{"id":767,"date":"2019-05-10T09:32:05","date_gmt":"2019-05-10T07:32:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.opal.se\/?post_type=creator&p=767"},"modified":"2020-04-08T10:12:42","modified_gmt":"2020-04-08T08:12:42","slug":"monika-vaicenaviciene","status":"publish","type":"creator","link":"https:\/\/wp.opal.se\/upphovspersoner\/monika-vaicenaviciene\/","title":{"rendered":"Monika Vaicenavi\u010dien\u0117"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On What is a River?<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rivers have many powers: they carry sediments and sentiments, revive lands and minds, connect places and times. They are sources of life and of conflict; paths of stories traveling the Earth. Their flow constantly reminds us \u2013 we all live downstream, or upstream, from someone, we are all neighbours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My picture book is about rivers and the\nplentiful connections they have with us humans. It follows a child and her\ngrandma as they look for answers to a question \u2013 what is a river? In their\nimaginary expedition, they discover rivers flowing in the sky and in living\norganisms; meet pilgrims and conquistadores, magical shape-shifting river\ndolphins and older-than-dinosaurs species of sturgeons; fish and bathe;\ngathering all the stories they participate in into their own story about the\nriver. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book combines factual information, various stories\nfrom riverine environments as well as more loose associations and metaphors.\nThe themes I touch upon include folklore, myths, daily needs of people rivers\ncater to, cultural metaphors, environmental problems, peculiarities of plants\nand animals, history, language etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every spread of the book is like a different chapter about different\nmeanings rivers might have in different contexts. The book tells about a river\nas a journey, home, a refreshment, a name, a meeting place, a riddle, memory,\ndepth, energy, a reflection, a path, the ocean; and as a thread that connects\nstories of different times and places. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To make my book, I used a variety of materials, including pencils, watercolours,\ngouache, digital drawing; and a collection of geographical, historical,\nmythological references I have gathered as well as my own memories of growing\nup close to a river. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have tried to balance both factually accurate and poetic storytelling\nto create a story of interconnectedness and wonder. I want to bring up\nbeautiful and harmful connections between nature and us. In this world of today\nwhere people often behave carelessly, altering ecosystems with ever greater\npower, I think it is important to sense the connection to our surroundings, to\nunderstand that our physical and natural environment does not exists on its\nown, but influences our lives in many direct and indirect ways \u2013 and that we\ninfluence it as well. By presenting a broad spectrum of stories I hope to\ninspire people to become more attentive to the riches the nature gives us: food not just for body but for thought as well, energy\nnot only for power plants but for dreams too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want to encourage the sense of neighbourhood. My aim is to hint people\nat the dependency on nature and on each other. This notion of co-living, of\nsharing the world with one another, of understanding that our actions influence\nnot only our immediate surroundings, but may affect people living in other\nplaces, I think is really important. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I felt that with the help of rivers and water in general, in this world\ndivided by nationalities, religions, race, class I could show and celebrate\nconnections between places and cultures, between all of us. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Monika Vaicenavicienes bok Vad \u00e4r en flod? har s\u00e5lts till ett flertal spr\u00e5komr\u00e5den, bland annat engelska, spanska och kinesiska. Monika har vunnit priser som Golden Pinwheel Young Illustrators Competition och World Illustration Award.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","creator_roles":[38,37],"acf":{"first_name":"Monika","last_name":"Vaicenaviciene","portrait_image":"https:\/\/wp.opal.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/monika-vaicenaviciene-2019.jpg","featured_portrait_image":"https:\/\/wp.opal.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/monikav.jpg","press_image":"https:\/\/wp.opal.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/monika-vaicenavicieneladdaner.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.opal.se\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/creators\/767"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.opal.se\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/creators"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.opal.se\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/creator"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.opal.se\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"creator_role","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.opal.se\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/creator_roles?post=767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}