A Farm by the Sea
by Jillian Packer
Published by Berbay Books
Jillian Packer writes about her tender, timeless picture book, A Farm by the Sea, to describe how childhood, and the place where you live, grows you into the person you become.
Many of her illustrations artfully pay homage to ‘millefleur’ – design style using multiple small flowers.
Guest author-illustrator post by Jillian Packer for Paperbark Words
I have to be honest. As I sit here to write this guest post I feel a little nervous. The story of A Farm by the Sea is a very personal account and a reflection of my own childhood. It is a celebration of all that I loved about growing up on a small farm on the coast of South Australia.
As soon as I turned 18 I left to study in Adelaide. And then after graduating I have been travelling and living interstate and overseas for many years. It is only recently that I have returned home to spend more time on my family farm. Through the creation and the evolution of this book I have come to appreciate what a special childhood I had.
Growing up on the farm, the days seemed to stretch forever. We were lucky to grow up in a time without all of the distractions of modern life and we spent most of our days playing outdoors.
I had a lot of time on my own. As a naturally introverted child I relished this time to play and explore in a natural setting and to get lost in a world of my own imagination.
The following three illustrations that I share from the book highlight all of the things that I loved as a child.
The first illustration shares a scene of the backyard. The family are getting busy for a days work from collecting firewood, eggs and tending to the animals and the garden.
And then there I am, the main character still pulling on my boots while my dog waits patiently. My dog was a faithful companion, my best friend who was always by my side.
The farm for me in my eyes was always a place of work. At times as I child I often felt like I struggled to keep up. I was moving at a much slower pace through the world and was always dreaming up stories, and talking to my imaginary friends, much to my family’s frustration.
The second illustration is showing a division between the farm and the sea. I was always climbing trees and hiding away from everyone as a child.
Now the family are finishing their chores and there is an opportunity for a little bit of a rest. The little girl is looking out at the sea and the beach and there is a feeling of excitement and anticipation of what could be discovered.
The final illustration shares a favourite pastime I had as a child. There were rock pools at the end of the beach that I always loved to explore. I felt wild and adventurous climbing around the rocks, and I particularly loved collecting seashells. I still love to fill my pockets up with little sand treasures that I find.
There were always interesting creatures to find in and out of the water. I would often say hello and start up a conversation with them to help me feel less afraid.
This time playing on the beach and at the rock pools was always a great space to go into a land of pretend. It was a place that was filled with so much magic and wonder.
I was so fortunate to have grown up with so much nature, space and free unstructured time to help fuel my natural curiosity about the world. I have grown up into an imaginative and creative person and a passionate nature lover as a result.
With my own children I have strived to continuously find opportunities and spaces to immerse them within the natural world. They have grown up in cities and have had a very different childhood to mine but we have always found different ways to connect and play in nature.
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Illustrations
My illustrations are created traditionally using archival ink pen and watercolour. I let my pen wander in an intuitive way when drawing the nature details and find it becomes a very meditative act when I am in the flow state.
Each illustration is a stand alone piece of art that is then woven together with the other illustrations to tell a story.
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This is a homage to my childhood days and to nature play where our curiosity and imaginations can be nurtured. It is my debut children’s picture book as both author and illustrator. And I am so grateful for all the support from the wonderful team at Berbay Books as they guided me through the process.
It has been a very cathartic and emotive journey as I have rediscovered past memories from my childhood. Despite these initial nerves that I have putting this very personal story out into the world I am also excited at the same time to share it together with you.
A Farm by the Sea at Berbay Books
You can find my artwork on my Instagram account @mylittlewilderbeast
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