Imagine If….by Tamsin Rosewell
We have an enchanting blog post today from Tamsin Rosewell about being the illustrator for The Seamaiden’s Odyssey.
Imagine if…
Imagination is one of the most powerful forces on earth. As William Blake put it: ‘What is now known was once only imagined’. The human imagination is the driving force of huge things: it the first step in the advancement of scientific knowledge, in the empathy that leads to enlightenment, in conceiving of a path out of conflict, or solutions to climate change. The first step is always: ‘Imagine if…’ This is why books are so important in human learning; they ask ‘imagine if..’ and then whisk you off to explore.
In The Seamaiden’s Odyssey, Berlie Doherty imagines a young woman given the chance to save an extraordinary and beautiful creature, a seamaiden – caught and held captive as an exhibit. Imagine if we could see ourselves as she sees us; imagine if she could speak our language, or if we could speak hers. What tale would she tell us?
Image 1: Seamaiden caught in a net from The Seamaiden’s Odyssey
My involvement in the telling of this story is as illustrator; like a powerful imagination, the ability to see and understand complex messages conveyed visually is unique to humans. Berlie and I worked on this story together from the very first idea; together we talked about what the seamaidens might look like, how they would move in water, we discussed folklore and mythology, science and the use of colour. My task as illustrator is to build on Berlie’s story, and enable the reader to imagine, for example, not only what an underwater tunnel might look like, but also how frightening it might be to be lost in one. Or to show the capture of a seamaiden in a fishing net, but from the view of the seamaidens themselves. If I’d chosen to paint that scene from the point of view of the fishermen who make the discovery, you’d have been looking at their wild joy, their wonder, their anticipation of fame and riches to come. But I didn’t paint that. You’re seeing the scene unfold as if you, too, are in the rocking, churning water, reaching out for your trapped sister. As an illustrator I use all sorts of tools to build the story: maths and geometry to guide your eye around the scene, bold colour to convey the emotions as the events unfold, and gestures and expressions of silhouette figures to tell the story as the characters feel it.
Image 2: Seamaiden’s song drifting across the land from The Seamaiden’s Odyssey.
The silhouette work used to illustrate The Seamaiden’s Odyssey has a very long, international history as a way of telling stories. Many of our earliest stories are told in silhouette. From hunting sequences in cave paintings, mythology depicted on Greek vases, and ancient tales such as the Ramayana traditionally told with shadow puppets, to the European fairy tale paintings of Arthur Rachkam and Jan Pieńkowski, and the early film work of Lotte Reiniger. Silhouette is a way of telling a story that is familiar all over the world. Perhaps it owes its appeal to the way that each reader, or viewer, can fill in the details of the silhouettes with their own life, and their own imagination.
Image 3: La Cueva de las Manos (Cave of Hands) Argentina. Silhouette hands waving at us from 5000bce.
Image 4: Khageshwar Sahu presents The Ramayana in traditional shadow puppets.
Image 5: Lotte Reiniger, film maker. The Arabian Nights 1926.
Imagine if… we used stories to encourage all children to explore and use their imaginations, and maybe enrich those stories with images that connect back in time and across many cultures. No one book will change the world; but freeing, encouraging and supporting the imaginations of future generations will change everything.
Image 6: Edyn and Tesh, Seamaidens whispering. What are they whispering about?
Tamsin Rosewell – written for National Share a Story Month, FCBG 2025.
