Giselle Clarkson is a New Zealand cartoonist and illustrator, best known for her non-fiction comics on conservation and environmental issues.

Life

Clarkson studied for

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

, intending to become a painter but majoring in photography. She works as a freelance illustrator and comics artist, and lives in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. After graduation she worked in an outdoor equipment shop and volunteered with conservation projects; she was torn between becoming an artist and working for the

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

. Her entry into illustration was a 2013 poster depicting New Zealand fishes. Later illustrations of New Zealand native birds, distributed through

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

, led to commissions from

Forest and Bird Forest & Bird ( mi, Te Reo o te Taiao), also known by its formal name as the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand, is an environmental organisation specialising in the protection and conservation of New Zealand's indigenous f ...

's children's magazine, the ''

New Zealand School Journal The ''New Zealand School Journal'' is a periodical children's educational publication in New Zealand. Founded in 1907 by the Department of Education, it is one of the world's longest-running publications for children. Since 2013 it has been pub ...

,'' newspapers, websites, and magazines, and a career in illustration.

Work

Clarkson's first published comic, "The Flood", appeared in the 2016 collection of

Aotearoa ''Aotearoa'' () is the current Māori-language name for New Zealand. The name was originally used by Māori in reference to only the North Island, with the name of the whole country being ''Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu'' ("North Island and South ...

women's comics '' Three Words''. Her best known work, "Biscuits and Slices of New Zealand", is a visual catalogue of New Zealand baking, with each object given a fanciful Latin name: for example,

Anzac biscuit The Anzac biscuit is a sweet biscuit, popular in Australia and New Zealand, made using rolled oats, flour, sugar, butter (or margarine), golden syrup, baking soda, boiling water, and (optionally) desiccated coconut. Anzac biscuits have long b ...

is ''"Lestwee forgetum''". Widely shared in social media, this was published in ''Annual 2'' and subsequently became a poster and

tea towel A towel is a piece of absorbent cloth or paper used for drying or wiping a surface. Towels draw moisture through direct contact. In households, several types of towels are used, such as hand towels, bath towels, and kitchen towels. Paper towels ...

; Clarkson was interviewed about the success of the comic on

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso *Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala *Channel 3 (Algeria), a public Algerian TV channel owned by EPTV ...

's ''The Project''. Clarkson has a monthly comic in New Zealand children's literature website ''The Sapling,'' on children's books and how they influenced her as an illustrator''.'' She frequently undertakes field expeditions as part of her work to places such as the Kermadecs,

Milford Sound Milford Sound / Piopiotahi is a fiord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top tra ...

(to draw penguins) or the Subantarctic Islands (a 19-day sea voyage which led to an 8-page comic in the ''School Journal''). She created T-shirts for the

Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and c ...

show '' Critter of the Week''. In 2018 she produced a comics summary of a scientific paper on the migration of the Fiordland penguin or tawaki ( ''Eudyptes'' ''pachyrhynchus''''),'' which was enthusiastically retweeted by Diana Gabaldon. She has also illustrated a number of children's books published by

Gecko Press Gecko Press is an independent publisher of children's books based in Wellington, New Zealand. The company was founded in 2005 by Julia Marshall, formerly of Appelberg Publishing Agency, winner of the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal 2021. Gecko ...

Publications

* "The Flood." (2016.) in: Joyce, Rae,

Sarah Laing Sarah Laing (born 1973) is a New Zealand author, graphic novelist and graphic designer. Background Laing was born in 1973 in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, United States and grew up in Palmerston North, New Zealand. As a teenager she moved to W ...

, and Indira Neville (eds.) '' Three Words''. Beatnik. *"A Box of Birds." (2016.) in: de Goldi, Kate, and Susan Paris (eds.) ''Annual''.

. * "New Zealand Biscuits and Slices" (2017.) in: de Goldi, Kate, and Susan Paris (eds.) ''Annual 2''. Gecko Press. *"The Subantarctic Islands". ''School Journal'' (3 August 2017)
Tawaki, Marathon Penguins
(2018.) * Meredith, Courtney Sina. (2018.) ''Secret World of Butterflies''.

Allen & Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It went on to become one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and to establish an ...

: Auckland. (Illustrator) *Blanchard, Nan. (2019.) ''Hazel and the Snails''. Annual Ink. (Illustrator) *Cowley, Joy. (2019.) ''The Gobbledegook Book - A Joy Cowley Anthology''.

. (Illustrator) *Tylee, Alexandra. (2020.) ''Egg and Spoon - An Illustrated Cookbook''.

. (Illustrator) *Cowley, Joy. (2021.) ''The Tiny Woman's Coat''.

. (Illustrator)

References

External links

Giselle Clarkson Illustration
(website)
Giselle Clarkson comics
in ''The Sapling'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarkson, Giselle New Zealand comics artists New Zealand female comics artists Year of birth missing (living people) University of Canterbury alumni Living people New Zealand illustrators New Zealand women illustrators New Zealand children's book illustrators