String is a collaboration with students at the Ruffing Montessori School in Cleveland Heights. Students, aged 6 to 9, were prompted to write down the biggest questions they have about the world. Some of the responses I received were funny, some violent, some existential. Several questions became the writing for the book. One of the questions was, “what is the world’s longest piece of string?” This question prompted me to think about the Red String of Fate, a Japanese myth in which every individual has an invisible red string tied to their pinky finger, connecting them to their soulmate. While in String I wanted to move away from the finding of a soulmate, I was similarly interested in using string as an overarching symbol within the illustrations for connection and a path to follow, both for the reader and the characters within the book.
The book reads in both directions, and shows the journey of two characters as they follow a piece of string until they meet in the middle of the book. As they follow the string, they ask questions about the changing world around them.
Materials used: China marker, colored pencil, ink, pencil, vellum, acrylic paint
