Local artist and author, Jeff Hagen.
Do you ever question where your destiny will take you?
Author and illustrator, Jeff Hagen, used his own experience in his children’s book, Hiawatha Passing.
“Here’s the inspiration,” Jeff said. “A child’s view looking out the window at a frozen landscape and wondering about my own destiny. When I grow up will I be able to go on a midnight train?”
Brown County watercolor artist, author and illustrator, Hagen, was chosen to read his book Hiawatha Passing during Litworld’s, ‘World Read Aloud Day’ on Feb. 7. According to Scholastic, ‘World Read Aloud Day’ is celebrated in more than 173 countries and aims to bridge communities through the shared connection of reading aloud.
Hagen released the first edition of Hiawatha Passing in 1995 in collaboration with oil painter, Kenneth Shue. That same year, Hagen said Hiawatha Passing was recognized in the New York Times as one of the 10 best children’s books in the country. He has since released the second edition, and did the illustrations himself, using watercolors.
“I painted this one because I was down here painting,” Hagen said. “Now I’m a painter and an author. I thank God I have both abilities, and I wanted that [painting] to come out.”
He is a member of the Brown County Art Guild, where his watercolors are on display. Hagen’s paintings are cyclical, he said. Every three months he adds four new ones to the collection, and takes the older ones back to his studio to sell.
“I’m very proud of it,” Hagen said, “It’s a group of 42 artists and you are juried in. It is very hard to get into. I’m at a point where I’ve been in enough big shows like Watercolor USA, my reputation got me in so I’m very happy. I am honored and humbled at the same time.”
The main character of Hiawatha Passing was based on his own life, he said. He shared that he feels the best books are based on autobiographical experiences, even the most eccentric stories have a tinge of reality to them.
“It was me,” Hagen said, “What I wanted to show was I basically had insomnia, I couldn’t go to sleep. Honestly there’s an element of insomnia in part of this. I was the kid that would rub away the frost on my bedroom window so I could look out the porthole. One night I saw the midnight train pass by my house. I couldn’t help but wonder where all the people were going, and if I would take a midnight train when I was older.”
Darkness plays a large part in many of Hagen’s works. “I’ve always had a feeling that artists, particularly in books, didn’t do enough winter or night scenes,” Hagen said. “So when I did Hiawatha Passing, the first one, years before Polar Express came out I wanted to show that night does not have to be fearful. I’m not saying it doesn’t have risk, it does. But I also think, my God, it’s so beautiful … . it has some romantic, magical and mystical thing to it.”
Hagen also said that as a former educator, he wants his paintings and stories to be something a young person can look at and not be afraid; he hopes it will give them a different viewpoint.
He said Litworld’s ‘World Read Aloud Day’ was very personal for him. He said he loves influencing kids and being able to read to them reminds him of teaching. He believes that now more than ever we need to encourage reading for children.
“When I first heard about this I thought, I want to champion in the books cause because I think it’s outrageous that the atmosphere of banning the books has reached this point where they’re making it hard for kids to read,” Hagen said, “In our history, look at all of the great people who came along that didn’t go to Harvard or a big college because they didn’t need to. They had books, they had libraries. I want to champion books and I want to champion books to kids. That’s a big part of my mission, to get kids back to reading books.”
He said he has ideas for three new children’s books that he wants to start dedicating his time toward. His reading of Hiawatha Passing will be available to view on Litworld’s website and youtube page.
“Life is short, art is long,” Hagen said, “These paintings will be here long after I’m gone, and the books will too, and so there’s an element to that. In storytelling, I want to leave them with something that lifts them up. I want to bring in elements of mischief, romance, and the great gifts that we get from being alive and just from simple events … I like making the ordinary extraordinary. That’s it, just some real simple thing and not make it some complicated storyline, but something very simple. There’s just a wonderful beauty and sophistication in simplicity. I want it to be simple stories that go directly to the heart.”
