{"id":1975,"date":"2024-01-08T15:12:44","date_gmt":"2024-01-08T15:12:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.scholastic.ca\/scholasticblog\/?p=1975"},"modified":"2024-01-08T15:13:41","modified_gmt":"2024-01-08T15:13:41","slug":"interview-with-ruth-ohi-illustrator-of-we-belong-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.scholastic.ca\/scholasticblog\/2024\/01\/08\/interview-with-ruth-ohi-illustrator-of-we-belong-here\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Ruth Ohi, Illustrator of ‘We Belong Here’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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What inspired you to illustrate the book? Where did you draw inspiration from?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frieda\u2019s manuscript was inspired by conversations she and I shared about our family histories. We were both thrilled when Scholastic Canada accepted her story and I got the chance to illustrate it! A lot of what appears in Mark\u2019s home are things from my own family and Grandparent\u2019s home. Can you find my Grandmother\u2019s red vase on Mark\u2019s shelf? Frieda generously sent photos from her family history as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What did you enjoy most about illustrating it? What were some challenges that you faced while illustrating?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I enjoyed the chance to illustrate a story based on a specific time in history. And it was exciting to meet Frieda\u2019s characters, Eve and Mark, for the first time! One challenge I had was knowing the story was a personal one for Frieda and so I wanted her to like how I portrayed the story through my illustrations. I was so happy when she saw the book and let me know how much she loved it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What books have had the biggest impact on your life? What books were your favourite to read growing up? What books inspired you and your illustrations while growing up?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up I looked forward to weekly family visits to the library and choosing my own books. I think being exposed to so many different stories and illustration approaches helped fuel my own imagination. I loved stories about creatures and animals who talked like the ones by P.D.Eastman, Dr. Seuss, and William Steig. I enjoyed the serenity and comfort of Ezra Jack Keats\u2019 \u201cThe Snowy Day\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How do you come up with the characters\u2019 illustrations?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I researched home life in the 1950\u2019s and looked at children\u2019s clothing and hairstyles \u2013 I think that Eve grew a bit from seeing Frieda\u2019s childhood photos \u2013 her personality, her energy in real life, I wanted to capture that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What\u2019s your illustration process look like?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I read the story many times to get the feel of the words and give Eve and Mark a chance to live in my imagination. I then began doodling very tiny loose sketches, more like scribbles and stick figures to see how they could play on the page. The sketches are then drawn larger and with more detail. I show everything to the editor and art director who write their feedback and we go back and forth from there until I get the green light to begin the final artwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What\u2019s something about this book that most people don\u2019t know?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Near the beginning of the book, Mark gifts Eve a tiny wooden carving of a turtle that he made. I had fun placing more of Mark\u2019s tiny sculptures (a crane, a rabbit, a fox) throughout the book. Frieda\u2019s story didn\u2019t tell me to do this. How many of Mark\u2019s carvings can you find?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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