Tony DiTerlizzi hosted “Never Abandon Imagination; My Artistic Journey,” Sunday at 2:30PM in Hyatt Grand Hall C. He introduced himself as an illustrator, author, and old, admitting that he had been an illustrator for thirty years. DiTerlizzi attended his first Dragon Con in 1995, flying from Florida to meet Brian Froud, renowned illustrator and Chesley award winner (also 1995).
DiTerlizzi divided his life and his artistic life into three chapters, the first being his early life. He credited his fifth-grade teacher and a disastrous oral book report of The Mouse and the Motorcycle (by Beverly Cleary) for converting his persistent drawing habit into a mode for reading as instruction for his artistic creation. He continued to read, listing The Phantom Toll Booth (Norton Juster), A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L’Engel), and The Hobbit (J. R. R. Tolkien) as successors to the book reported upon.
DiTerlizzi said “my passion for art reopened my imagination” and exclaimed “how much I owe this public school teacher from a small town in Florida.”
He started the next chapter of his artistic journey with boredom. He was bored, especially during summer break, weary, dull, and lacking activity. He questioned whether young people felt the same way today given that their lives are filled with screens and gadgets.
In his third chapter, middle school, DiTerlizzi had discovered Dungeons and Dragons and copied and drew from the player handbook. He also joined Boy Scouts and discovered his love of the outdoors, hiking, and field guides. He also wrote and illustrated his own field guide to local insects.
At this point, our esteemed Artist Guest of Honor stopped to recognize and congratulate a couple cosplaying as John Lennon and Yoko Ono. He consulted with them throughout the remainder of his talk.
After discussing highlights of his creative career, DiTerlizzi ended with his personal mantra, “never abandon imagination.” He said imagination is our superpower as humans. Concluding that you can form a picture in your mind of something you created and go on to create a world that you and young readers want to inhabit. He advised us all to think about friendship, imagination, and empathy and reminded us how books shape the adults that we will become.
Visit Tony and his wife (and sometime co-author) Angela DiTerlizzi at their booth near the main entrance to the art show and online at Tony DiTerlizzi – Never Abandon Imagination.
