Portrait of James Brown by Cathy Camper.
Artist
Rows upon rows of tiny, colorful seeds and grains create shading for James Brown’s face. Swirls of hair are formed with seed pods, and the background is made of corn kernels. His name is spelled with different colored beans and legumes. The overall effect is abstract, yet detailed and homey, just perfect for Amy Sedaris’ book Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People.
Sedaris has been a fan of artist Cathy Camper for years, from when Camper was exhibiting her unique seed art at the Minnesota State Fair in the late 1980s. Most submissions in the Seed Art category were traditional subjects, but Camper’s was a portrait of Haile Salassie, the former Emperor of Ethiopia. She prefers to do portraits of people who inspire controversy, like Salassie or Malcom X.
Camper loves using the natural colors and textures of the seeds to create her mosaic art. She also loves that it is transitory, the colors fading with time as the seeds become older and lose their moisture. This eclectic medium reflects Camper’s view of being an artist / writer.
Author and Editor
Camper also loves science. She wrote the children’s book Bugs Before Time: Prehistoric Insects and Their Relatives about ten years ago. At the time there were many books about dinosaurs, but none about prehistoric insects. Camper took great pains to find the newest information, reading journal articles and interviewing scientists. And she made sure to include a bibliography to help her readers do research on their own. Illustrator Steve Kirk’s drawings are as accurate as possible, and dramatic, to capture kids’ attention.
Camper has written magazine articles for adults and children, and co-edits a zine called Sugar Needle about candy from all over the world. And yes, she’s eaten that candy with bugs in it.
Researcher
Cathy Camper has put her researching skills to work for the library, working with School Corps to help bring library resources to Multnomah County’s classrooms. School Corps provides supplemental materials to educators and gives presentations on different subjects like using the internet, and accessing library services.
Camper believes that the library is constantly changing, and its services becoming more valuable to patrons as a place to learn new technology and access information. The librarian of the future will be called on more and more to help patrons sort good information from the bad information that might have been posted “cut and paste” style, or spun for commercial interests. With the advent of the internet, we are faced with a wall of information, and we need to learn how to use it.
Cathy Camper’s book Bugs Before Time, and copies of her zine Sugar Needle, can be borrowed from Multnomah County Library as well as Amy Sedaris’ book Simple Times.
