Giselle Clarkson Explained

Birth Place:New Zealand
Cartoonist:true
Notable Works:Biscuits and Slices of New Zealand
Awards:Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate Award (2023)
Website:http://giselledraws.com
Nonus:true

Giselle Clarkson is a New Zealand cartoonist and illustrator, best known for her non-fiction comics on conservation and environmental issues.

Life

Clarkson studied for Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury, intending to become a painter but majoring in photography.[1] [2] She works as a freelance illustrator and comics artist, and lives in South Wairarapa, New Zealand.[3]

After graduation she worked in an outdoor equipment shop and volunteered with conservation projects; she was torn between becoming an artist and working for the Department of Conservation. Her entry into illustration was a 2013 poster depicting New Zealand fishes. Later illustrations of New Zealand native birds featured on RNZ's Morning Report were distributed through Twitter,[4] which led to commissions from Forest and Bird's children's magazine, the New Zealand School Journal, newspapers, websites, and magazines, and a career in illustration.

Work

Clarkson's first published comic, "The Flood", appeared in the 2016 collection of Aotearoa women's comics Three Words.[5] Her best known work, "Biscuits and Slices of New Zealand", is a visual catalogue of New Zealand baking, with each object given a fanciful Latin name: for example, Anzac biscuit is "Lestwee forgetum". Widely shared in social media, this was published in Annual 2 (2017) and subsequently became a poster and tea towel; Clarkson was interviewed about the success of the comic on TV3's The Project.[6] [7] A follow-up illustration appeared in Annual 3 (2022).

Clarkson has a bimonthly comic in New Zealand children's literature website The Sapling, on children's books and how they influenced her as an illustrator.[8] She frequently undertakes field expeditions as part of her work to places such as the Kermadecs, Milford Sound (to draw penguins) or the Subantarctic Islands (a 19-day sea voyage which led to an 8-page comic in the School Journal). She regularly creates illustration and T-shirts for the Radio New Zealand show Critter of the Week.[9] In 2018 she produced a comics summary of a scientific paper on the migration of the Fiordland penguin or tawaki (Eudyptes pachyrhynchus),[10] which was enthusiastically retweeted by Diana Gabaldon. She has also illustrated a number of children's books published by Gecko Press.

In 2022 Clarkson began illustrating a regular evolutionary-biology column by Kate Evans in New Zealand Geographic magazine. This led to a nomination as Best Artist in the 2023 Voyager Media Awards.

Honours and awards

In 2023, Clarkson received an Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate Award.[11] The panel described her work as "always technically impressive and incredibly imaginative; demonstrating huge sensitivity whilst retaining her trademark energy and vibrance."

Publications

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 5 Minutes with Giselle Clarkson. Lopesi. Lana. 2 July 2018. Design Assembly. 26 January 2019.
  2. News: Kiwi cartoonists on what mattered in 2018. Bruce. Greg. 15 December 2018. The New Zealand Herald. 26 January 2019.
  3. Web site: Giselle Clarkson. Annual Annual NZ. en-US. 26 January 2019.
  4. Web site: 1 September 2023 . Giselle Clarkson . https://web.archive.org/web/20230911001313/https://www.thearts.co.nz/artists/giselle-clarkson/ . 11 September 2023 . 2023-09-11 . The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi . en-NZ.
  5. Book: Three words: an anthology of Aotearoa/NZ women's comics. Beatnik. 2016. 9780994120502. Joyce. Rae. Auckland, New Zealand. 948291321. Laing. Sarah. Neville. Indira.
  6. Web site: Biscuit of the Year?. 2017. The Project. 26 January 2018.
  7. Web site: Nine to Noon: Giselle Clarkson, The Secret Life of Butterflies. 6 June 2018. RNZ. 26 January 2018.
  8. Web site: 5 minutes with Giselle Clarkson: Comicfest feature. Lynch. Rachel. 5 May 2017. Wellington City Libraries: Library News. 26 January 2019.
  9. Web site: Critter of the Week T-shirts!. 6 July 2018. Radio New Zealand. en-nz. 27 January 2019.
  10. Seddon. Philip J.. Lüthi. Benno. Long. Robin. Houston. David M.. Ellenberg. Ursula. Garcia-Borboroglu. Pablo. Pütz. Klemens. Mattern. Thomas. 2018. Marathon penguins – Reasons and consequences of long-range dispersal in Fiordland penguins / Tawaki during the pre-moult period. PLOS ONE. en. 13. 8. e0198688. 10.1371/journal.pone.0198688. 1932-6203. 6114282. 30157174. 2018PLoSO..1398688M. free.
  11. News: Nine outstanding NZ artists honoured at Arts Foundation Laureate Awards . André . Chumko . 1 September 2023 . . 2 September 2023.
  12. Web site: The Gobbledegook Book Joy Cowley Gecko Press. 2021-03-14. geckopress.com. en-US.
  13. Web site: Egg and Spoon: An Illustrated Cookbook Gecko Press. 2021-03-14. geckopress.com. en-US.

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