News

Guinea pig portraits

Posted on

My friend has two hairless guinea pigs, also known as skinny pigs. I had never heard of such a thing before she got them, and even now that I have met them a number of times, I still am not sure that I approve of their creation. It seems like a weird use of human ingenuity. It does allow allergic people like my friend to have a pet to cuddle. But they are… well, some people find them cute. That’s all I will say for now. This is a photo of them that shows their cute fuzzy noses and does not show their disturbing naked spines or bulging testicles:

 

Anyway, my friend loves them and so I said I would draw their portraits. I started with sketches from photos:

 

Then I put aside the drawings while I thought about how to make them into portraits. I don’t know when I decided that one needed an Elizabethan collar and the other needed one of Henry VIII’s most famous outfits. But once I made the decision I couldn’t think of anything else to do. You see how deep and serious my internal world is. So I found these guys:

Sir Christopher Hatton, artist unknown, from Wikipedia

Henry VIII by Hans Holbein the Younger

And I did these drawings…

Guinea pig as Christoper Hatton by Sarah LeavittGuinea pig as Henry VII by Sarah Leavitt, after Holbein

Then I decided they needed a coat of arms… The motto is “Kale is in our hearts.” The symbols on the shield are a sunrise/sunset because guinea pigs are crepuscular animals, a cave for hiding, a wheel for exercise and a grape because it is another roundish symbol and these particular pigs like grapes.

Guinea pig coat of arms by Sarah Leavitt

And then I coloured them with Derwent Inktense pencils. Colouring is a new thing for me so I am not completely happy with the results. But here they are:

Guinea pig as Sir Christopher Hatton by Sarah Leavitt, coloured and framed

Guinea pig as Henry VII by Sarah Leavitt, coloured and framed

Guinea pig coat of arms by Sarah Leavitt

Now if only I could bring this sort of focus to my graphic novel in progress, that would be awesome.

Illustrated poetry

Posted on

The latest issue of Poetry Is Dead just came out — the queer issue. There is lots to love in here, and I’m really happy about my collaboration with Jen Currin — maybe just because I sweated so much over it. When the editor asked me to choose a poem of Jen’s to illustrate, I was quite intimidated but figured I should give it a try. Since to be honest I am inexpert at reading poetry and at illustrating, but would like to be better at both. Jen sent me a number of poems and I chose One Virtue because of the crows and the boys and the rhythm. I focused on trying to find a way of illustrating the poem that wasn’t too literal, reading the poem over and over, finding more and more layers as I did. I wanted to find my own interpretation and at the same time honour Jen’s intent. She was lovely and trusting and just let me do what I wanted. So here is what I did (they’re designed for a spread, so the bottom line on the first page continues onto the bottom of the second):

One Virtue by Jen Currin, illustrated by Sarah Leavitt, page 1 of 2One Virtue by Jen Currin, illustrated by Sarah Leavitt, page 2 of 2

Northwords project is online

Posted on

Last summer I had the extreme good fortune to be part of a group of five writers that Shelagh Rogers took to Torngats National Park for a week. The goal: for us each to create a piece of writing (or in my case, illustrations with text) inspired by our experiences.

Northwords writers after a week in Torngat Mountains National Park: me, Rabindranath Maharaj, Joseph Boyden, Shelagh Rogers, Alissa York and Noah Richler
Northwords writers after a week in Torngat Mountains National Park: me, Rabindranath Maharaj, Joseph Boyden, Shelagh Rogers, Alissa York and Noah Richler

The journey was captured in Shelagh’s award-winning radio documentary, and the documentary film by filmCAN premiered this past August; it will be on CBC TV later this month. And… the interactive site is now live! It contains lots of audio and video and photos and a link to the ebook from Anansi that contains all the writing that we did during the week. I’m so full of excitement and gratitude and thrilledness!

Northwordscanada.ca interactive site

 

Tangles: more American reviews

Posted on

I forgot to add this lovely review of Tangles by David Ulin that appeared in the LA Times in the spring:

What she’s getting at is the essence of who we are and how we operate, of what underlies our neurons, what defines identity. “This is a hard thing to say,” her mother says after Leavitt shows her a few pages of this book, at the time a work in progress. “I’m not a real person.”

But what defines reality? That’s the central question, although “Tangles” doesn’t (can’t) provide an answer. And yet, in framing her loss and her uncertainty through the lens of love, Leavitt manages to find a fragile resolution: conditional, moving, rigorous and heartbreaking at once.

Also grateful for reviews in The Library Journal and Kansas City Jewish Chronicle, and a nice mention from Diana Schutz in an interview on tfaw.com.

Some illustrations for Geist magazine

Posted on

The nice folks at Geist magazine got me to do some spot illustrations for their Summer Reading Issue. It’s a great issue all around. I think my favourite part of Geist is the Findings section, a collection of excerpts that usually leads me to a delightful new book. This time it was some fantastically strange drawings from The Codex Canadensis and the Writings of Louis Nicolas, A natural history and illustrations of the New World in the seventeenth century, and a laugh-out-loud sample of Anakana Schofield’s Malarky. Here are the three drawings I’m happiest with.

Books provide shadeBooks provide shade for patio drinksDogs love books

Tangles released in the US: great reviews!

Posted on

The US edition of Tangles came out from Skyhorse Publishing May 1. It’s been a great first couple weeks. I feel very lucky.

So far there’s been the Kirkus Starred Review and a slideshow of images from Tangles on the Huffington Post, and amazing Vanity Fair and Jewish Daily Forward reviews…

Elissa Schappell of Vanity Fair says:

In her graphic memoir, Tangles: A Story About Alzheimer’s, My Mother, and Me (Skyhorse), Sarah Leavitt tries to hold on to her beloved mother, Midge, and unknot the tensions that arise between friends and family. As she does, day by day Midge’s mind erases more of her past, and the future becomes less certain. Not only a spot-on portrait of the dark comedy and vast sadness that Alzheimer’s contains, the book is a fitting tribute to Leavitt’s mom.

Jane Eisner of the Forward:

I felt that way about the whole memoir; it works. At first, I wasn’t sure whether Leavitt could do justice to the confusing feelings and family dynamics that she aims to portray in “Tangles,” which she calls “a story about Alzheimer’s, my mother and me.” While the genre of graphic novels has grown ever more sophisticated, it’s still a challenge to turn comic book heroes into complicated human beings. But Leavitt is able to make her characters seem real with a few strokes of the pencil and fewer words. Read the full review…

Exciting times! Meanwhile I am finishing a couple of illustration jobs and working on my next book in bits and pieces. Thanks for checking in!


Check out comics by my UBC students

Posted on

I just finished teaching a course at UBC Creative Writing — Introduction to Graphic Narrative. It’s the first time the course has been offered, and my first time teaching a full-term class! Most of the classes in the department are small workshop classes, but this is a lecture class with 45 students. It was a combination of theory and practice — lectures, in-class writing and drawing exercises, assignments that included writing about comics and creating comics. Huge learning curve for me, many moments of wanting to throw up before class, many late nights. And in spite of that (because of that?) I loved it. Loved the earnestness and determination and creativity and excitement of these awesome students. And, by doing massive amounts of research to teach the class, I really improved my own understanding of comics. I am hoping this filters through into my future work…

As a follow-up, with a small group of fellow cartoonists, I am working my way through all the exercises in Ivan Brunetti’s Cartooning: Philosophy and Practice. Very hard, very valuable.

Want to see some of my students’ work? Here you go: http://comicsbycrwr208.blogspot.ca/

 

Talking About Jewish Women and Comics

Posted on

Last week I went to New York City for a few days. In between eating (Stinky Brooklyn, Shelsky’s Smoked Fish, Eataly — oy vey!) and visiting my lovely American family, I managed to get to this great symposium where I’d been invited to talk about Tangles: Talking About Jewish Women and Comics. What a thrill to see Diane Noomin and Miriam Katin in person and hear them talk about their work! Not to mention the Graphic Details exhibit that was the basis for the symposium — original artwork by Noomin, Katin, Trina Robbins, Aline Kominsky Crumb, Corinne Pearlman and more… sigh. Felt like a fan girl — albeit one with grey hair creeping in and smoked fish breath.

These are some drawings I did of the speakers — Noomin, Katin and unnamed academics.