Sometimes remarkable people who have an outsized impact on the world around them make the news in several ways, even in the same week, even in a small town like Eagle Grove. So it is with outgoing Chamber of Commerce Director Sara Middleton, who – in addition to announcing her resignation from the Chamber recently – has also just published her first book as an illustrator, with author, Youtuber, and economic development colleague Sarah Thompson. A project that came to be as a side effect of Thompson’s Youtube channel recently featuring two equally unique local businesses for collectors, Gramma’s Attic and Arden Scott Collectibles.
The book, Eagle Grove, Woodland Creatures & Downtown Features, is a celebration of Eagle Grove, it’s people, it’s animals, and it’s unique mix of business ventures, and the stories – both real and imagined – behind each. And that’s because Middleton and Thompson didn’t just write a book to write a book. But rather the book is intended as the pilot of a program to finance renewal and improvement projects for small towns offered by Thompson’s Rural Revitalization, LLC. The program offers a blueprint to create community focused content that becomes part of the local history and heritage while also funding it’s next chapter.
“Storytelling is an accessible way to do economic development and community development, and it’s a brilliant idea on Sarah’s part.” Middleton told the Eagle. “This is intended to be a source of community pride on the one hand, and then on the other hand to be a source of revenue to make an improvement to Eagle Grove. It’s a creative avenue of funding for worthwhile community projects, and we hope we have the opportunity to do more of it.” Middleton said.
Asked how she came to work with Thompson on the book’s production, Middleton said, “We both have a professional backgound in community development, and a very personal interest in helping small towns thrive,” Middleton said. “It was completely new to me, I have never illustrated anything, I have never tried to draw anything that even looks semi-like-reality. So it was a frightening but exhilerating experience, and best of all I got to work with someone who I really admired, and deepen our friendship.”
As to their process Middleton said, “we chose a handful of businesses that reflect the variety of retail experiences that Eagle Grove has to offer.” The rest was just synergy.
Middleton’s artwork in the book is a departure from the unique flavor of impressionist style that marks her work as a painter, or the modern industrial style of her abstract photography. In the book Middleton debuts a charming style of watercolor cartoonistry, which is vaguely evocative of the acclaimed work of cartoonist Sir Quentin Saxby Blake, whose honors have included the Kate Greenaway Medal for outstanding children’s illustrations, the Hans Cristian Anderson illustrator award, and the extremely rare honor of dual knighthoods in both his native England and in France.
While Middleton’s cartoons are differentiated from Blake’s by being looser and more spare in their style than his, and in having hints of her characteristic style of painting in their backgrounds, giving the works a unique style all Middleton’s own, they are nonetheless as perfect for the text as Blake’s illustrations are for 18 of Roald Dahl’s children’s books, which feature similar characters in more fantastical settings. And it is easy to predict that Middleton’s cartoons will be in demand for more childrens’ books in the future.
That is, to everyone but Middleton herself. “Everything I do in art scares the crap out of me, to be honest,” Middleton said, explaining that she feels like an imposter as an artist. “I started in photography 5 years ago, and drawing and painting 4 years ago. And just now, cartooning. So it’s hard to accept that people are already labeling me an ‘artist’. But I just feel driven to do it, and it’s in me, and I have to get it out.” Despite those feelings, Middleton said she would like to do a few more illstrated books. One she has in mind is a snarky tome about the care and feeding of persnickety house plants.
The illustrations are perfect for the prose, and yet unafraid to show a different view of the scene than the text describes. While invoking the colors and scenes the story tells in eye catching style. Take for instance Thompson’s passage, “it was a perfect day in the Grove. The sky was flawless cerulean blue with puffy white clouds, the trees had lush green leaves, and water in the Boone River was splashing aginst the reeds making a sweet summer melody. It was one of those days that don’t come around very often, where everything felt just right. No need to rush or do anything specific.” Middleton’s illustrations feel just right, incorporating the colors described in the text without feeling the need to be show each specific detail, including the cloudy sky, but leaving out the trees, and the river.
In so doing, Middleton gives the story a 360 degree view of the world, instead of just a glimpse through the window of Thompson’s words. A bold choice for an illustrator, especially a first timer. And it pays off by enhancing, rather than just depicting, the story.
In an interview, Thompson told the Eagle that the idea of doing books such as this came to her because of the pandemic. “I couldn’t really do my normal consulting work because no one was doing events,” Thomspon said. First Thompson, who holds a degree in English, began working on a novel. “Don’t we all dream of doing our novel? So I started my novel,” Thompson said. But a novel is a bigger writing task, and Thompson started mentally toying with the idea of doing a shorter book, perhaps a children’s book. But she was held back from that by lacking a connection with an illustrator.
That is, until she reconnected with Middleton, who she knew through her economic development career, in planning her Youtube episodes on Arden Scott Collectibles, and Gramma’s Attic. Seeing Middleton’s paintings and sketches, Thompson asked Middleton “if I tried to write some stories” about Eagle Grove, “would you be willing to do art for them?”
When she saw Middleton’s first sketches for the book, Thompson knew she’d found her illustrating partner. “She did these awesome drawings and I was like, ‘I don’t even care if we don’t do well’.” Thompson just wanted to work with Middleton on the project. It would do some good, she related, and be fun to do.
Middleton agreed. “The whole idea of why we wanted to do this is to enable community improvement through storytelling,” Middleton said, adding that it was “just fun!”
Sarah Thompson will be in town to talk about the book and take pre-orders at the Chamber office during the Ladies Day Out event Middleton has planned. Attendees can even request a signed pre-order. Signed copies are free, Thompson pointed out, but added that given that the whole project is designed to benefit the community, an additional donation would be appreciated. A portion of the proceeds of book sales will go to fund local projects. 100% of donations on signed copies will be passed on to fund community projects, as well.
