An Interview with Maira Kalman
Maira Kalman Cyndi Stivers
September 9, 2021
We interviewed Maria Kalman, author, illustrator, designer and artist. Kalman has been honored extensively for her work including a Boston Globe-Horn Award for Nonfiction for Fireboat in 2003. In 2019, the Eric Carle Museum for Children’s Art featured a special exhibition of her body of work for children: The Pursuit of Everything: Maira Kalman’s Books for Children. Kalman lives and works in New York City.
A Selection of Work
Cover of Darling Baby, Maira Kalmaan
In Darling Baby you speak to the experience of having a grandchild. What has struck you so far about the differences between that relationship and the one with your children?
The old joke is that the grandchild and the grandparent have a common enemy. You get to love with an intensity that is startling. And in a way, a reset of being with your own baby. It’s not exactly that you think you can fix the mistakes you made. Because who knows what on earth they did right and wrong. It is the legacy of love that matters. You just pass on love. And that is easier to do when you are not around all the time.
Interior spread from Darling Baby, Maira Kalman
Interior spread from Darling Baby, Maira Kalman
We applaud your implicit reference to the cycle of life and death in Darling Baby. Can you speak to the way you were able to express and visualize that?
That subject is never far from any story. And since I am a grandparent, the age is implied. Time is precious. Looking at nature, at the seasons, at animals living and dying—that is part of the fabric. And it adds great meaning to the day.
Interior spread from Darling Baby, Maira Kalman
Interior spread from Darling Baby, Maira Kalman
In your work, you are adept at creating a dream-like quality where connections don’t have to make sense to delight. Where does this come from?
A day is not a continuous saga. Many different things happen. Unconnected. Inexplicable. Some startling in beauty. Or humor. Or pathos. Or sadness. It is never ending. The small moments are monumental and deserve to be noted.
Cover of Max Makes a Million, Maira Kalman
Interior spread from Max Makes a Million, Maira Kalman
Interior spread from Max Makes a Million, Maira Kalman
There is a musicality in your words. Does this come from knowing it will be read aloud (at least at first), and is it related to your love of theater arts?
Music fills my days and has always been part of my life. Everything is a song. When I work I always listen to music. I favor classical music.
As soon as I finish writing this, I will practice the piano. A challenging but invigorating thing to do.
You don’t shy away from serious topics, but introduce them in a manner that children can grasp and appreciate without becoming too sad or overwhelmed. What goes into keeping such a delicate balance?
The understanding of how vulnerable we all are. How much we yearn for peace of mind, but how difficult it often is to achieve. I feel great compassion for all people. And especially children. I want to tell them things in a gentle way. And they can absorb more bad news than we like to think. Children tend to be optimists and perhaps are not easily devastated. I hope. And it is wonderful to spend time with them. So we don’t linger in sorrow. There is always something funny or terrific to focus on. And that is the delicate balance that is the story of everyone’s life.
Cover of Fireboat: The Adventures of the John J. Harvey, Maira Kalman
Interior spread from Fireboat: The Adventures of the John J. Harvey, Maira Kalman
Interior spread from Fireboat: The Adventures of the John J. Harvey, Maira Kalman
What is it about New York city that makes it so much a part of you and your work?
New York is the most entrancing place to live. You could not ask for better theater. In New York, you don’t need an imagination. All you have to do is look.
Cover of What Pete Ate from A —Z, Maira Kalman
Interior spread from What Pete Ate from A —Z, Maira Kalman
Interior spread from What Pete Ate from A —Z, Maira Kalman
Your books for adults are also loved by children and vice versa. Is this overlap in your thoughts as you create? We love the humor in your work. Is that part of the overlap?
Humor is essential to communicate with all people of all ages. I like to think there are no barriers to a shared humanity when you can engage with humor. I am aware of my audience and don’t want to be too inaccessible. I try to think of how I would tell a story to anyone, regardless of age. Simply.
Cover of Ah-hA to Zig-Zag, Maira Kalman
Interior spread from Ah-hA to Zig-Zag, Maira Kalman
Interior spread from Ah-hA to Zig-Zag, Maira Kalman
As a walker in your city, so keen an observer, how does that activity inform or show up in your books?
Not only does walking keep me sane and focused, it gives me a trove of ideas. Many people that I see and photograph end up in my paintings. Trees. Dogs. Fashion. Architecture. Signage. Broken things on the street. Everything is part of the work.
Cover of Looking at Lincoln, Maira Kalman
Interior spread from Looking at Lincoln, Maira Kalman
Do you keep a sketchbook?
Yes. Since the age of 18. They are organized in boxes according to year.
Cover of Thomas Jefferson and the Pursuit of Everything, Maira Kalman
Interior spread from Thomas Jefferson, Maira Kalman
Do you have a structured schedule? Do you paint, sketch or write everyday?
I paint and write to deadline. Then I go to the studio and do the work. I also have cushions of time. To wander around and daydream. To go to a museum. To travel. To visit my children and grandchildren.
Interior spread from Thomas Jefferson, Maira Kalman
Being a writer, artist, designer, curator, and contributor, how do you balance these aspects of your creative pursuits?
One thing leads to another. And that is the most pleasant way for me to live my life. Everything is related. One thing inspires another thing. Ideas are considered. Some things work out. Some things don’t. But it is an interesting puzzle and endeavor.
Interior spread from Cake, by Barbara Scott-Goodman, illustration by Maira Kalman (a recipe book, not necessarily for children, but a favorite spread!)
All books primarily use your handwritten text instead of typeset, giving them a personal feel. How did you come to that decision? Did you get any push-back from publishers or art directors at first?
I love typography and looking at type and letterforms. I can’t recall anyone disliking the handwriting. And I can’t remember when I decided to use the handwriting. There must have been a deadline and no time to set type. Well that can’t be true. But I am happy it happened.
Interior spread from Darling Baby, Maira Kalman
Why is gouache your preferred paint medium versus acrylic or oil?
I love the chalky density of gouache. Perfect for paper. And paintings that need to be finished in a timely manner. The colors are beautiful. And it can be playful and reworked.
Have you saved any drawings or paintings you did as a child or young adult that made you happy or that received encouragement?
I have some of the earliest illustrations/cartoons that I made while starting out as an illustrator. They are funny and literary. You can see the influence of Saul Steinberg. And Dadaism. The absurd is very present. I was so certain that this was my destiny, I never doubted it. Of course, I often doubted the work and whether it was good enough (and I still do). But I did not ever think of giving up.
Interior spread from Darling Baby, Maira Kalman
Can you share any projects/exhibitions that are coming up?
I am working on the next installment of Darling Baby. Now the child is starting to talk. And that is a complete miracle of nature.
I am painting the show curtain for David Byrne’s Broadway show American Utopia.
Working on the next book for adults called Women Holding Things. It is paintings and writing about what women hold, from balloons to worries to families.
Thank you for sharing your work and creative process.
For more on Maira Kalman:
All images used with permission by Maira Kalman and Little, Brown and Company for Darling Baby.
