We spoke to award-winning illustrator Tarsila Krüse on creating art for books in Irish ahead of her appearance at Children's Books Ireland Conference which takes place on the 16th and 17th of September.
This year's theme is 'Risk and Reward’ and speakers at the conference will be sharing stories on when and where they took risks for with their work and or their career development.
Tarsila Krüse is an illustrator who will be speaking about the benefits and disadvantages of taking risks and how they are reflected in the richness and depth of books created for children and young adults today.
Tarsila is an illustrator from Brazil who is now based in Dublin. Most of her work features the Irish language, including Ná Gabh ar Scoil!, Bliain na nAmhrán, Púcaí Schmúcaí and My Little Album of Dublin (co-authored with Juliette Saumande).
Ealaíontóir aitheanta is ea Krüse i saol na foilsitheoireachta Gaeilge, óna cuid oibre le Futa Fata a thug beocht do scéalta iontacha do pháistí le tamaill de bhlianta anuas. Tá leabhair do dhaoine óga i nGaeilge ag dul ó neart go neart agus baineann sin nach beag le teacht i láthair na leabhar sin ar sheifeanna na siopaí leabhar agus na leabharlanna. Deir Tarsila, cé nach raibh focal Gaeilge aici nuair a tháinig sí go hÉirinn ón mBrasíl gur thuig sí scéal na coilíneachta agus na féiniúlachta toisc stair a tíre féin agus an Phortaingéilís.
Cé go bhfuil féiniúlachta chasta ag an tír seo maidir le teangacha, deir Tarsila gur baineadh siar di nuair a dúradh léi arís agus arís eile nach raibh Gaeilge á labhairt sa tír seo agus nach fiú faic an teanga. D'athraigh a meon ar fad i dtreo na teanga nuair a casadh lucht Futa Fata uirthi agus nuair a d'aithin sí go raibh neart daoine, teaghlaigh ina measc ag iarraidh an Ghaeilge a úsáid oiread agus is féidir leo. Tá Tarsila anois ar a haistear féin leis an teanga agus í breá in ann níos mó ná an 'cúpla focal' a thuiscint agus a úsáid.
It wasn't until Tarsila got to Ireland that she began using her artistic skills professionally, designing Irish souvenirs before she started to build a portfolio for her illustrations and approaching publishing houses with it. She connected with Futa Fata, based in An Spidéal in the Conamara Gaeltacht and spoke with founder Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin about how her illustrations could fit with some of Futa Fata's publications.
Coming from Brazil, Tarsila had no Irish but was fascinated by how many people went out of their way to tell her the language was of no use and wasn't spoken when she saw the language around her everyday. When she began to illustrate for Futa Fata, she says 'my eyes were opened to the language and I became aware of many families living their lives through Irish. I tell people I discovered the 'secret society of Gaeilgeoirí'
Krüse has enjoyed learning the language since she began working with Futa Fata and says being someone who wasn't born or brought up in Ireland has allowed her to see and hear the language in a different way. 'I don't have any bias or trauma from school, it's just another way for me to communicate my art'.
Since settling in Ireland, Tarsila has found the world of the Irish language to be as previous Laureate na n-Óg, Áine Ní Ghlinn, described it as 'a cloak of invisibility' and she has discovered a whole world she was missing out on by believing a 'truth' someone else told her about the Irish language.
On the topic of risk and reward, about which she will be speaking at the Children's Book Ireland Conference, Tarsila says she tends to see risks as opportunities to grow and learn. Viewing risk as a negative concept is symptomatic of a fearful mindset, she says. Moving to Ireland, becoming an illustrator for children's books mostly in a language she didn't even know existed might seem risky to some but has paid off creatively for Tarsila.
