Image of the Week: Anga and the Reindeer
© Durga Yael Bernhard
The Girl Who Wanted to Hunt was the sixth children's book I illustrated, back in the 90s when multicultural folktales were a popular subject in the juvenile publishing industry. Retold from a Siberian folktale, the story is a classic tale of an orphan girl with a cruel stepmother. With the help of various allies, young Anga breaks out of her cocoon of helplessness and spreads her wings. Among these allies are a reindeer, a sturgeon fish, and several dogs that transform from carved wooden toys into animals of flesh and blood that come to Anga's rescue.
To illustrate this book, I studied the art and culture of the indigenous Udeghe and Nanai people of the Amur River peninsula – an area of southeastern Siberia with a climate and topography similar to the Hudson Valley. These indigenous tribes wore fish skin robes and elaborate dresses of reindeer hide with scalloped asymmetrical collars. They gathered ginseng and chaga from the great forests of the Siberian taiga, and had a rich tradition of shamanism, making special potions from the poisonous Amanita muscaria (fly agaric) mushroom to explore parallel realities in which animal and ancestral spirits reigned. A fascinating and exotic culture, indeed.
But this esoteric belief system was not the focus of this picture book. Rather, it's the story of a brave and innocent girl who discovers her own powers and transcends her life as an orphan. As the daughter of a master hunter, Anga has learned to communicate with the animals of the forest, for communion with one's prey is a hallmark of shamanic culture. Throughout her ordeals, Anga remains hopeful and pure of heart. Her bright young spirit naturally elicits sympathy and support from the animals, people, and even trees that come to her aid. By the end of the story, the evil stepmother is transformed into a hooting owl, and Anga is received by the arms of the moon, who takes the form of a maternal character. For American readers, this story of shapeshifting may be readily accepted as a childish fairy tale. For the people of Siberia, this transformative tale is not just for children – and young Anga shows great potential as both a hunter and a future shaman.
To accommodate the numerous scenes in the story – which had to be compressed into 32 pages – I used insets to offset different points of action, such as the circular inset shown above. Today, I would create the two-toned border around the inset in Photoshop; back then, I painted it by hand. I also offset the text on every page with illustrated borders derived from the decorative patterns of Udeghe and Nanai clothing, which were striking and unique – a blend of Russian, Chinese, and tribal influences.
What a fascinating project! I loved illustrating this book. I especially enjoyed painting Anga's jet-black braided hair. One memory stands out: I spilled a cup of hot tea on the cover illustration, which was painted in gouache – a non-permanent pigment that immediately dissolved into a puddle of purple mud. Oh, the agony! This was pre-Photoshop. I managed to repair it, with difficulty, but I never forgot it – and never put my tea mug near a painting again . . . though I do sometimes accidentally dip my paintbrush in my tea.
A good week to all!