How did you become an illustrator?
I have always drawn. Always. And I was lucky to be able to take drawing lessons from a young age.
Something was also very important to me: thanks to the cultural center of Bastia, the city where I grew up, I was able to meet many writers and artists. I particularly remember a dedication by Claude Ponti. I was 6. I was a fan of his universe and I had brought him all my albums so that he could sketch chicks inside for me. I watched him do it, I was fascinated. It was then, I believe, that I decided to become an illustrator in children’s literature.
Tell us about your last album, “Saint-Nicolas”…
It is an order of the editions of Père-Fouettard. They were asked for books on Saint Nicholas and they did not yet have any in their catalog. This is how the project was born. But it was not a question of telling the famous legend, but of talking about this emblematic character differently …
How is the album presented?
He has two blankets. One side for Saint Nicolas, the other for Father Fouettard. The idea was to question this duality: nice-bad guy. Is it that easy? Isn’t the reality more complex? Don’t they both have good and bad? Saint Nicholas loves good children, but is it so good to be right? Disobeying in order to explore something else and become yourself, is it so wrong? Saint Nicholas distributes sweets that give cavities, is that so good?
“Saint Nicolas” by Violaine Costa, published by Père Fouettard, 14 euros, from 5 years old. ww.violainecosta.net
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