Episode #98: Do you have a favorite piece of art that you made? with Meenal Patel
Welcome! We are back today with another fun episode of Kids Ask Authors! Today, Grace Lin and Meenal Patel answer a really great kid question, “Do you have a favorite piece of art that you made?”
TRANSCRIPTS:
Grace Lin: Hello, I'm Grace Lin, children's book author and illustrator of many books, including the middle grade novel, When the Sea Turned to Silver, and the picture book, A Big Mooncake for Little Star. Today, I am here with Meenal Patel, the author and illustrator of Priya Dreams of Marigolds and Masala. The art from that book is also featured in the picture book exhibit, Asians, Everyday, which you can now see online. Hi, Meenal.
Meenal Patel: Hi, Grace.
Grace Lin: Thank you so much for coming today.
Meenal Patel: Thank you so much for having me.
Grace Lin: Are you ready for today's kid question?
Meenal Patel: Yes, let's do it.
Grace Lin: Okay. Today's kid question is from a kid named, Layla, and Layla asks, "Do you have a favorite piece of art that you made?"
Meenal Patel: Layla, that's a great question. It's also a hard question for me, because I think my taste in the art that I make changes over time. Sometimes, as it's shifting, I like the latest work that I'm doing, but I think I can pick one from a couple years ago. And it's a portrait of Lhakpa Sherpa, and it was for a book called, Stories for South Asian Super Girls, and it's written by Raj Kaur Khaira. I think I like that piece because I felt really, really inspired by Lhakpa Sherpa's story. She is a mountaineer who has climbed Mount Everest nine times. While I was doing the research before I drew her portrait, I had read an interview that she had done, and she was talking about how she feels this really strong connection with Mount Everest. She's Nepalese, so she's in that region. It really inspired her. It put this desire in her to climb it, and then she can't stop going back. She keeps wanting to climb it, which is pretty amazing.
Meenal Patel: And so, I just felt really inspired while I was drawing that portrait and that landscape. I think that might be one of my favorites.
Grace Lin: That's such a lovely story. Wow, now I have to look her up.
Meenal Patel: Yeah.
Grace Lin: That's really cool. I had never heard of her before, so I'm so glad that you introduced me to her. That makes complete sense, like the pictures that stay with you because of the story behind them. But I also agree with what you were saying about the new art. It's like the art that I've most recently done is my favorite kind of thing. I remember looking at very old pieces of art that I remember that I thought were go great, and I loved them, and they were my favorite. And then, looking at them now, they're okay.
Meenal Patel: Yeah, totally. I have a similar thing. Yeah, looking back on it I'm like, "I don't know. I think I would have done something differently." But it's all a process. Do you have a favorite piece of art that you've made?
Grace Lin: Well, the pieces of art that I tend to love now are from the books that feature my daughter. I have a book called, A Big Mooncake for Little Star that Little Star is basically based on my daughter. I took photos of her and I painted her as Little Star. Basically, everything... All the art from that book is my favorite. And then I'm doing a new book, where she's also the main character. The ones that feature her are my favorite. I don't know if I can choose one from the batch, but anything that features her. I feel it's such a time capsule of where she is when I paint these pictures of where she is in her life. I'm always curious, when she's all grown up and looks at them, if she's going to be like... What she'll think.
Meenal Patel: That's so lovely. That idea that it's a time capsule of moments of stages of your daughter's life. That's so cool.
Grace Lin: It's such an interesting thing. Either she'll love it when she's older, or she's going to be like, "Mom, really?"
Meenal Patel: That's funny. The characters in my book are often based off of pieces of my nieces, Neela and Priya. Priya Dreams of Marigolds and Masala, Priya's character is a mix of Priya, but then she also has a little bit of me, and my sister, and my other niece, so it's a mix of people. But I also wonder when they're grown up what they'll think.
Grace Lin: Yeah. I hope that they're really proud, and they show it and showcase it everybody, like, "That was me, when I was a kid." That's my hope.
Meenal Patel: Yeah. I hope so too.
Grace Lin: All right. Well, thank you so much for answering today's kid question. And thank you, Layla, for asking it. Bye.
Meenal Patel: Bye.
Today’s kid BOOK REVIEW comes from Ava! She’s reviewing, Priya Dreams of Marigolds & Masala written and illustrated by Meenal Patel.
Hi my name is Ava, the book I would like to talk about is Priya Dreams of Marigolds & Masala. Written and illustrated by Meenal Patel. This book is about a little girl named Priya. Priya loves to ask her grandmother about India and her culture. Priyas grandmother loves to pick her marigolds in the summer; it reminds her of India. But in the winter there are no more marigolds left to pick. So Priya and her friends work together to bring something back that makes her grandmother happy. I liked this book because it showed the power of family,friendship and the importance of remembering where you come from. And it taught even if you're far away from something you really love it doesn't mean it isn't with you in your heart.
Thank you so much Ava!
More about today’s authors:
Meenal Patel is an illustrator, designer and children’s book author. She loves to draw moments of childhood wonder, strong women, and textures in nature. Making art is her happy place. It’s the moment when she can look inward, find joy and then push that joy outward in the form of making something. She hopes that joy reaches someone else. She is the author and illustrator of Priya Dreams of Marigolds & Masala and Neela Goes to San Francisco. Visit www.meenalpatelstudio.com to learn more about her work.
Grace Lin, a NY Times bestselling author/ illustrator, won the Newbery Honor for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and her picture book, A Big Mooncake for Little Star, was awarded the Caldecott Honor. Grace is an occasional commentator for New England Public Radio , a video essayist for PBS NewsHour (here & here), and the speaker of the popular TEDx talk, The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf. She is the co-host of the podcast Book Friends Forever, a kidlit podcast about friendship and publishing (geared for adults). Find her facebook, instagram , twitter ( @pacylin) or sign up for her author newsletter HERE.
Thank you so much for tuning into to Kids Ask Authors!
Please visit the Asians, Everyday exhibit found online at the Carle Museum featuring Meenal Patel!
“Award-winning children’s book author and illustrator Grace Lin curated this online exhibition, launched May 2021 in honor of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Asians, Everyday showcases positive Asian American representation. The selected artworks and books, featuring contemporary characters and stories, celebrate our common humanity by depicting Asian Americans living their everyday lives.”
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Curated by Grace Lin.