Norwich resident Tillie Walden, 26, will be appointed Vermont’s fifth cartoonist laureate, becoming the youngest artist to receive the honor so far, according to an announcement from the Vermont Arts Council and the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction.
Named one of “the most essential graphic novelists of her generation” by Entertainment Weekly and compared to renowned filmmaker Hayao Miazaki by The New York Times, Walden is the award-winning creator of several books, including 2018’s “On a Sunbeam,” 2019’s “Are You Listening” and 2022’s “Clementine,” the first installment in a series set in Robert Kirkman’s world of “The Walking Dead.”
Walden earned two Ignatz Awards in 2016, one of which recognized her debut graphic novel, “The End of Summer,” which she wrote while still a student at the Center for Cartoon Studies and published in 2015. In 2018, she became one of the youngest creators ever to receive an Eisner Award, when her 2017 graphic memoir, “Spinning,” won for Best Reality-Based Work.
While the stories Walden tells span across genres, from memoir to science fiction, much of her work orbits common themes.
“Being a lesbian has meant all my work has dealt with queer themes,” Walden wrote in an email to VTDigger. Additionally, “environment is hugely important to me and ended up being important in my work without me entirely realizing it at first. I have always felt very connected to stories in which place and emotion are intertwined.”
In a review of “On a Sunbeam,” the Times praised Walden’s uncanny ability to maneuver between narrative registers, calling the book “vaultingly effective in its transitions between small-scale and large, between the deadly caverns under an exoplanet’s mountain and the look on a hopeful girl’s face.”
Walden will officially begin her three-year appointment as cartoonist laureate following a ceremony at the Statehouse on April 13.
Currently a professor at the Center for Cartoon Studies, which offers certifications including Master of Fine Arts, Walden said she first began making comics when she was 16 years old after taking a comics class with American cartoonist and cartoon theorist Scott McCloud.
Entranced by the medium, Walden moved from Texas to Vermont at age 18 to study at the cartoon school.
“While the heat of Texas will forever be in my bones, I felt very liberated when I moved to Vermont,” Walden said. “It’s also where my comics really solidified.”
In a press release from the Vermont Arts Council, U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., said Walden “creates richly imagined worlds that transport readers on emotional and fantastical journeys and reminds us all of the importance of having a deep sense of self.” In her statement, Balint thanked Walden for “being part of a unique tradition that sets Vermont apart.”
Vermont is the only state in the U.S. to regularly appoint a cartoonist laureate. Former cartoonist laureates include Burlington’s James Kochalka, Brookfield’s Ed Koren, Bolton’s Alison Bechdel and West Townshend’s Rick Veitch. The Vermont Arts Council said that the tradition honors the Vermont art community’s impressive contribution to the world of cartooning.
Catherine Crawley, communications director for the Vermont Arts Council, told VTDigger that she was excited by Walden’s appointment, calling her work “very accessible (and) beautifully crafted.”
“It’s wonderful to see a young person who was attracted to our state because of what it offered in cartooning, education and support,” Crawley said. “Vermont is known as one of the nation’s top states for cartoonists.”
“I just feel really, really fortunate to be in a state that cares about cartoonists, of all things,” Walden wrote to VTDigger. “We are such a niche medium, but we are so special! I want comics to be everywhere, and I want to help any artists I can in this state find their voice.”
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March 07, 2023 at 05:56AM
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Award-winning Vermont artist Tillie Walden to become Vermont’s 5th cartoonist laureate - VTDigger
"artist" - Google News
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