This week as her special guest from the arts Ruth Copland is pleased to be interviewing one of America’s most celebrated illustrators, Maira Kalman. If you enjoy the interview you can meet Maira in person at Bookshop Santa Cruz on November 14th at 7 PM. An illustrator, writer and product designer Maira has written and illustrated over 18 children’s books as well as producing award-winning books for adults and designing all kinds of objects such as fabric, bags, and clocks. Born in Tel Aviv, she moved to America at the age of four and was raised in the Bronx. She now lives in Manhattan. Maira is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker Magazine, and is well known for her collaboration with Rick Meyerowitz on the “New Yorkistan” cover in 2001 and “The New York City Sub-Culinary Map.” Maira has an amazing body of creative work which includes projects such as illustrating Strunk and White’s classic The Elements of Style; a small opera based on text composed by Nico Muhly; collaborations with designers like Isaac Mizrahi and Kate Spade; and two hugely popular monthly online columns she created for the New York Times, the first of which, The Principles of Uncertainty, was a narrative journal of her life; and the second, And The Pursuit of Happiness a year long exploration of American History and democracy. Both columns are now collected in book form. Maira has had eight exhibitions at the Julie Saul Gallery since 2003, and in 2010, The Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia organized a retrospective of Maira’s work entitled Maira Kalman: Various Illuminations (of a Crazy World). She has collaborated with Michael Pollan to illustrate his acclaimed Food Rules, and published Girls on Lawns, with text by Daniel Handler, which is the first of five books she will be doing with the photography department of the Museum of Modern Art. Her most recent book is Beloved Dog, a book of wise words and whimsical pictures which celebrates the sage lessons animals teach us.
Tune in Saturday 9-10 PM to find out more about the life and art of Maira Kalman. For more info and to hear previous shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
