Birr illustrator up for a major award for new book

A talented Birr artist has said it is "a huge honour" to be shortlisted for the Children's Book of the Year Award at the An Post Irish Book Awards.

Shannon Bergin illustrated 'Evie's Christmas Wishes', a beautiful book written by well-known children's author Siobhan Parkinson.

"I worked very hard for almost a full year on it so it meant a lot, as it was my first published book to work on, and in a category alongside some of my favourite Irish illustrators,” Shannon told the Offaly Independent this week.

A past pupil of St Brendan’s Community School, Birr and Moate Business College where she completed her portfolio, Shannon graduated from Limerick School of Art and Design in 2018 with a BA (Hons) in Animation and Motion Design.

She creates illustrations “in an effort to tell stories” and her work is striking, filled with depth and bouncing with activity. Her clever use of light contrasted with strong colour make her illustrations vibrant and draw you into her wonderful world of fantasy.

Shannon finds colour the most intriguing and inspiring aspect of the world. She sees the world in light and shadow and manipulating colour in countless ways is a challenge the Offaly artist relishes.

Many people influenced Shannon’s life and her work. “My parents filled our house with books and stories. My grandparents told stories half of which were very real and the other half were almost certainly fiction,” she said.

The Birr illustrator remembers how she and her best friend “would create 'books' from paper stapled together”.

”There's a scene in Evie's Christmas Wishes where they walk down Grafton Street to the pantomime, a scene I lived when I was little with my auntie,” she revealed.

“My Granny also promised to haunt me if I didn't continue to make art so I guessed I better go to art college where I was lucky enough to meet my friends who also support me in everything I do,” Shannon added.

As a child, Shannon recalls wandering around the countryside, wielding a drawing instrument, making up stories. As an adult, she basically does the same thing, but now she sometimes gets paid for it, she quips.

When she graduated in 2018 she decided to move to an allegedly haunted house in the forest to be an illustrator. A typical day now involves copious cups of tea, caring for her plants, trying to befriend wild cats and making art while listening to audiobooks and podcasts. Her studio is filled with “books for inspiration” as she loves books, fairy tales, mythology and all kinds of storytelling.

She has been lucky enough to work on amazing projects, exhibitions and commissions, and is inspired by "stories passed on by her grandparents, or books and movies that I have long obsessed over or maybe just a walk through a forest," she enthused. "Every piece I make is a new adventure that I love to share with the world,” she ended.

You can vote for Shannon’s entry in the An Post Irish Children's Book of the Year Award at https://www.irishbookawards.ie/vote/