The illustrator of the popular book series WeirDo by Anh Do will be visiting Ipswich for the StoryArts Festival.
Jules Faber created the easily recognisable cartoonish drawings for WeirDo and he will be sharing his ideas on how to bring characters to life at a cartooning session at the Ipswich Central Library on Tuesday, 15 October at 4pm.
“I firmly believe that everyone is a cartoonist and I’ve developed means to assist people in bringing that out of themselves,” Mr Faber said.
“No one should be afraid to draw or afraid of what others think of their work, yet we are.
“I think that’s silly.
“Drawing was the very first media, right up there on cave walls.
“It’s inside all of us and belongs outside of us.
“Never be afraid to draw because no one can get worse at it. We only improve.”
Illustrator Jules Faber
Mr Faber said he is passionate about cartooning and childhood literacy and likes to encourage both wherever he can.
“Kids love cartoons and they are a great way to get reluctant reader into books,” he said.
“Cartoons so precisely condense the complexity of the world while still engaging and educating.
“It suprises me more adult books don’t use them.”
The StoryArts Festival Ipswich is a biennial event run by the Ipswich District Teacher-Librarian Network, connecting authors and illustrators with locals.
Festival director Jenny Stubbs says giving families an opportunity to come together and meet authors and illustrators elevates the experience of reading a book.
“The family program allows families to sit together with their parent and enjoy the session, meet the stars of children’s literature, and have a shared experience,” Ms Stubbs said.
“They will treasure that book more.”
Even in this digital age, Ms Stubbs said children still want to feel the pages between their fingers.
“It’s a real myth that children would prefer to read from a tablet,” she said.
“You ask the kids and they say they would prefer a real book.”
Three of the 20 presenters at Ipswich StoryArts Festival
Community, Cultural and Economic Development general manger Ben Pole said keeping the family program at Ipswich Libraries free is a great way to encourage more of the community to get involved.
“Keeping this event free allows more children to be exposed to the best the children’s literature scene has to offer,” Mr Pole said.
“An exhibition, Ipswich Drawn Together – dhago Dulmur yagari [together making Ipswich], will be showcasing the festivals illustrators along with Ipswich children who were asked to draw something in Ipswich.
“StoryArts Festival is designed to help inspire a love of reading, storytelling and art in the children of all ages, which then has the happy side effect of improving literacy.”
A full progam of StoryArts events running from 13 to 18 October can be found here.
Ipswich Drawn Together – dhago Dulmur yagari [together making Ipswich], will be shown at the Ipswich Community Gallery from the 12 until the 20th of October.
