Scribbles
What is a scribble? Dictionaries tend to define it in negative terms - meaningless, careless, hasty - but for the illustrator Sara Fanelli the scribble has its own dynamic.
"It's alive... it generates a sense of energy on the page." - Sara Fanelli. Scribbles occur throughout her books - urgent, angry scribbles, quiet fluffy scribbles, rhythmic scribbles and wanton, loopy scribbles. They may depict clouds, trees, wolves or spiders - or, set against the formality of the chairs and tables that seem in her drawings to represent harmony and discipline, the scribble can also be a potent symbol of merriment, disorder and high spirits.
Apart from poetry, Fanelli has always illustrated her own texts. She was asked to illustrate Carlo Collodi's 1883 classic, Pinocchio. I had already been illustrated by dozens of people as well as being subjected to severe 'Disneyfication'
"I had to think carefully about it because there are areas that I have always found difficult in Pinocchio - principally the very heavy-handed morality of the story - so I found my way through that by downplaying the character of Gepetto."
"I felt I could bring a certain lightness to Pinocchio; and, to the darker areas of the story, a dream-like quality. It was just a question of finding my own way into the book. Of course it helped that I've always known Pinocchio - earlier illustrators weren't a problem for me, and from childhood in Italy I've always been familiar with the marionette theatre, and that ties in with my collage technique which, like puppetry, involves a lot of moving parts."
Fanelli invests this beautifully produced Pinocchio (2003) with a witty sense of street theatre. High-quality paper nurtures every aspect of these diversely entertaining illustrations.
The scribbles in this illustration of Pinocchio adds depth and a sideline story to the image which is an aspect that is shown freely and very successfully.
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| Figure 1 - Pinnochio 2003 |
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| Figure 2 - My own take on Scribbles. |
This methodology uses annotations and notations to engage further with the audience. Fanelli's Pinocchio has small illustrations, drawings, scribbles and arrows to add further annotations to address the audience more on what is going on in the image. My interpretation is of a girl going to a party but doesn't think she knows how to dance but the annotations show other wise. They let the audience know she does know how to dance and in time.
Image reference:
Figure 1 -
Fanelli, S. (2011) Sara Fanelli - a life in pictures.
Bibliography
- Carey, J. (2004) Dynamic doodles. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/apr/17/featuresreviews.guardianreview8 (Accessed: 20 November 2016).
- Fanelli, S. (2011) Sara Fanelli - a life in pictures. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/gallery/2011/mar/31/childrens-books-7-and-under (Accessed: 20 November 2016).
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