Sean Qualls's Secret to a Meaningful Career
Sean Qualls's Secret to a Meaningful Career
The award-winning illustrator, artist, and author talks about his new book with Questlove! Plus, his Park Slope favorites, including a record shop and vegan burrito!
Thanks so much for reading Park Slope Times! I’m Kelley MacDonald, and I interview neighbors about their lives and favorite things to see, eat, and do in and around Park Slope. If you'd like to read these interviews, please upgrade to paid — the good stuff usually happens below the paywall. If you stick with a free subscription, you’ll get occasional free emails, like this one. Thank you so much for being here!
Hi! How’s your day going? What are your plans for the weekend? We have family coming to visit, and we’re planning to take them to the Atlantic Antic. Hopefully the rain holds off!
Now, some fun news! I’m thrilled to feature Sean Qualls, the Coretta Scott King Honor award-winning children’s book illustrator, artist, and soon-to-be author. “I tell people a large part of being good and having a meaningful career in any industry is basically sticking around,” Sean told me when we chatted on the phone a couple weeks ago. Sean’s most recent illustrated children’s book is “The Idea in You” by Questlove, drummer and joint frontman for The Roots, released this week. “This collaboration, it's like you almost can't get better. It’s been pretty fantastic.”
Sean talks about the teachers in Bordertown, New Jersey who supported his interest in art as a young boy, how dropping out of Pratt Institute didn’t stop him from pursuing his artistic passions, and the direction his career is moving now. As a 20+ year resident of Park Slope, he also shares 10 local favorites, including a work-friendly cafe, record shop, and where to play table tennis.
Kelley MacDonald: Hi Sean! First of all, you've hit some big career milestones recently with your illustrations and fine art — and as the author of several soon-to-be-released books (more on that below) — but, I’m curious, how did you land this collaboration with Questlove and how did you feel about working with him?
Sean Qualls: That happened through the publisher. He’s done a number of books with Abrams, so the publisher contacted my agent, and they let me know. I got very excited when the offer came in. He grew up in Philly; my mom was from Philly; my friends and I would go to Philly when we were like 18. I read his book, “Creative Quest,” when it came out, which is about creativity for adults. A lot of it includes meditation, and I've meditated on and off throughout my adult life. I also DJ, not on a professional level like him, but here and there. So, I thought it'd be this really good ground for collaboration, having some things in common.
We interviewed each other recently for Publishers Weekly. When he's talking, it's like he's taking you on this really engaging journey. It occurred to me that he talks probably in the way that he DJs. He segues from this to this to this in such an elegant but interesting way. I think he's a creative icon in so many ways.
What’s “The Idea in You” about?
The idea behind the book was inspired by his adult book, “Creative Quest,” and the idea is about where ideas come from and how to nurture ideas and one's own creativity for children.
When you think back to your childhood, growing up in Bordentown, New Jersey, what inspired your creativity?
My grandmother and mom used to do ceramics. They didn't make their own ceramics, but they’d get these pre-fabricated ceramics that you could paint and glaze and then put in your home. That was a very exciting part of my childhood, just watching them do that and be creative.
When I started elementary school, I had a few friends who were artists and had taken art classes. I didn't really have any art training growing up, but I became fascinated by them and the whole creative process. I've never gotten over that fascination with how something is made by hand, where the ideas come from, and how someone's able to create a piece of art through creativity and their ingenuity. That excitement always fueled me in being an artist.
Were you the class artist growing up?
I never considered myself to be the standout artist throughout elementary and middle school; there were always other kids who I felt had more skills than I did. But around the time I was in sixth grade, I was working on a project with a couple of different classmates, and we were doing a comic book together. They had a fight with each other, and both left the project. It was up to me to finish this project, and I felt like I was clueless. But I also felt like I had no choice because I had to get the grade.
So, I finished the book. I think the title was something like “Otto and The Robot.” My sixth-grade teacher was so excited about it. He left me comments like, “What a great job” and that I should potentially think about illustrating books as a career option. Thinking back on it, I didn't realize how meaningful it was to have some people in my sphere who actually appreciated my artistic ambitions or my excitement for making art. I think that fueled me.
Did it feel like an “Aha!” moment to have your teacher suggest this career path?
I found it flattering, but I thought it was outside of the realm of my abilities, honestly. I thought it was dumb luck that I was able to finish the [comic] book. The idea of doing a sequential contained series in book form felt overwhelming and beyond my abilities.
Did you take a lot of art classes in high school?
Once I got to high school, my high school art teacher and I became pretty close. He definitely was someone who encouraged me, and by the time I became a senior, I started the Art Club at Bordentown Regional High School. We’d do little fundraisers, like candy grams, and then we’d use the money to finance trips to New York City to go to museums and look at art schools. My art teacher encouraged me to get an art education minor. At the time, I think all of the New York City schools, the only one that had one was Pratt Institute. So I applied to Pratt and got in. My intention was to be an illustration major and minor in art education. That's what brought me to Brooklyn from Bordentown.
Although you loved your time at Pratt, you had to leave after a year and a half. How did you keep up the momentum to pursue a career as an artist after leaving college?
Once I left Pratt, I started working at the Brooklyn Museum and took it upon myself to become as educated about art and illustration as I could. I had a friend at Pratt, and she was very focused on becoming a children's book illustrator. I picked up on her excitement and some of the things that were inspiring her, like children's book illustrators Leo and Diane Dillon. They illustrated together many, many, many books and book jackets. They did very sophisticated work. So, I learned about them, and when I was working at the Brooklyn Museum, I would visit the Brooklyn Public Library on my lunch breaks and go to their archives of old illustration annuals, art books, and anything that was art-related that excited me.
I started taking in all this information, and I started playing around with the idea that I could possibly illustrate books. But this was the early ‘90s, and what I was most excited about at the time was the blossoming field of elaborately illustrated graphic novels. I started to devise this plan where I’d illustrate graphic novels, children's books, and magazines. That became my focus throughout the ‘90s. I thought I'd be able to do all this at once, like two books a year and magazines all the time. I had this ambitious idea, not knowing much about how things worked.
Then I became very centered on illustrating just for magazines. I did a lot to promote my work. Back then, it was mostly through postcard mailings, and I got a little bit of work but I was still working a full-time job. I was simultaneously working on my portfolio, developing a larger body of work. In the early 2000s, I was doing a little bit of magazine illustration but not enough to be full-time by any means, but enough to keep me excited. And starting around 2003, I started getting calls from FSG, Scholastic, and Henry Holt, all asking me to see my portfolio. I think I went in for one interview at Scholastic. Nothing really came of it, at least not immediately. Then another interview with FSG, and I was offered my first book after that interview. That was very exciting.
How old were you when you received that first offer?
I was in my early 30s. I tell people a large part of being good and having a meaningful career in any industry is basically sticking around, especially in art. Art has always been my excitement, my passion, and my highest skill, so it's the one thing I stuck around with.
After that first offer from FSG, things snowballed. It was a very exciting time. I was finally able to leave my full-time job and start making art full-time.
What was the full-time job that you left?
I was working for a local furniture mover, and we did a lot of jobs in Park Slope. Then, I moved on to work for a family business in Lower Manhattan that had several different audio companies. It wasn't necessarily art-related, but it was a good job because I could do things like update my online website [laughs]. It was about 2005 when I was finally able to become full-time freelance. Knock on wood, ever since then, I always have been working on at least one book, but usually have had anywhere from one to four books lined up. So books have become my mainstay, my bread and butter. I do occasional things for magazines, book jackets, teen novels, or adult novels. I also for about the last 10 years or so have been developing more and more of my fine art as well.
Was there a point when you decided to focus on children’s book illustration, or did that happen naturally over time?
I sort of stumbled into becoming a children's book illustrator. It was not my main objective, but it happened to be a natural fit for me. I got lucky, in some ways. Once I realized that this was a career path, I started looking at more children’s book illustration, and it connected me to part of my childhood and some of the art that I would see in illustrated books when I was growing up. That fueled my excitement.
Throughout my life, what has inspired me as an artist is commercial art. Even my fine art is sort of inspired by commercial art and graphic art. I think with children's books, I’d forgotten about a lot of the books that I would see when visiting the doctor's office growing up or visiting a friend's home. We didn't have a lot of children's books in my home, by any means, but that sense of wonder and nostalgia began to fuel me. It’s still what I tap into now when I'm making art for a children’s book.
Many children’s books you illustrated focus on crucial topics and concepts for younger generations. What responsibility do you feel as someone creating art for children today?
As an artist, author, and illustrator, I feel numerous responsibilities. One of the main animating responsibilities I feel is to offer up images and ideas that are empowering to people who don't necessarily feel that way and to expand the range of how we see people in general — how we see African American culture, specifically, and African American people. To contribute to the diversity of literature and imagery in literature.
I think a large part of how we see ourselves, how we see the world, is based on the imagery that we take in, whether we're aware of it or not. So not only for children but for families and adults to see an expanded catalog of images and ideas and people doing things and expressing human emotion is what I see my responsibility being as an illustrator. You know, obviously, I'm not the only person making books that have People of Color or [people with] various backgrounds or African American backgrounds in them, but having my own unique history and having the capacity to be able to articulate feelings and ideas in a visual format, I feel compelled to make art that reflects that.
What can you tell us about your forthcoming books?
Until now, I've just really illustrated books, but I have several books [that I’ve written] coming out with Harper Collins over the next few years. It’s very exciting for me. I’ve been doing this for a while, and I feel like this is the next step in my career. My debut, which is middle-grade nonfiction, is a history of Black hair in America, starting from the early 20th century going forward. There are several other books, a couple of picture books that are going to be music-related, and then another middle-grade nonfiction that's going to be music-related as well.
You were at Pratt in the early ‘90s, which brought you to NYC. What brought you to Park Slope?
Around 1992, I became vegan. One of my classmates was like, “Oh my god, you should go to this place called the Park Slope Food Coop!” I didn't know that this thing existed, and I didn't know about Park Slope. So, a group of us walked over from Pratt to the Food Coop for an orientation meeting. I’m sure I was the only one who actually became a member. Once I started working at the Brooklyn Museum, I would, at the end of the day, walk down Eastern Parkway into Park Slope, go to the Food Coop, get food for a couple of days, and then carry it back to Clinton Hill, where I was living at the time.
Then in the early 2000s, I ended up moving to Park Slope to be closer to the Food Coop, and I moved into a coop. I couldn’t handle two coops at once [laugh]. So I ended up leaving the Food Coop. It was a lot of coop-ness to navigate.
What do you love about living in Park Slope?
Many things! I love the community. It's so beautiful. The diversity of architecture, the trees, and the park make walking around Park Slope so beautiful. All the wonderful coffee shops and restaurants and places to eat that are here make it a joy. It's been a great place to raise children. My kids are now 17 and 19; this is the only neighborhood they've ever lived in. I come from a very small town, and I didn't realize it, but moving to Brooklyn was the best thing for me. If I'd moved to Manhattan, I don't think I would have had that neighborhood feel I experienced in Brooklyn, and especially in Park Slope.
Does Park Slope — as a community or physically as a neighborhood — show up in your work?
I think it has from both perspectives. There’s a book I did with my ex-wife, “Why Am I Me?” It's not Park Slope, but the neighborhood, its community and physical beauty — really what the backdrop of that book is — is inspired by Park Slope.
What was it like raising two kids in the neighborhood?
It’s funny, after you have a child, you meet a lot of people. I used to carry him around in my baby carrier, and people were very warm. I remember walking by the Coop, and I was no longer a member, and I was carrying him and getting compliments from people. It's a nice feeling.
Both of my kids went to PS 10. It's a really strong and beautiful community of parents and educators there that I feel still very connected to. It's nice to be connected with these families, even if our kids aren't close anymore because there's a connected sense of values that are important. My kids also went to Chickpeas, which is another Coop [laughs]. My daughter, who is 17, one of her best friends is someone that she met and was really close with at Chickpeas.
What’s your career dream?
Moving more towards writing and illustrating my own projects — what I've been doing. It gives me more autonomy and more control over the subject, the look, the words, and the stories that I tell and share with people. And, creating more of my own fine art on a larger scale.
Okay, I’d love to ask you some lightning-round questions. Who's your dream person to collaborate with, alive or not?
Wow, there’s way too many [laughs]. I have to say Sun Ra, the jazz musician, who's no longer alive. And let’s do someone living — Rick Ruben.
Guilty pleasure?
Van Leeuwen's vegan ice cream, which I think is amazing — the Strawberry Shortcake and Cookies and Cream Caramel Swirl.
What job might you have if you weren't doing what you're doing now?
Maybe I'd own my own coffee shop, restaurant, or bar.
What are you reading right now?
I listen to a lot of audiobooks, especially while I'm working. This is also along the lines of guilty pleasures — I love reading books about con men and con artists. I'm listening to a book called The King of Diamonds. It's a nonfiction book about this jewelry thief in Texas from the ‘70s.
What TV shows have you watched lately?
I just finished watching Project Runway Season 14 and really enjoyed that. My kids and I often watch Shark Tank together.
Pet peeve?
[Laughs] When people drop things that aren't compost into my compost bin that’s outside.
Table tennis: My son and I love to go to the Park Slope Armory to play table tennis. It’s become a staple of our lives. He always beats me.
Record shop: I love Psychic Records. The new owner is great; you can just go in and chat music with him. He's got a lot of new records, but he also has a very good curated section of used records that are very affordably priced.
Dine-in restaurants: I take my kids and girlfriend out to Fonda. It’s one of our favorite spots that all of us like. I just took my son out to Lore, and my girlfriend and I also like to go to Lore. They have really great cocktails. Also, Al Di Lá, you get the best food and at such reasonable prices.
Takeout: My two current favorites are Just Salad, the Tokyo Supergreens, and the vegan pizzas at Two Boots. The V for Vegan and the Super Vegan are delicious.
Work-friendly cafe: When I was writing this hair book, I would go to Roots Cafe every morning and write for half an hour to an hour. The majority of that book was written in Roots Cafe. The vegan burrito is really good.
Coffee shop: If I’m meeting someone, I'll go to Couleur Cafe. I’ll also sometimes go there to brainstorm ideas, or if I need to do a bit of writing. Oftentimes, I'll just get a green tea, but if I’m having lunch with someone, they have a red lentil soup that's amazing.
Bar: I meet with friends for drinks at Double Windsor. My go-to drink in general is a mezcal Negroni, but at Double Windsor, it could be a mezcal Negroni or they have such a great selection of beers, so I tend to like double IPAs.
Grocery stores: I do a lot of my grocery shopping at Mr. Lime or Mr. Kiwi. They have so much produce at really good prices. They have unique produce too, like different types of mushrooms.
Handmade gifts: I tend to make gifts. I love Artists & Craftsman for art supplies.
Street fairs: I usually do the Fifth Avenue Street Fair and the Seventh Avenue Street Fair. More than anything, those have been a great way to connect with people who live in the neighborhood and let them know what I do. But also to get their feedback and have a dialog with people. The people I've met doing street fairs have been amazing, so many amazing conversations and interactions.
Thank you so much, Sean! I can’t wait to read your upcoming books!
(Top photo layout by Kelley MacDonald; Background image of Sean Qualls’ A Quiet Year painting. DJing photo and 7th Ave Street Fair photo by Brian Braiker. Emmanuel’s Dream photo by Angela Q Lewis. Table tennis photo by Taylor Friehl. Al Di Lá photo by Remy in Brooklyn. Mr. Lime photo by Margaret M. All other photos are courtesy of Sean Qualls or product/brand images.)
This week’s puzzle is a photo of fall colors in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, by photographer Michael Stewart.
The puzzle is 60 pieces, but you can change it by clicking on the box of nine dots on the left of the bar, selecting the number of puzzle pieces you want, and clicking OK. Also, you can view the original image by clicking the photo icon on the top bar, and you can make your workspace full screen by clicking at the top right.
DO THE PUZZLE!
You can order free Covid tests again: If you need Covid tests, place your order for four free at-home tests from USPS.com. Orders will ship for free starting September 30th.
Free checkups (through Saturday, 9/28) at Super Health Pharmacy on 5th Ave: Local telehealth company Well Revolution partnered with Park Slope’s Super Health Pharmacy, as well as two other community pharmacies in Brooklyn, to help increase access to healthcare for under-insured patients. This is particularly beneficial to those who do not have a primary care provider but still want to obtain prescription drugs without going to urgent care or the emergency room.
Brooklyn Horror Film Festival returns to Nitehawk Cinema October 17th-24th: The lineup of films has been announced and includes "Animale," “Dead Mail,” "The Rule Of Jenny Pen," which stars Geoffrey Rush and John Lithgow, and several others — here is the full lineup.
New electric train to connect Brooklyn and Queens: The MTA just announced that it will allocate $2B for the first phases of construction of a 14-mile train that will run from Jackson Heights to Bay Ridge. Construction is still years off, but the project, called IBX, will service 19 stations and connect to 17 different subway lines.
09/27 BKLYN Fashion Academy Presents Women of Future Industries: From Runway to Role Model, 6PM-9:30PM 📍Central Library
09/27 Free Climb Friday, 6PM-10PM 📍Bouldering Project
09/27 NBCC John Leonard Prize Panel featuring Zain Khalid and Tess Gunty, moderated by Lauren LeBlanc, 6PM-7PM 📍Community Bookstore
09/27 Beyonce Dreamland Roller Disco-Lakeside Roller Dance Nights, 7PM-10PM 📍LeFrak Center at Lakeside
09/27 Emily Wilson: Fixed - Live Taping, 7PM & 9PM 📍The Bell House
09/27 Gay Shame, 7:30PM-9PM 📍Union Hall
09/27 LPR Presents: Dan & Peggy Reeder, 7:30PM-10:30PM 📍Littlefield
09/27 & 09/28 Jamali Maddix: Live, 10PM-11:30PM 📍Union Hall
09/28 The NYC Skate Marathon & New York 100K, 7AM 📍Prospect Park Loop
09/28 Greenmarket, 8AM-3PM 📍Grand Army Plaza
09/28 Fall Festival to Celebrate 6/15 Green Community Garden's 30th Anniversary, 10AM-8PM 📍6/15 Green Community Garden
09/28 Introduction to Birdwatching Outings, 10AM 📍Prospect Park Audubon Center
09/28 & 09/29 Nature Exploration Tree Appreciation Month, 10AM-1PM 📍Prospect Park Boathouse
09/28 & 09/29 University Open Air, 10AM-3PM 📍Prospect Park Boathouse
09/28 & 09/29 Pop-Up Audubon, 12AM-4PM 📍Prospect Park Nethermead
09/28 Premier League Viewing, 12:30PM-2:30PM 📍The Dram Shop
09/28 Zuzu's Wreath Weaving Workshop (1/3 of proceeds will be donated to The Old Stone House), 1PM-2:30PM 📍Old Stone House
09/28 Always Be Poetrying: A Poetry Reading, 3PM-4PM 📍Park Slope Library
09/28 An Hour of Your Life with Savannah DesOrmeaux & Rebecca Weiser, 5PM-6:30PM 📍Union Hall
09/28 Ladies Who Ranch Do Their Fringe Show! 7:30PM-9PM 📍Union Hall
09/28 Sabrina Wu, 7:30PM 📍The Bell House
09/28 No Filter, 10PM 📍The Bell House
09/28 Dancehall Forever, 10:30PM 📍Littlefield
09/29 Farmer’s Market, 9AM-2PM 📍5th Ave & 4th Street
09/29 Greenmarket, 9AM-2PM 📍Bartel-Pritchard Square
09/29 Fall Family Story Time, 11AM-12PM 📍Brooklyn Botanic Garden
09/29 Smorgasburg, 11AM 📍Prospect Park Breeze Hill
09/29 “State of the Nation” Gallery Artist Talk, 12PM-2PM 📍Old Stone House
09/29 Dog Day Afternoon Pop-Up, 1PM 📍Bar Louise
09/29 In the Face of History Freedom Cape Fashion Workshop, 2PM-5PM 📍Lefferts Historic House
09/29 Kevin Iso: finna run this hour, 7:30PM-9PM 📍Union Hall
09/29 Ziwe, 7:30PM 📍The Bell House
09/30 Opening Day at Owl Tree Kids (First 20 customers get 20% off their entire purchase!), 10AM-5PM 📍Owl Tree Kids
09/30 Gathering Wool: Fiber Arts Get Together, 11AM-12:30PM 📍Park Slope Library
09/30 Printmaking with Linocuts, 6PM📍Rider
09/30 INCLUDEnyc Talk: Understanding Your Child’s IEP, 6:30PM-8PM 📍Virtual, Brooklyn Conservatory of Music
09/30 Falon Ballard Brooklyn Event for All I Want Is You, 7PM-8:30PM 📍The Ripped Bodice
09/30 Tim Platt's JOKES ABOUT ANIMALS + Album Release Party, 8PM-10PM 📍Littlefield
10/01 Build with LEGO, 3:30PM-4:15PM 📍Park Slope Library
10/01 Jack and Friends Latino heritage month: Bilingual Birdies, 4PM-4:45PM 📍Park Slope Library
10/01 Learn to Make Indigo Dye and Create Japanese Shibori Textiles, 5PM-6:30PM 📍Park Slope Library Garden
10/01 DROP IN: Comedy, 7:30PM-9:30PM 📍Two Boots
10/01 PRETTY MAJOR Hosted by Jay Jurden and Zach Zimmerman, 7:30PM-9PM 📍Union Hall
10/01 Drag Bingo, 8PM-11PM 📍Rullo's
10/01 Vice Presidential Debate Watch Party, 9PM-11PM 📍The Dram Shop
10/02 Fall First Discoveries, 10:30AM-12:30PM 📍Brooklyn Botanic Garden
10/02 Curios in the Catacombs, 6:30PM-7:30PM & 8:30PM-9:30PM📍Green-Wood Cemetery
10/02 The Last Drop, 7:30PM-9PM 📍Union Hall
10/03 Prospect Park Stroller Walk, 10AM-11AM 📍Prospect Park Audubon Center
10/03 Rosh Hashanah School Holiday in Prospect Park, 10AM-5PM 📍Prospect Park Audubon Center
10/03 Curios in the Catacombs, 6:30PM-7:30PM & 8:30PM-9:30PM📍Green-Wood Cemetery
10/03 Ashley Herring Blake Brooklyn Event for Make the Season Bright, 7PM-8:30PM 📍The Ripped Bodice
10/03 Allison O'Conor: Aspiring Icon, 7:30PM-9PM 📍Union Hall
10/03 Salma Hindy: Not My Father’s Daughter, 10PM-11:30PM 📍Union Hall
Thank you, as always, for reading and supporting this little newsletter! Hope you have a great weekend!
Kelley xo