Helen Hancocks
About Author
Helen Hancocks graduated in 2011 with a degree in illustration and animation from Manchester School of Art. Her work often features cats. When she is not drawing, she can be found at the cinema, or just watching the world go by. Helen Hancocks lives in Lincoln, England.
Interview
ELLA QUEEN OF JAZZ
FRANCES LINCOLN CHILDREN'S BOOKS
APRIL 2017
ELLA QUEEN OF JAZZ is a sumptuous retelling in pictures of a little-known story from the 1950's of the friendship between Marilyn Monroe and the then upcoming singer, Ella Fitzgerald.
The story describes how that friendship helped forge Ella's career, despite the barriers she faced as a black woman in 1950's America. It gives a glimpse into the hard work it took for talented individuals to achieve what they did.
The colourful spreads resonate with atmosphere and are filled with details from the period. We asked author and illustrator Helen Hancocks, together with her editor Jenny Broom, to tell us more about how ELLA QUEEN OF JAZZ developed.
Q: When did you come across this friendship between Ella and Marilyn, and why did you decide to turn it into a picture book?
Jenny: When Helen came to me with this story, I thought it was great for lots of reasons: Ella and Marilyn are both such iconic figures, and it was amazing to discover they were connected by this little-talked-about event.
It was a serendipitous moment that Helen came to us with this story, because we knew that Ella's 100th birthday was coming up and this felt like the perfect way to mark it.
Q: Why did you want to create this picture book, what appealed to you about it and has it been special in any way for you?
Helen: It's such a lovely story of friendship and of women striving ahead to become great people no matter what is holding them back. I think the story has a great message for children and it's not a story that is very well known, even though the stars of the story are.
It's quite a special project for me as it's a bit different from drawing cats, dogs and penguins!
Q: Ella was already famous before she became friends with Marilyn so why did you decide to focus on this moment in her career?
Jenny: The fact that Ella was famous and still faced big obstacles was interesting to me - in today's climate of celebrity it's easy to think that fame is the answer to all our problems.
In this story, both Ella and Marilyn show huge courage, determination and grace, and through their friendship they help each other out to overcome a hugely symbolic hurdle. At the book's heart is the message that it's important not only to stand up for yourself, but stand up for others, too.
Q: Is there much information available about Ella and Marilyn's friendship?
Jenny: Considering the superstar status of both women, there is less documentation than you might expect, but there is a play, Marilyn and Ella, which was written on the same subject about 10 years ago and generated quite a lot of interest at the time.
Q: Where did you go to research Ella's career and this period?
Jenny: We did a lot of reading around, but the best bit of research we came across was from Ella herself:
"I owe Marilyn Monroe a real debt. It was because of her that I played the Mocambo, a very popular nightclub in the '50s. She personally called the owner of the Mocambo, and told him she wanted me booked immediately, and if he would do it, she would take a front table every night. She told him - and it was true, due to Marilyn's superstar status - that the press would go wild. The owner said yes, and Marilyn was there, front table, every night. The press went overboard... After that, I never had to play a small jazz club again. She was an unusual woman - a little ahead of her times. And she didn't know it." - Ella Fitzgerald, August 1972 article in MS magazine:
Q: The picture book shows that some of the problems Ella Fitzgerald faced were due to racism. How hard is it to tackle and explain racism in text for children of this age?
Jenny: This is an important subject to talk about but it has to be done in an age-appropriate way. We worked very hard on the text, stating the facts as simply as we could, and trying to give context to the events.
While a lot has changed since the 1950s, the message of the book carries just as much relevance today, so I hope this story will inspire and inform young readers.
Q: What do you hope children will take away from the story?
Jenny: That it's important to challenge discrimination, and to have to the courage to stand up for your values and look out for your friends - and that amazing things can happen when you do.
Q: Is the 1950's a period you knew much about? Are you a jazz fan?
Helen: I knew bits and bobs about the 50's, through reading, watching films, the designs and fashions of the time and some of the music. But it's always great to learn as you research and experiment ideas for a new book. I loved looking at 1950's clothes and interiors for this.
I really enjoy Ella's One Note Samba and had that on repeat for a while - a whole six minutes of scatting. It's brilliant. Through doing this I have found out so much more about her and found some super songs - there are so many!
Q: How did you decide what style to present it in, with these flat areas of bold colour?
Helen: I think I knew from the start I wanted to make it bright and colourful, I had great support from my lovely editor Jenny Broom and designer Nicola Price throughout the book creation process.
Once the thumbnail images are decided and I get to work them up to full size, I kind of make my mind up about colours as I go along. Although I often use pinks and blues, perhaps too much!
Q: How hard was it to illustrate such well known people, Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Munroe?
Helen: I found this aspect really hard to start with, I practiced drawing both of them quite a bit. I think the fact they were both big icons of their day and still are now made me really nervous about this book as a whole. I felt I had to do them justice but also keep it feeling like my work. But seeing it now in the book I am really happy with how it worked out.
Q: Where did you go to research styles, clothes, settings, posters etc.?
Helen: I did use the internet a fair bit to start researching, especially for the instruments! I have recently started to use Pinterest for inspiration but it can be a bit of a black hole that you have to step away from or risk becoming completely overwhelmed.
For clothes and interiors, I had a lot of fashion and art books for inspiration. I drew on designs by Alexander Girad and Eames for interiors and Saul Bass, Mary Blair, Sister Mary Corita Kent, Cliff Roberts (to name a few) for poster ideas. Film and Jazz posters were good to look at and record covers were also a source of inspiration.
I am an avid film watcher and I am sure some of the ones I watch also inspired settings in the book. The floor in the club was actually inspired by a David Hockney painting. That bit in particular started off being really fun to paint, but then half way through I wondered why I made it so complicated! In the end I had to do it twice!
Q: Were there any spreads or images that presented a particular challenge?
Helen: I was apprehensive about drawing Ella and Marilyn in the first place and then showing people listening to music was a little tricky too. Oh and thinking of record covers! Creating a slip cover was a little tricky, but then I had the idea of painting a music lover's bedroom floor with records, books and all sorts of stuff from that era. That is now one of my favourite images from the book, plus I managed to slip in a sneaky cat!
Q: What media have you used to create these images?
Helen: I start by penciling out the page layout, then I use gouache paint and add a few bits of crayon for shading or highlighting elements.
Q: What are you working on now?
Helen: I have a few ideas on the go at the moment, I am not sure if I am allowed to say what my next projects are yet but they are pretty exciting.
Last year I spent a few months travelling in the USA so I decided to paint ALL the cakes I ate when I was there with a view to compiling them all into a book which is fun. I'm also working on some BIG paintings too so plenty to keep me busy.
Q: Where do you prefer to work?
Helen: At my desk with a good podcast on. I would like to say I am great at working anywhere but I am easily distracted and not very good at keeping a sketch book on the go when I'm out and about anymore.
ELLA QUEEN OF JAZZ (ISBN 9781847809186 IS PUBLISHED BY FRANCES LINCOLN CHILDREN'S BOOKS AND IS AVAILABLE NOW.
Ella Queen of Jazz
William Heads to Hollywood
