Get Creative - write or illustrate the story of "Man, Dog, Boat"...

Since 1995 the 'Man, Dog, Boat' sculpture at the entrance to Gasworks Arts Park has been an iconic feature for all its visitors, as well as becoming the Park's official logo.

If you have not had the pleasure of visiting before, Gasworks is a not-for-profit community arts centre based in Albert Park, which used to be a working gas works. The beautiful old buildings have since been renovated; converted into theatres and studios for a range of workshops and performances.

Gasworks Arts Park are inviting children, up to the age of 17, to write and/or illustrated the story behind these mysterious characters.

Entries will be exhibited in the 'Man, Dog, Boat Exhibition and Award Ceremony' opening on Saturday 19 November.

You can enter individually or as a group - so get your friends, families and classes involved. Kids are encouraged to be as inventive and creative as possible!

• Write the story of the characters and how they ended up on the boat (Who are they? Where are they from?)
• Use the sculpture as inspiration for your own illustrations of their adventures
• Create a story board or graphic novel 
• Use visual media such as Imovie to make an animation filming your drawings
• Create a 3D sculpture inspired by the characters 

For more ideas visit the Man, Dog, Boat Wikispace... and add to our 
on-going story!

An Interview Without Words with illustrator Shaun Tan

Shaun Tan was recently interviewed by Spiegel Online and answered all their questions with drawings. 


See Shaun's "drawn conclusions" below, expressed with just pen and paper:


"SPIEGEL: Mr. Tan, you recently won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, a sort of Nobel Prize for picture book authors. Your success as an an illustrator and author is being celebrated around the world. But you are not yet a household name. Could you please introduce yourself?

Shaun Tan

Part 2: On Hollywood
SPIEGEL: You worked together with director Andrew Ruhemann to transform your book "The Lost Thing" into a short animated film. The story tells of a strange and seemingly useless being that is constantly overlooked by everybody. As co-directors, you and Ruhemann won the 2011 Oscar for best animated short -- congratulations! As a laid-back Australian, what was your impression of Hollywood?

Shaun Tan

Part 3: On Readers

SPIEGEL: Your children's books are beloved by kids and adults alike. How do you picture your readers?

Shaun Tan

Part 4: On Good and Bad Drawings

SPIEGEL: What differentiates a good illustration from a bad one?

Shaun Tan

Part 5: On the Workplace

SPIEGEL: What does your workplace look like?

Shaun Tan

Part 6: On Honors

SPIEGEL: At age 37, you have received the highest honor in your field. What's next?

Shaun Tan

Part 7: On Skills

SPIEGEL: What skill do you wish you possessed?

Shaun Tan

Part 8: On Success

SPIEGEL: How does success feel?

Shaun Tan

Part 9: On Loneliness

SPIEGEL: Your protagonists are, for the most part, lost souls in strange worlds. Is it necessary for an artist to be lonely?

Shaun Tan

Part 10: On Words

SPIEGEL: Your work generally doesn't use a lot of words. In fact, your story "The Arrival" doesn't have a single word in it. Do you manage to use words so sparingly in the real world as well?

Shaun Tan

Part 11: On Inspiration

SPIEGEL: Where do you get inspiration for your stories?"

Shaun Tan

For the full interview visit Spiegel Online.

News from Clunes Back to Booktown

We had an excellent time at this year's Clunes Back to Booktown weekend festival (May 14 and 15) and thought we'd share a few fun photographs from the day!
Back to Booktown is a held at Clunes each year around this time. It spans one weekend and every nook and cranny in this fascinating historic goldmining town is filled with books - mostly old, many rare, all waiting for a new home and collectors, browsers and book lovers of all ages have a delicious time on the hunt. Some travelled up by stream-train from Melbourne this year!   It was great weather (better than in Melbourne) and a lovely bustling atmosphere with a fabulous crowd.  There are visiting author talks (including Blanche & Bob this year!), Punch & Judy (no, not Blanche & Bob), an interesting range of good food, the school big band, and booky activities for kids too.  It'll be on again around the same time next year - and we'll be there - come and say hi!

Visitors enjoying the exhibition of prints & picture books

Two very enthusiastic customers, with our display in the background

A ballerina illustration that Ann J painted for a lovely young customer.

Nick and Dot enjoying Autumn in Clunes during a break from bookselling

Artworks by Stephen Michael King

We are delighted to announce 18 new artworks for sale by Stephen Michael King on our website.

These include illustrations from his well-known picture books Mutt Dog! and Where does Thursday go? both published by Scholastic Australia, and Milli, Jack and the Dancing Cat published by Allen & Unwin.

To give you a taster, below are two very sweet artworks from Mutt Dog! - to see more visit booksillustrated.com.au or click on the images.