Changing Tides by Julia Moscardo

We welcome Julia Moscardo to the blog today sharing some insights and illustrations from her book, Changing Tides. It is a story of new beginnings, inspired by one image.

CHANGING TIDES

The idea for Changing Tides started with an illustration. It was an illustration reminiscent of my trips to the sea as a child, with the colours of my memories still bleached by the sun.

In this image, there is a boy staring at the sea, with a bucket and spade in his hands. Later on, another image came along, of two children holding hands by the sunset. This evolved into the story of Lula and Theo, two step siblings bonding.

The story is told from the perspective of Lula, a 3-year-old, who has recently acquainted a stepbrother and stepmom. It is the first time they all go on a trip together, and they are going to Lula’s favourite place, the beach.

The main topic of the book is the joys and difficulties of a newly blended family; however it is also a celebration of a day by the sea.

The parts of the day: morning, afternoon, evening, and sunset are symbolic of the stages of the story, depicted through the sky’s changing light. The weather itself plays an important role in this story as it is the unpredictable element that Lula and Theo will have to learn to navigate and accept together.

As a child, when playing with sand, the possibilities were infinite. My sister, cousins and I would make moats, sandcastles, sand “croquettes” and refresh in the water when the sun or the playing became too intense. I can still feel the sand under my feet, warm and shifting.

I remember fondly the end of the day, settling with the sound of the waves and the cool breeze while sitting on a balcony playing table and video games in the evenings.

I wanted all these memories to be part of Changing tides, and to include them, in a way, as I remember them, using sequences of images to set the rhythm and evoke the sounds, visions and smells of a day by the sea.

With this in mind, I set to experiment with different marks and materials, finding out which way I could portray the sea in the story.

One of my favourite spreads is where Lula is peeking at Theo over the kitchen table. It is an establishing shot, where we see the newly formed family and their current relationship with each other. With joy I included some of the mess I believe family kitchens (should) always have, as well as artwork from children. It is home away from home.

Júlia is an award-winning artist and illustrator. She lives in the UK with her partner Joe (also an illustrator), and her daughter. In 2017, she graduated from the MA in Children’s Book illustration at Cambridge School of Art.