Go behind the scenes with two-time Caldecott award-winning author and illustrator Sophie Blackall, as she details her creative process, inspiration, and how she used unconventional materials to create a five-foot-long mixed media and collage dollhouse—now on view in "Rooted: Family and Nature in Contemporary Children's Illustration"—for her book "Farmhouse."

 

 

Sophie Blackall is a two-time Caldecott award-winning author and illustrator of over 50 books for children. In Farmhouse (2022), Blackall tells a story based on a real-life family who long ago occupied a farmhouse and dairy farm in the Catskills of New York. Using hand-collaged elements—such as printed wallpaper, old photographs, and remnants of clothes that Blackall salvaged after she purchased the property—she imagines their daily lives in exquisite detail.

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Focused on the enduring bonds of family and nature, this exhibition features more than 75 original artworks from eight children's books. Rooted: Family and Nature in Contemporary Children's Book Illustration is on view through Feb. 28, 2024.