Giselle Clarkson

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Giselle Clarkson
Giselle Clarkson NLNZ.jpg
Clarkson in 2019
BornNew Zealand
Area(s)
  • Cartoonist
  • illustrator
Notable works
Biscuits and Slices of New Zealand
Awards Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate Award (2023)
http://giselledraws.com

Giselle Clarkson is a New Zealand cartoonist and illustrator, best known for her non-fiction comics on conservation and environmental issues.

Contents

Life

Clarkson studied for Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury, intending to become a painter but majoring in photography. [1] [2] She works as a freelance illustrator and comics artist, and lives in South Wairarapa, New Zealand. [3] [4]

After graduation she worked in an outdoor equipment shop and volunteered with conservation projects; she was torn between becoming an artist and working for the Department of Conservation. [1] Her entry into illustration was a 2013 poster depicting New Zealand fish. [2] Later illustrations of New Zealand native birds featured on RNZ's Morning Report were distributed through Twitter, [3] which led to commissions from Forest and Bird's children's magazine, the New Zealand School Journal, newspapers, websites, and magazines, and a career in illustration. [1] [2]

Work

Clarkson's first published comic, "The Flood", appeared in the 2016 collection of Aotearoa women's comics Three Words . [5] Her best known work, "Biscuits and Slices of New Zealand", is a visual catalogue of New Zealand baking, with each object given a fanciful Latin name: for example, Anzac biscuit is "Lestwee forgetum". Widely shared in social media, this was published in Annual 2 (2017) and subsequently became a poster and tea towel; Clarkson was interviewed about the success of the comic on TV3's The Project. [6] [7] A follow-up illustration appeared in Annual 3 (2022). [3]

Critter of the Week illustrations
COTW Giant Springtail.png
COTW Leaf-veined Slug.png

Clarkson has a bimonthly comic in New Zealand children's literature website The Sapling, on children's books and how they influenced her as an illustrator. [8] She frequently undertakes field expeditions as part of her work to places such as the Kermadecs, Milford Sound (to draw penguins) or the Subantarctic Islands (a 19-day sea voyage which led to an 8-page comic in the School Journal). [1] She regularly creates illustration and T-shirts for the Radio New Zealand show Critter of the Week . [9] In 2018 she produced a comics summary of a scientific paper on the migration of the Fiordland penguin or tawaki (Eudyptespachyrhynchus ), [10] which was enthusiastically retweeted by Diana Gabaldon. [2] She has also illustrated a number of children's books published by Gecko Press.

In 2022 Clarkson began illustrating a regular evolutionary-biology column by Kate Evans in New Zealand Geographic magazine. This led to a nomination as Best Artist in the 2023 Voyager Media Awards. [3]

Honours and awards

In 2023, Clarkson received an Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate Award. [11] The panel described her work as "always technically impressive and incredibly imaginative; demonstrating huge sensitivity whilst retaining her trademark energy and vibrance." [3]

Publications

Nonfiction writing

Book contributions as illustrator

Other illustration works

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Lopesi, Lana (2 July 2018). "5 Minutes with Giselle Clarkson". Design Assembly. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Bruce, Greg (15 December 2018). "Kiwi cartoonists on what mattered in 2018". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Giselle Clarkson". The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi. 1 September 2023. Archived from the original on 11 September 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  4. ↑ "Giselle Clarkson". Annual Annual | NZ. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  5. ↑ Joyce, Rae; Laing, Sarah; Neville, Indira, eds. (2016). Three words: an anthology of Aotearoa/NZ women's comics. Auckland, New Zealand: Beatnik. ISBN   9780994120502. OCLC   948291321.
  6. ↑ "Biscuit of the Year?". The Project. 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  7. ↑ "Nine to Noon: Giselle Clarkson, The Secret Life of Butterflies". RNZ. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  8. ↑ Lynch, Rachel (5 May 2017). "5 minutes with Giselle Clarkson: Comicfest feature". Wellington City Libraries: Library News. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  9. ↑ "Critter of the Week T-shirts!". Radio New Zealand. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  10. ↑ Seddon, Philip J.; Lüthi, Benno; Long, Robin; Houston, David M.; Ellenberg, Ursula; Garcia-Borboroglu, Pablo; Pütz, Klemens; Mattern, Thomas (2018). "Marathon penguins – Reasons and consequences of long-range dispersal in Fiordland penguins / Tawaki during the pre-moult period". PLOS ONE. 13 (8): e0198688. Bibcode:2018PLoSO..1398688M. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0198688 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   6114282 . PMID   30157174.
  11. ↑ Chumko, André (1 September 2023). "Nine outstanding NZ artists honoured at Arts Foundation Laureate Awards". Stuff . Retrieved 2 September 2023.
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