Re-imagining of Mahy book a winner for Nelson artist
In a strange moment of serendipity, Jessica Twohill received the news she had won this year’s Margaret Mahy Illustration Prize while baking a birthday cake for her daughter.
‘‘I almost thought it was kind of funny . . . some sort of serendipitous twist,’’ Twohill told Stuff.
Nelson-based Twohill was named as the winner of the prize yesterday for her work on reimagining Mahy’s The Witch in The Cherry Tree.
The classic Kiwi children’s book follows the story of a boy baking a cake with his mother, while a cake loving witch tries to hatch a plan to steal the dessert.
To enter the prestigious prize, artists are given a Mahy book to interpret, and enter with a set of illustrations.
‘‘[I’m] absolutely stoked, I came runner-up last year and I almost entered the year before, so it’s nice to see it all paying off now.’’
Twohill studied design illustration between Massey University and the Design and Arts College of New Zealand, and was interested in the craft since she was a child.
Over the last couple of years, she’s delved into graphic design and now works in marketing, but still sees herself as an ‘‘oversized child’’.
When she entered this year’s competition, she was ‘‘stoked’’ to be able to recreate The
Witch and The Cherry Tree.
‘‘I grew up with her books like most New Zealanders my generation
... It’s definitely mind-blowing to be teaming up with this author who is as iconic as she is.
‘‘Her [Margaret Mahy’s] books are very imagination focused . . . she leaves a lot of open-ended stuff for the illustrator to be able to decide how to convey that.
‘‘It’s all about making the focus on the child’s imagination. In this particular story, it’s about this witch and you kind of have to decide if it’s real or if it’s just part of David [the child’s] imagination.
‘‘I tried to bring in elements that combined a bit of both.’’ The judging panel included Mahy’s daughter Bridget Mahy and children’s entertainer Suzy Cato.