Meeting Idols

Last Monday, as some of you will know from my over enthusiastic tweeting, I went to an once in a lifetime event with two of my favourite illustrators, Shaun Tan and Quentin Blake.  I was surprised and oddly, slightly outraged that the event wasn't heavily advertised.  I mean, it's Shaun Tan and Quentin Blake.  Two titans of the illustration world whose work I've admired and ravenously clamoured after for years.  If my wonderful boyfriend hadn't found out about the event by sheer luck, I would have been devastated at the missed opportunity to meet them both.  If both names are unfamiliar to you (I really, really hope not) here's a bit of basic information.

Shaun Tan in his studio

Shaun Tan is an Australian author and illustrator. While best known for his meticulously detailed and beautifully rendered wordless graphic novel, The Arrival, Shaun has also gained recognition from winning an Oscar last year for the fantastic animated short "The Lost Thing" which was adapted from his picture book of the same name.  I fell in love with Shaun's work after being introduced to his books by a lovely fellow bookseller 6 years ago and have been an obsessive fan ever since.  "The Arrival" is my favourite work and has been a reliable source of comfort every time I feel a little twinge of homesickness.    

Quentin Blake is renowned for his illustrations of Roald Dahl’s much-loved stories, but has collaborated with many other notable authors over the years such as Michael Rosen (The Sad Book) and most recently David Walliams (Billionaire Boy, Gangsta Granny, etc). So far, Quentin has illustrated over 300 books, including 32 of his own works.  While I love his solo works, his illustrations and name will always be inextricably linked to my childhood memories of reading Dahl's stories.  His drawings brought to life some of my most feared villains and beloved heroes and heroines.

The event itself was a rather intimate, informal chat between the two illustrators as they observed slides of each others' works and differing approaches to illustration.  The absolute highlight of the evening was watching both Shaun and Quentin engaged in some impromptu sketching using themes suggested by the audience.

Can someone let me know what the proper grown up etiquette is when meeting someone you spent years admiring?  I'm assuming squealing, jumping up and down and pointing frantically while asking the inane question "Do you know who you are?" isn't the right thing to do. While I did manage to refrain from turning into the scary fan girl that every semi famous male is terrified of encountering, I wouldn't say that I left with my dignity completely intact.  I think at one point while talking to Shaun Tan, I lost the ability to communicate properly, blanked on the word "bookplate" and for what seemed like the longest 5 seconds of my life, frantically racked my brain for the right word while making charade like hand gestures to try to jerk my brain into some sort of glimmer of recognizable association with the image in my head.  I managed to not make a complete babbling idiot out of myself long enough to get my books signed.

Signed Copies of "The Arrival", "Tales from Outer Suburbia" and "Eric"

It was a tough choice choosing which three books to bring with me for the signing.  I'm extremely glad I brought my Canadian edition of "Tales From Outer Suburbia" since Shaun actually noticed the edition and had a bit of a longer chat with me!  It was quite amazing watching him draw little illustrations in each of the books.  

Signed copy of "Matilda"

I was a bit disappointed that I could only get 1 item signed by Quentin.  I felt a little bit bad about not getting "Clown" signed, but "Matilda" just means so much to me that it couldn't have been any other book.

Originally, I mainly thought of this trip as an fantastic chance to meet two of my favourite artists, but as I read and re-read through the collection of books John and I brought to be signed, I realized I forgotten that I'm not only meeting world renowned illustrators, but world renowned storytellers.  Sometimes it's nice to just settle down and take the time to slowly re-read an old favourite rather than flip nonchalantly through familiar pages and images.