Illustrator’s fanciful art coming to Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS - For children's book author and illustrator Peter Sis, inspiration comes from his experiences as a traveler and immigrant to the United States.

'Everything is about going places and finding places,” he said. 'It's pretty much books about my life, about leaving home, memories of life.”

An exhibit of the Czech artist's work will open this week at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library in Cedar Rapids.

Museum President Gail Naughton saw the exhibit in its first incarnation at the Bohemian National Hall in New York City and knew she wanted to bring it to Cedar Rapids. Sis agreed because, as a Czech immigrant to the United States, he said he feels a special affinity for Cedar Rapids. It is the only place the exhibit is scheduled to be shown beyond New York.

'I have a big connection to the museum,” Sis said. 'Being Czech and Slovak, it's a special place for me.”

A retrospective of the last 30 years of the artist's work, 'Peter Sis: Cartography of the Mind” opens Friday and will remain on display through March 1.

The author and illustrator of books including, 'Madlenka,” 'Starry Messenger” and 'The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain,” Sis will be at the museum Friday for the opening to talk about his career and sign books.

Born in Brno, Czechoslovakia, in 1949, Sis received political asylum in the United States in the mid-1980s. He is a seven-time winner of the New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year. Other awards include the Society of Illustrators Gold and Silver medals and the Caldecott Medal. He is a 2003 MacArthur Fellow.

Sis said he wants to write about 'how interesting and amazing and fantastic the world can be.”

He spoke with The Gazette from his New York City studio while working on a painting of a landscape made out of ice cream. The painting will be part of his next book, which follows a little boy as he explores the history of the sweet treat.

'It's a book about how beautiful summer is. It's also very American, ice cream,” Sis said. 'It's a celebration of summer and children.”

During his childhood, he remembers poring through books, spending hours reading while bedridden with a spinal injury.

He said he hopes today's children, despite myriad distractions of technology, still can appreciate a good book.

'I still hope my books have some sort of magic for young people,” he said.

Naughton said the exhibit will appeal to adults and children alike.

'The drawings are magical, they're fanciful,” she said. 'They're all a part of this woven story of this man who left his homeland and was able to build a career in another country and still use some of the stories from his own life.”

If you go

'What

: 'Peter Sis: Cartography of the Mind” exhibit opening reception and book signing

'When

: 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19

'Where

: National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, 1400 Inspiration Place SW, Cedar Rapids

'Cost

: $30, RSVPs requested

'More information

: NCSML.org or (319) 362-8500