Giselle Clarkson

Giselle Clarkson
Clarkson in 2019
Born	New Zealand
Areas	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.

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

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]

In 2023 her book The Observologist: A Handbook for Mounting Very Small Scientific Expeditions was published. ^[11] The book was shortlisted for New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction in 2024. ^[12]

Honours and awards

In 2023, Clarkson received an Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate Award. ^[13] The panel described her work as "always technically impressive and incredibly imaginative; demonstrating huge sensitivity whilst retaining her trademark energy and vibrance." ^[3]

Clarkson's 2025 book Omnibird: An Avian Investigator's Handbook was named a Storylines Notable Non-Fiction Book for 2025. ^[14]

Publications

Nonfiction writing

• —— (2023). The Observologist: A Handbook for Mounting Very Small Scientific Expeditions. Author and illustrator. Gecko Press.
• —— (2025). Omnibird: An Avian Investigator's Handbook. Author and illustrator. Gecko Press.

Book contributions as illustrator

• Joyce, Rae; Laing, Sarah; Neville, Indira, eds. (2016). Three Words . Illustrations by Giselle Clarkson. Beatnik. ISBN   978-0-9941205-0-2.
• de Goldi, Kate, ed. (2016). Annual. Illustrated by Giselle Clarkson. Gecko Press. ISBN   978-1-77657-077-5.
• de Goldi, Kate, ed. (2017). Annual 2. Illustrated by Giselle Clarkson. Gecko Press. ISBN   978-0-473-39523-0.
• Meredith, Courtney Sina (2018). The Secret World of Butterflies. Illustrations by Giselle Clarkson. Auckland: Allen & Unwin. ISBN   978-1-76063-360-8.
• Blanchard, Nan, ed. (2019). Hazel and the Snails. Illustrated by Giselle Clarkson. Annual Ink. ISBN   978-0-9951135-8-9.
• Cowley, Joy, ed. (2019). The Gobbledegook Book: A Joy Cowley Anthology. Illustrated by Giselle Clarkson. Gecko Press. ISBN   978-1-77657-258-8.
• Tylee, Alexandra, ed. (2020). Egg and Spoon: An Illustrated Cookbook. Illustrated by Giselle Clarkson. Gecko Press. ISBN   978-1-77657-298-4.
• Cowley, Joy, ed. (2021). The Tiny Woman's Coat. Illustrated by Giselle Clarkson. Gecko Press. ISBN   978-1-77657-342-4.

Other illustration works

• —— (2017). "The Subantarctic Islands" (PDF). The New Zealand School Journal. Illustrated by Giselle Clarkson.
• —— (2018). "Tawaki, Marathon Penguins". Giselle Draws. Archived from the original on 27 January 2019.

References

1. Lopesi, Lana (2 July 2018). "5 Minutes with Giselle Clarkson". Design Assembly. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
2. Bruce, Greg (15 December 2018). "Kiwi cartoonists on what mattered in 2018". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
3. "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   978-0-9941205-0-2. 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. "The Observologist: A Handbook for Mounting Very Small Scientific Expeditions - Reviews • Read NZ Te Pou Muramura". www.read-nz.org. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
12. Mabey, Claire (6 June 2024). "Who's on the shortlist for the 2024 NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults?". The Spinoff. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
13. Chumko, André (1 September 2023). "Nine outstanding NZ artists honoured at Arts Foundation Laureate Awards". Stuff . Retrieved 2 September 2023.
14. "2025 Storylines Notable Book Awards". The Sapling. 6 November 2025. Retrieved 6 November 2025.

External links

• Giselle Clarkson Illustration (website)
• Giselle Clarkson comics in The Sapling