[applause] Bryan Collier: Good morning, everyone. It's great to have a wonderful, large crowd here today. [laughter] But we're going to have a good time. You know, it's always great and an honor to be invited to a project like this, an event like this; to see so many faces and people that are totally in love with literature and children's books. And I've been fortunate to be asked to do several books, and continue to be asked. And that's a blessing within itself. Today I'm going to talk about my latest book. It's called "Welcome, Precious," but I wanted to give you a little of the process of book making, for me. I've been making books for about six years now; maybe five and a half years. So I'm fairly new, but I've been an artist for 20 years, a painter for 20 years. And one of the motivating reasons why I started and became interested in making children's books is because -- [phone ringing] That's not me. [laughter] Growing up there were two books that you probably are not familiar with, but that I saw and had. One was called "Harold and the Purple Crayon." [laughter] You know anything about that? And Ezra Jack Keats' "Snowy Day and Whistle for Willy." So when you see some of the books, you'll see a great influence of that collage that Ezra Jack Keats did. And I get asked, "Well, since you were so influenced and so enamored with that book and his art, how do you feel about your work sort of looking like his in some way?" Well, the biggest influence of the way I create watercolor and collage is my grandmother made quilts -- anybody familiar with making a quilt, and how things are pieced together, and these pieces of cloth? Well, that's sort of like a metaphor for my life, and it spills over to making children's books and telling stories; how we piece things together to make ourselves whole, how moments in our lives are pieced together. And sometimes we don't know what they mean, but if we hang on to that piece long enough it's going to make you whole. That's sort of the concept of telling stories visually and making children's books, and how, that's how profound it really, really is when I get to this thing called children's books. One of the earlier books that I did was called "Uptown," and I had a chance to write and illustrate that. Now, I have so much respect for writers, because I never knew how difficult that was to pull that word out. And then I realized how much I was in love with words. And I realized I even love the way they're pronounced; the inflection of a word. I haven't told this story much, but when I was six years old and I was in the first grade, when my teacher would speak I could see the words floating out of her mouth. And I thought that I was losing my mind. You know how on "Sesame Street," you know, when they would talk and then the word would float out? Well that happens in real life for me, you know? And I just thank God that he opened up a passageway to give me a way to express that creativity, of making art and telling stories. At this point I think what I'll do is I will hold up and read "Welcome, Precious" as the latest book that's out right now. But maybe I should slow down. There's a book called "Rosa" that I need to mention to you guys. I was fortunate and blessed enough to win the Coretta Scott King Award and the Caldecott [Medal] award for this book. It's written by Nikki Giovanni. Have you heard of her? [laughter] Oh, my goodness. I so wish she was here with us, because she's something else. Now, that experience with making "Rosa" was just -- it was an educational experience. It was a history lesson. See, I went to Montgomery to do research. I spent four days down there, and I had a gentleman take me around. And I met this woman name Johnnie Carr, Mrs. Johnnie Carr, who was a childhood friend of Rosa. And she sat me down in her little house that she's always lived in, and she said, "Bryan, I'm going to tell you what the real deal is here, and what that was all about." And we spent two hours just talking. And when I met her, she didn't shake my hand. She hugged me, because she was feeling me out. She put her arms around me and like, "Okay, I'm going to see if you're for real." And I just sat there, so humbled, and she gave me a background story that no history book could give me; no video, no movie about Rosa Parks could convey, because this was living history in front of me. And that lit me up. That lit my spirit wide open because it gave, I just knew that it was going to flood into piecing it together -- that metaphor we talked about, about being whole -- piecing that thing together to make a true life dream come true, and make that story come alive in a new way. So when you pick up "Rosa" you'll see this color yellow that permeates throughout the book. That's the Montgomery heat. I went there in August. That's the first thing that hit me; it's the hottest place on earth. [laughter] The second thing was it changed forms. That yellow turned into a wonderful light that emanated from Mrs. Parks, because she had been described as a small, meek, quiet lady. But when I talked to Johnnie Carr, she was the contrary; Rosa was nothing to fool with. She was quiet spoken, but she had a nonverbal communication that everybody would like -- okay -- and it was demonstrated in the book when the policemen got on the bus to throw her off the bus; 1955, Montgomery, that's a dangerous situation for anyone to be in, of color. The policemen got on, two got on, and they asked Mrs. Parks to get off the bus. And not only that, the bus driver had to call for backup to get Mrs. Parks off the bus. That non-verbal communication, not in the history books; it's just real and live, and that's what I sort of bring to the book "Rosa." It's a celebration of all of us. She's in all of us, you know? She's the reason why we're here. She's that piece of the puzzle that we talked about that's going to make us whole eventually if we hold on to it. So that's my thing on "Rosa." Now, this book, "Welcome, Precious" -- anybody have children? Anybody love children? "Welcome, Precious," written by Nikki Grimes -- wonderful, wonderful writer; I've been just blessed to be attached with so many wonderful writers, and I'm just so in awe with what they do. This is "Welcome, Precious." It's about an African American family welcoming their new baby into the world. Simple poem, simple text, but it transcends the words. The words do so much; they're broad and bright and flavorful. The wonderful thing about it -- this couple here, they're friends of mine. So I like to use real people to sort of pose for the books, because what it does is, see this little boy? His name is Apreh. This is part of his legacy now. When he grows up, this is his. And that is the biggest thing that really thrills me; to be able to be a part of that kind of history. This boy is going to have to take this on throughout his life, well beyond after all of us are gone, you know? And that's the amazing thing about books, you know? They'll speak to another world long after we're gone, much like the books that we're reading today, of yesterday. So this is "Welcome, Precious," printed, published by Scholastic. Is Scholastic here [laughs]? All right, Tracy. "Welcome, Precious." And it was just a thrill to be able to go over and be a part of their lives and just -- I took photographs first and then I painted watercolor, and collage is the medium that I used. And of course the parents are thrilled, too. They live here in D.C. They're thrilled. So, basically I'm going to read a little bit of it, and there's going to be points -- we'll have time where you can ask questions of anything, no matter what it is. If I can answer it, I'll try. She says -- and this is how this story goes: "Welcome, Precious. Welcome to a world wrapped in rainbow. Welcome to a robin's song and the swish of leaves in the breeze. Welcome to the silk of grass and satin of rose petals and swish of sands between your toes." Anybody know about sand between your toes? All right. "Welcome to the rain-swept earth and spiced cider on the wind." That particular point of the text, it was just, how do you bring all of these elements together? As an illustrator it's my job to bring the total visual storyline to the text. And I'm responsible for everything that you'll see visually, and it's a great challenge of how to tell the true meat of the story, and stay focused long enough on it to do it. But it was just a wonderful walk through the world, and observing all the elements of the world, and for this young child to be involved in that. "Welcome to the sun sparkle and moonlight." Very simple, but still have to get out there and get it. "Welcome to the cool delight of ice cream and the sticky joy of peanut butter, and a hint of honey and chocolate fudge. Welcome to the warm circle of your daddy's arms." Money shot right there. Sure. "And to the slippery kisses of your giddy grandmother." Any giddy grandmothers out there? [laughter] That's right. "And the cool tickle of mommy's nose rubbing against your belly button." We've all done it. "Welcome, Precious, to the squeaky surprise of your yellow ducky And the glistening mystery of soap bubbles." That infamous bath that has to happen. "Oh, Precious, life is a basket brimming with things to see and hear, taste and touch. There's so much for you to learn. "But tonight -- but the night crouches at the window and it's time for dream --dreaming. Lord willing, tomorrow will soon knock upon your door, carrying her gifts of hours. Use them to explore." Isn't that incredible? Anybody want to cry about that? I do. [laughter] I swear I do. "For now, rest, Precious. Rest in the arc of my arms, Rest safe beneath the blanket of love's lullaby." Oh, my. Oh, my. That's "Welcome, Precious," ya'll. [applause] Now, at this point you're more than welcome to ask questions about the text I read, art, any books that I've done; the floor is open. Come on, enthusiastic crowd, there have got to be a million questions. Yes? Female Speaker: Can you tell us more about the process of making the watercolor and collage? Bryan Collier: Well, the process of making the watercolor and collage is first I do a sketch with a pencil, and I'll paint a watercolor wash. And then I'll incorporate -- it's all paper. I use old back issue magazines for patterns. Sometimes I'll paint the patterns in watercolor, cut it out and glue it on. I use this special glue called Sobo Glue; it's like a fabric glue. I love that stuff. [laughter] And I sort of piece it together, and there's no rhyme or reason in terms of how much watercolor I do or how much collage I do. I just sort of do it piece by piece, and I let it sort of tell me -- dictate exactly how it's done. Yes? Male Speaker: Ladies and gentlemen, if you have any further questions, could you please use the question and answer microphones located in the aisles? As we are filming and recording this, we'd like to capture your voices on tape. Thank you. Male Speaker: I have a question. Over here. Bryan Collier: Oh, we've got a question right there. I'm sorry, sir. Male Speaker: Tell us about the children's mural programs you're involved with. Bryan Collier: In Harlem, I live in Harlem, and at the Harlem Hospital -- for 12 years I was the artistic director for the painting studio for children in Harlem, both at -- and it's located at the hospital. In the hospital, Harlem Hospital, as well as the community, it was a program that allowed any kid that was interested in making art to come up and make art. And we painted on canvasses; huge, large canvasses. And we painted murals in the parks all over the city, mainly in Harlem. I'm more of a consultant to that program now, since I've been doing children's books, but that program was wonderful because you didn't have to have any formal training or anything. And we didn't -- I didn't put my own sensibility on that child. I let them create, and we talked about the art that they made based on wherever they were. And I was more like a cheerleader for them, just encouraging them to dream, you know, because they never get a chance to be asked to dream about anything. So that's what that is. Yes, right there? Female Speaker: Ironically, my question was also about the mural program. How do you get the themes that they're going to do, and the supplies? Bryan Collier: Now, that's, that's an interesting question. We painted murals in parks, and there was no formal design. What I did was set up. I lined up colors of paints in cups and I would start painting. They would see me from a distance and come over. I said, "Grab a cup and a brush and start somewhere. This is your park." So I would have -- at the end of the summer, maybe 3,000 kids that have painted this mural. And it sort of came together organically. Now, you can see some of the murals, and it was featured on -- well, "Sesame Street" came calling. And they saw the murals that I've done, but it was featured in a few movies. A movie called "Above the Rim" came out a couple of years ago with Tupac Shakur and Marlon Wayans. The park scenes, they were all filmed in the parks that we painted; very organic. But more importantly, it was their ownership. They owned that park. They lived in that park and stayed in that park all summer long, and they need to have control of what their environment looked like. So that program allowed something like that to happen. Thank you. Female Speaker: The "Welcome, Precious" book, it's a real feel-good book, and I can't wait to get a copy of it to share with my students. Bryan Collier: Thank you. Thank you. Yes? Female Speaker: Good morning. My question is, could you talk about the process of the collaboration between the writer and your role as an illustrator - when you, I guess when you come together with the writer, in your role as the illustrator, how does that process work. Bryan Collier: Well, it's a very different relationship. You would think we would sit down and powwow about, you know -- well, the author would be like, "I want this here on this page." It's really not like that. Often times, in the past I hadn't met the author until after the book was done a year later, and we never had any conversation at all. And Nikki Grimes herself, she said something very interesting to me. She said, "I never worry about what the artist is going to do with my work, because anything I want to say I'll write it in the text." You know? "I'll put it down to get my point across." Because in a true collaboration I have to be affected by just the words itself. Sometimes an author will put little notes -- like Doreen Rappaport for "Martin's Big Words," she said, "On this page I want a whole protest scene," and I had to cover that up. She's sweet. I had to cover that up and really experience her words and the text as a true collaborative in that context. Female Speaker: I wanted to say I really, really love what you've done with the "Rosa" book. It's awesome. Bryan Collier: Oh, "Rosa." Thank you. Thank you so much. Yes, sir? Young Male Speaker: What kind of experience do you need to illustrate books? Bryan Collier: Great question. The only experience you need is to have the ability to dream and surrender to whatever you're trying to convey. And that's an interesting concept, because it's the hardest thing to do. How do you read through all our own life's distractions, like paying bills and raising a family, and then finding a quiet place to create and let this thing flow through you? I consider myself a vessel, and I'm bringing forth these ideas. The only thing that can stop it is me. My biggest struggle is for me to get out of the way. After going to art school and all that stuff, that's what it really boils down to. How do you come to find that quiet place to create, and allow it to happen? And that's the biggest struggle, and that's what, that's what I fight with all of the time; how to get out of the way. So what I'm saying to you is you're a world changer and a dreamer. You just have to let it happen. And work at it; it doesn't show up and knock on the door. You work and work and work, and get out of the way and let it come through. And that's it. Young Male Speaker: Thank you. Bryan Collier: Yes, hi. Female Speaker: Good morning, how are you? Bryan Collier: I'm doing just fine. Female Speaker: If you would talk a little bit about your collection with Zora Neale Hurston for us? Bryan Collier: Oh, yes. It's called "What's the Hurry, Fox?" a collection of stories by Zora Neale Hurston. Now, everybody knows Zora Neale Hurston. Well, this challenge for this book was it was the first time I did all animals. And the thing I loved about the stories she collected from just folks that she bumped into and just collected their voices was the sharp satire and the sharp wit, because I felt like I knew those people and I knew those stories. Because I grew up around a lot of old folks, you know? My grandmother and her friends and cousins, and so I would hear and be around those type of stories. So I know - I had a kinship to it. It was just a wonderful thing, a wonderful experience that I had with that particular text. Thank you. Ten minutes left, all right. Any more questions? I have a question. Who's dreaming today? Anybody dreaming today? What are you dreaming about? Not one of those pretty, lofty dreams. I'm talking about, come on, world changing dreams. Anybody really dreaming something today? Female Speaker: Peace. Bryan Collier: Dreaming some peace? You want some peace? Okay. That's good. We need that peace. Anybody dreaming something for your own world, your own personal world? Dreamers, come on. All right. Female Speaker: [Inaudible]. Bryan Collier: Books and little kids on your lap. Okay, that's a beautiful moment. That's a beautiful moment. Okay, right here. Female Speaker: [Inaudible]. Bryan Collier: That's what you want to do? What are you doing about it? Are you writing and submitting? Okay. Don't stop. Hey, it took me seven years to get a book deal. And I went door to door. I was in Manhattan. I went door to door to some of the same ones that I'm illustrating for now. So it's a process. It's about the right person looking and finding the work that you do. But it can happen. It's possible. If it happened for me, it definitely can happen for you. Right, Tracy? Can it happen? Okay. All right. Yes? I really can't hear you. Male Speaker: [Inaudible]. Bryan Collier: That's his dream? Okay. As long as you're dreaming it. Well, guys, I thank you for your time and your patience, and thank you for coming out and enjoying these books. [applause] [end of transcript]