Alenka Sottler (born 24 October 1958) is a Slovene

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

. She lives and works in Ljubljana as a freelance illustrator and is a member of New York Society of Illustrators. She has illustrated over 50 books for children and adults, for which she received numerous awards and honours including her second nomination for the

Hans Christian Andersen Award The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...

in 2014.Slovenia's Best for Young Readers
by the

Slovenian Book Agency The Slovenian Book Agency ( sl, Javna agencija za knjigo Republike Slovenije often abbreviated to ''JAK'' or ''JAKRS'') is an autonomous government agency in Slovenia that was created to promote the importance of books and reading in Slovenia and be ...

Life and career

Alenka Sottler was born in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

, the capital city of

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. Her father,

Gorazd Sotler Gorazd Sotler né Sottler (July 1, 1930 – April 21, 1987) was a Slovene academic sculptor. He lived and worked in Ljubljana. Life Gorazd Sotler was born on July 1, 1930 in Šentrupert na Dolenjskem. His family later moved to Ljubljana. As ...

, was a sculptor, a pupil of the prominent Croatian sculptor Antun Augustinčič and her mother worked for Slovenia's leading newspaper and printing company, Delo. Alenka received her first informal training in drawing and sculpture in her father's studio. She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana (1976–1981) and successfully finished her postgraduate study in painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana in 1983. From 1988, she works as freelance painter/ illustrator for the best Slovene and foreign publishers and magazines, including Mladinska knjiga, the largest and leading Slovene publisher. In 2011, she was awarded the title of Assistant Professor of Painting by the University of Ljubljana. She has illustrated more than 50 books and produced many illustrations for children's magazines. An important part of her output is devoted to fairytales, both modern (

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

Svetlana Makarovič Svetlana Makarovič (born 1 January 1939) is a Slovenian writer of prose, poetry, children's books, and picture books, and is also an actress, illustrator and chanteuse. She has been called "The First Lady of Slovenian poetry." She is also noted f ...

) and classic (Folk Tales from Around the World,

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...

). Her black-white illustrations for Folk Tales from Around the World signalled her mastery and a number of awards followed. Her work is inventive, visually appealing and drawn with faultless confidence. She is contemporary in style but also well-versed in the history of visual imagery and the imagery of power, meaning and clarity. In recent years she has mainly illustrated poetry and fairytales and made original graphics/engravings for collections of poems by

Malcolm de Chazal Malcolm de Chazal (12 September 1902 – 1 October 1981) was a Mauritian writer, painter, and visionary, known especially for his ''Sens-Plastique'', a work consisting of several thousand aphorisms and pensées. Early life and education Chazal ...

, and works on paper inspired by literature and poetry. Today, she lives and works in Ljubljana.

Awards

* 2016 ** Illustrators 58 Gold Medal, Society of Illustrators, New York, USA * 2014 **

nomination, Mexico City, Mexico * 2013 ** Prešeren Award (Small), Republic of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia * 2012 ** Merit /3x3 Illustration ProShow No.9 / 3x3 The Magazine of Contemporary Illustration, New York, USA **

nomination, Denmark * 2011 ** "Getting Inside The Outsider", House of Illustration and The Folio Society's Inaugural Book Illustration Competition finalist, London, UK ** The White Ravens for the book The Emperor and the Rose, Internationale Jugendbibliothek, München, Germany * 2010 ** Hinko Smrekar Award at the 9th Slovenian Biennial of Illustration, Ljubljana, Slovenia ** Merit at the 3x3 Magazine International Professional Show, New York, USA ** Grand Prix at the 3rd Croatian Biennal of Illustration, Zagreb, Croatia ** The

Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award ( sv, Litteraturpriset till Astrid Lindgrens minne) is an international children's literary award established by the Swedish government in 2002 to honour the Swedish children's author Astrid Lindgren (1907–200 ...

nomination, Stockholm, Sweden * 2008 ** International Board on Books for Young People (

IBBY The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) is an international non-profit organization committed to bringing books and children together. The headquarters of the IBBY are located in Basel, Switzerland. IBBY history In 1952, Jella Lepm ...

) Honour List, Denmark ** Italija, Bologna, Award of Excellence, Bologna Book Fair, Italy ** Hinko Smrekar Award at the 8th Slovenian Biennial of Illustration, Ljubljana, Slovenia * 2007 ** Levstik Award for Illustration, Ljubljana, Slovenia ** Certificate of Merit for being selected for the 49th Annual Exhibition at the SI New York, USA ** Golden Apple at the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava 2007, Bratislava, Slovakia * 2006 ** Certificate of Merit for being selected for the 48th Annual Exhibition at the SI New York, USA ** First Prize for illustration at the 6th Slovenian Biennial of Illustration in Slovenia ** Award for the most beautiful book at the Slovenian Book Fair, Ljubljana, Slovenia * 2005 ** Award of Excellence for being selected in the Emperor's New Illustrations, Bologna Book Fair, Italy ** Certificate of Merit for being selected for the 47th Annual Exhibition at the SI New York, USA * 2002 ** First Prize for illustration at the 5th Slovenian Biennial of Illustration in Slovenia * 2001 ** Award of Excellence at the BEIJ01 – Biennial of European Illustration in Japan * 1999 ** Trojlistok Grand Prix of the Children's Jury at the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava, Slovakia * 1993 ** Hinko Smrekar Award at the 1st Slovenian Biennial of Illustration in Slovenia * 1981 ** Prešern Award for students, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Selected Illustrated Works

* ''Pesem za liro'' (Poem for Lyra), written by

Bina Štampe Žmavc Bina Štampe Žmavc (born October 4, 1951, in Celje) is a Slovene writer, poet, director and translator. Biography She was born on October 4, 1951 in Celje. She visited both primary and grammar schools in Celje. After the grammar school she stu ...

, 2016 * ''Ljubim tvoj medeni srh'' (I Love Your Honey Shudder), written by Mateja Blaznik, 2014 * ''Zašto se baka ljuti?'' (Why Is Granny Angry?), written by

Lela B. Njatin Lela B. Njatin (born 1963) is a Slovene writer and visual artist. She is best known for her novel ''Nestrpnost'' (Intolerance) and her conceptual art installations. Biography B. Njatin was born in Ljubljana in 1963. She studied Comparative lit ...

, 2014 * ''Tujec'' (L'étranger), written by

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

, 2012 * ''Prividi'' (Mirages), written by

Niko Grafenauer Niko Grafenauer (born 5 December 1940) is a Slovenian poet, essayist, literary historian, editor and translator. He is particularly known as author of popular children literature, and for his active participation in the Slovenian public life, es ...

, 2009 * ''Cesar in roža'' (The Emperor and the Rose), written by

, 2009 * ''Svetlanine pravljice'' (Svetlana's Fairytales), written by

, 2008 * ''Tri pesnitve'' (Three Poems), written by Andrej Brvar, 2009 * ''Pepelka'' ( Cinderella), 2005 * ''Ko pridejo angelčki'' (When the Little Angels Come), written by

Dim Zupan Dim Zupan (born 19 February 1946) is a Slovene children's writer. He has also published three novels for adult readers. Zupan was born in Ljubljana in 1946. He studied Law at the University of Ljubljana. He published his first children's book i ...

, 2004 * ''Svetovne pravljice'' (Fairy Tales of the World), 2004 * ''Mehurčki'' (Bubbles), written by

Oton Župančič Oton Župančič (January 23, 1878 – June 11, 1949, pseudonym ''Gojko'') was a Slovene poet, translator, and playwright. He is regarded, alongside Ivan Cankar, Dragotin Kette and Josip Murn, as the beginner of modernism in Slovene literature. ...

, 2004 * ''Anastazija Krupnik'' (

Anastasia Krupnik ''Anastasia Krupnik'' (1979) is the first book of a popular series of middle-grade novels by Lois Lowry, depicting the title character's life as a girl "just trying to grow up." Anastasia deals with everyday problems such as popularity, the wart on ...

), written by Lois Lowry, 2002 * ''Velik sončen dan: izbrane pesmi za otroke in mladino'' (A Big Sunny Day: selected poems for children and youth), written by

Neža Maurer Neža Maurer Škofič (born 22 December 1930) is a Slovene poet and writer. She writes for children, young adults and adults and has also worked as a translator, journalist, editor and teacher. Neža Maurer was born in the village of Podvin ...

, 2000

References

External links

Alenka Sottler's official page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sottler, Alenka Slovenian illustrators Living people 1958 births Artists from Ljubljana Levstik Award laureates University of Ljubljana alumni Slovenian women artists Slovenian women illustrators