Date

2023

Who created it?

Chloe Savage

Biography

I was born and raised in Stevenage. For many years I worked in Opera, Film and TV until I became an author/illustrator. I spend my life writing and painting, usually at the same time. It’s a magical way to be an adult.

About my Shakespeare-inspired book

When I was at school I found reading very difficult. I learnt to love Shakespeare through his comedy, and so for my book I want to celebrate my love of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

My very first thought for this project was that I wanted to make a leporello concertina book, because there is so much fun in hiding and revealing words and images in the valleys and folds of this format.

I immediately knew I wanted the chink in the wall to cut through the whole book, so that I can play with how to use the hole in each of the spreads.

First I make a scribbled version, then I make a painted scribble version, then I paint a better version, which I scanned onto my computer.

Think of the pages like a theatre set and use them to physically tell the story.

While being true to the spirit of the play, I wanted to be selective about my favourite words and moments. The most important question to ask yourself is, what do I actually want to draw and paint? I paint with a mixture of acrylic gouache and watercolour. Using only two colours, I enjoy experimenting with all the different ways they can change how the book feels and to represent the Forest and Athens.

I would love to do a series of tiny little concertina books for my favourite lines from the sonnets, or a big spooky forest book for Macbeth, the possibilities are endless.

What’s your favourite Shakespeare quote?

My favourite quote is from my favourite play, Much Ado About Nothing: “I will not be sworn, but love may transform me to an oyster.” (Benedick, Much Ado About Nothing, Act II Scene iii)

Watch this!

Chloe shares all the pages of her beautiful book in this video and talks about the process of creating it.