Gerald McDermott

| Tasha

Gerald McDermott came to my library today!  I know that this may be the sort of thing that big time New York City librarians have happen every day, but it is quite unusual here in central Wisconsin.  He came as part of the Fox Cities Book Festival which I am president of this year. 

He spoke before a small but very responsive group about his art, his books, and his relationship with Joseph Campbell.   He also spoke beautifully about myth.

Here are a sampling of quotes from him:

“A myth is a story that is not true on the outside but true on the inside.”

When drawing you should “capture the energy” and not aim for perfection.

Joseph Campbell said “Myth is what we call other people’s religion.”

We got to hear him tell his Coyote and Pig Boy books.

He showed us slides of an amazing exhibit at the Children’s Museum of Tacoma based on his books.

And we got to hear about his next big project which will be illustrating Joseph Campbell’s favorite myths. 

He was a great speaker, gentle rather than forceful, an artist taking us along with him on a journey in myth. 

One of the small gems I jotted down was that he starts his books by telling the story aloud 15-20 times before he writes them down.  Because they come from an oral tradition, he starts there. 

I also loved his art project he did with children where they put mounds of paint in the center of a page and then fold it in half, smooshing the paint.  It is then opened back up and the kids find a creature in the symmetrical blob and outline it in black.  They then get to write a story about the creature they have found.

His paintings are on display at the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum.  I can’t wait to see them!

6 thoughts on “Gerald McDermott”

  1. I heard McDermott speak at the very fist Tx Library Assoc. conference I ever attended, a decade (good gad!) ago. I walked toward the meeting room and saw him standing outside the door. OMG, that’s Gerald McDermott, I thought. I was new to the school library biz in those days. I went a bit weak in the knees. It is STILL a thrill though.

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  2. He is such an amazing author/illustrator! I use his books to do a unit on folktales with my second grade readers – his books really are amazing. Apparently, he came to my school district about 15 years ago (before I was teaching there). I show his video – and I get the same impression of him that you shared. I cannot wait to order his Pig Boy book for school next year!

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  3. He mentioned that his next book will be a Monkey trickster tale from India. Something to look forward to after Pig Boy.

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  4. I’ve read his stories so many times to children. You really know if you like a book or not after you’ve read it aloud forty times! McDermott’s books pass that test, and now I begin to understand why.

    There used to be a set of posters with some of his art. I would spend a whole class period letting first graders make up stories (orally) from looking at the posters. You’ve reminded me to go back to these books.

    I also think the art activity you described is perfect for this summer’s theme – Be Creative.

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