Artist Interview: Katrin Wiehle

1. What is Germany like compared to the U.S.?I have been ask that before and it’s hard for me to compare. Culturally they are very similar and I like both countries a lot and miss certain things when I’m in one or the other. Of course Germany is smaller than the US and hence things are smaller, too. There is just a lot more space in the states. We have 80 Million people in a country that is smaller than Montana. So things just need to be a little smaller.I feel like that has always been noticeable to me.
2. How did you get started as an illustrator?I have been drawing my entire life but had never thought of that as an option to make a living.It was while studying Graphic Design in Kiel, Germany, that I fell in love with Illustration. I became more interested in the Design process, the initial rough pencil stages that happened outside of the computer, than the finished, polished Design. So I came to Atlanta to study illustration at SCAD. My first childrens book actually was my thesis project there.3. Since the children book is in german and french, can you tell us the story?The story is easy to explain. It’s about professor pfeffer ( professor pepper) who is an adventurer and travels the world to look for animals. Every place he goes to he finds one animal that does not belong there (for example: a penguin in the desert) and the readers are supposed to help him look for the wrong animal. So it’s kind of a busy book with a search and find task. At the end is a field guide that lists and names every of the 99 animals that you can find in the book.
4. What is your spirit animal?Honestly I never thought of that. I like to draw foxes and chicken but I guess that’s not what it means. So to answer this question correctly I took three different tests online (Only the ones that were free though). And it turns out it’s a wolf. Maybe a little bit of a rabbit, too. But mostly a wolf. I’m not sure what that means… should I go and howl to the moon later?
5. Second children’s book in progress anytime soon?Yes, I am working on it right now. It will be published by the same publisher at the beginning of next year. It’s a simple story about a cat.  Honestly, I’m just trying to finally convince my boyfriend to have one in our house (in spite of his allergies).  Right now I am in the drawing stage (I’ll start coloring next) and have days where I love it and days where I hate it a little. But that’s how it is with a lot of projects during the process.
6.What is the one thing you cannot live without?Is it weird to say tomatoes? I feel like that would be miserable.I mean I love my boyfriend, family and friends. Air and water are awesome and sunshine is too. Coffee is a great invention… But imagine there were no tomatoes. Never. Not good!  Or, wait.  Mmmmmh… a mechanical pencil 0.5 mm with a B or HB lead. My favorite drawing tool. It’s hard to find a good one and whenever I get used to one they either break or I loose them somewhere. I tend tosteal them from my boyfriend since he is an illustrator, too. I give them back every once in a while.
7.  What is your favorite book of all time?That is a tough question since I love all kinds of books and like to fill up the bookshelves in our home. Possibly my all-time favorite is a giant busy book by German illustrator Ali Mitgutsch. It was one of my first books ever and I loved it as a kid and still do. It has no words, just pictures of people in different places. I still find things that I have not seen before and it’s his work that made me fall in love with busy children’s books.More at Katrin Wiehle