tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271805539051482226.post1641015693002298645..comments2023-09-23T06:03:25.605-04:00Comments on Sergio Ruzzier: The Sendak FellowshipSergio Ruzzierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02099646870157346133noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271805539051482226.post-37243577019766351332012-06-25T23:27:37.454-04:002012-06-25T23:27:37.454-04:00To walk along side of Sendak...amazing. I agree wi...To walk along side of Sendak...amazing. I agree with Sendak's perspective and passion. What an incredible and deserving experience you had.Darlene K Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17397310021859838599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271805539051482226.post-53827537368923297722012-06-06T12:15:38.235-04:002012-06-06T12:15:38.235-04:00Hi Bridget!
He did have very fond memories of Ur...Hi Bridget!<br /><br /><br />He did have very fond memories of Ursula Nordstrom, both professional and more intimate.<br />Funny you mention Ardizzone: Maurice owned some of his work. He was in general very critical of his own work, especially of the work in progress. <br /><br /> Thank you so much for your kind words!<br /><br />S.Sergio Ruzzierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02099646870157346133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271805539051482226.post-86556000630756435362012-05-26T20:35:36.857-04:002012-05-26T20:35:36.857-04:00Thank you so much Sergio for sharing this. I fou...Thank you so much Sergio for sharing this. I found it fascinating and touching, especially about how you were given that precious time to draw and think freely, and about being true to one self. <br /><br />I wonder if you or other Sendak mentees could answer a couple of question I have.<br />Did he ever talk about his first publisher? I often wonder what would have happened if Ursula Nordstrom hadn't spotted his models in FAO Schwartz that day! He had the talent but surely her strong nurturing from the outset was instrumental to his success too. Especially as kids books are a collaborative process and a publishing team also help make - or break - a book. <br /> <br /> Also did Sendak ever mention in passing any work of his own that he was more critical of? I love how Edward Ardizzone talked of pages he'd like to stick together and how Arthur Rubenstein the pianist admitted he play a bum note from time to time. Just curious if Sendak ever talked about mistakes...<br /><br />Erzsi just sent me a film of Neil Gaiman's speech which is a nice counterpoint to this - about honesty and survival, making mistakes, and making good art. http://vimeo.com/42372767<br /><br />And boy, Sergio, you do make good art!Bridget Marzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08113818186666446243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271805539051482226.post-35414103796550390372012-05-09T10:45:25.503-04:002012-05-09T10:45:25.503-04:00Loved reading this Sergio. It breaks my heart that...Loved reading this Sergio. It breaks my heart that I won't see him again. His inspiration however, will never die for me.Paul Schmidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06700411260881516069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271805539051482226.post-41845476296370883472012-05-08T13:43:43.536-04:002012-05-08T13:43:43.536-04:00Yes, second-guessing is a mistake. Talking down t...Yes, second-guessing is a mistake. Talking down to kids is a mistake. I've made many books and they have many mistakes in them! I can tell when I read them to groups of kids and see what flies past them without connecting, and then I wish I could go back and change things. Today Sendak died, and I am sorry I never got to meet him, or know him, like so many did. For those of us who are artists trying to make a living being a storyteller and illustrator, the struggle to see inside ourselves and capture a little of who we are and what we believe goes on. It's a worthwhile struggle!ihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01039448056384460924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271805539051482226.post-63090175066131106202012-05-07T23:47:30.348-04:002012-05-07T23:47:30.348-04:00Oh, no, I hope I didn't make it sound as if I ...Oh, no, I hope I didn't make it sound as if I thought I were a brave little author. On the contrary, I am fairly cowardly. There are many ways one can approach this business, but I surely appreciate more the authors who are brave enough to create what they think is the best possible story and the best possible pictures, without second-guessing what the readers will be able to understand. That second-guessing can be so pretentious and annoying.Sergio Ruzzierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02099646870157346133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271805539051482226.post-56125942231240146792012-05-07T23:47:21.853-04:002012-05-07T23:47:21.853-04:00Wow! Just... wow! On so many levels I love what yo...Wow! Just... wow! On so many levels I love what you have to say here. And to meet Maurice Sendak? Dream!<br /><br />I have to tell you that right now I am reading a vintage version of <i>Hurry Home Candy</i> to my kids. It was one of my favorite books as a child, in part I now realize, because of those very same ink drawings by Maurice. <br /><br />You will perhaps be pleased to know that your work is touching children in the same way. I gave my kids the card you signed for them in Bologna and they were ecstatic - big fans they are (as Yoda would say). :-) <br /><br />Finally, although I am sure it pales in comparison to meeting Maurice Sendak and having real live kids as fans, I have included you and your blog on my list of authors, illustrators and poets I admire on my website. :-)Julie Hedlundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04477115458570906449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271805539051482226.post-80182083197659566262012-05-06T23:53:21.171-04:002012-05-06T23:53:21.171-04:00Sergio, this is such a complicated issue. Every t...Sergio, this is such a complicated issue. Every time we talk to another human being we make compromises, censor ourselves. That's the nature of communication. When we write for children, we're not necessarily writing just to be intimately immersed in our creation, but to share something with other human beings at their level. <br />Perhaps it is odd then that the work of mine that I feel proudest of, that really expresses my own truest artistic self, is not the work that speaks directly to most children, or indeed, will ever get published. I know, I have tried! But I remember I am a grown-up with sophisticated taste refined over a lifetime. I am not saying we have to sell out and talk down to people (children and typical parents) with less sophistication, but I think Sendak was shaped in another age, where quirkier, more adult perspectives were permitted in children's books, and from what I have read he seems more concerned with his art than with his audience. <br />"Night Kitchen" or "Outside Over There" would surely not be published by a major house today, if they were done by an unknown author, and maybe would not have been even in their time without the prior commercial success of "Where the Wild Things Are". My own children hated those later books, as artistic and brave as they may be, and my kids were a pretty sophisticated trio of young readers. I think it's pretty easy for Sendak to tell others they ought to be braver and take more chances.<br />Editors and publishers are necessarily concerned with selling quantities of books and the courage of the author to have some personal creative integrity is not really that relevant today. Neither is art. "Safe" and "salable" are most often economic necessities, and taking chances is discouraged. And of course it is an excuse, but it is a good and valid excuse. It is reality. <br />If you've found a way to step outside of that modern paradigm and get your braver work published, more power to you! But until there are more small, independent presses willing to print books that are a hard sell to the masses, I think the journey for most authors and illustrators in America will be a difficult one, fraught with hurdles and taboos. <br />Maybe someone will convince me otherwise, but I feel that building a career in published books and being true to a personal artistic vision are not necessarily compatible. I have come reluctantly to accept that I must try to think commercially to be viable, visible and make a living making books in the real world. To those who make the decisions on what to publish, a "good" book is one that makes money, and that is not necessarily the uncompromising one. Am I wrong? Or should we just make books for ourselves, and ignore the rest of it? Or do you believe that publishers and the public will recognize and acknowledge the attempt to step outside the boxes, and validate our efforts to go further than we dared?ihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01039448056384460924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271805539051482226.post-42298784810808679512012-05-06T19:21:47.281-04:002012-05-06T19:21:47.281-04:00Beautiful! You touched so delicately at the heart...Beautiful! You touched so delicately at the heart of it. Thanks for reminding me of the joy and of the need to be brave.Mimi Vancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09683522461628919238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271805539051482226.post-26786250027540799622012-05-06T19:07:56.296-04:002012-05-06T19:07:56.296-04:00Wonderful essay. Thank you, Sergio, for reminding ...Wonderful essay. Thank you, Sergio, for reminding me of the purpose and responsibility of the storyteller.Stephen Savagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13496033488602057688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7271805539051482226.post-8280567926506564472012-05-06T15:21:37.704-04:002012-05-06T15:21:37.704-04:00I'm reading Dear Genius (Ursula Nordstrom'...I'm reading Dear Genius (Ursula Nordstrom's letters) right now and your account here ties in so neatly with the spirit of it all. I find such generous encouragement so remarkably beautiful. <br />So very much looking forward to seeing the brave results soon!E. Duthiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15704383512214623558noreply@blogger.com