking forward to working with these two talented illustrators and said vsitors who are interested to meet the pair are welcome at Pinerolo. Details: www.pinerolo.com.au or www.westwords.com.au.
