Mary Blair's Unique Flair

The Girl Who Became
One of the Disney Legends

Disney Press
(pub. 8.13.2019) 
 40 pages

A True Tale with
A Cherry On Top   

A uthor:  Amy Noveksy

 and illustrator:  Brittney Lee
 
C haracter: Mary Blair

O verview from jacket flap: 

     "Mary Browne Robinson was a girl who loved color. This love stayed with her through childhood and launched her career, which included working as an artist at the Walt Disney Studios! Mary Brown Robinson became Mary Blair, and she created art for films like Cinderella and attractions like "it's a small world" before eventually being named one of the Disney Legends.
      All of this, a dream come true, for a girl who loved color."

T antalizing taste: 

     "Despite how fun it was to work at Disney, it wasn't Mary's dream come true - yet - so she quit. 
     
      She preferred to stay home and paint.
     
      But when Mary heard that Walt was taking artists, including [her husband], on a trip to South America, she asked Mr. Disney to take her along.
    
      Mary grabbed her suitcase full of paints and she flew from Burbank to Brazil.
   
       To Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru!
   
        Mary had never seen such bright and happy colors before.
   
        Verde and azul. Amarelo, amarillo. Laranja, anaranjado. Vermellio, rojo, and rosa. Lilas, Lavanda, roxo, morad. Marrom, marron.  Cinza,  gris, preto, negro."

And something more:  I appreciate that Mary Blair's Unique Flair included a shout-out to the editorial team at Disney Press: "Special thanks ... to Samantha McFerrin, Grace Lee, and Winnie Ho, for their belief in and hard work on this book."  I've often thought books should include the names of not only the author and illustrator, but also the editor and art director and others in the publishing house who create the book.  

The book's notes also include a special thanks to "Mary Blair's niece, Maggie Richardson, for her kindness, generosity, and assistance with this book."  At the back of the book, Maggie Richardson writes that "from the moment Amy Novesky came to my home to look at photos and art and listen to my stories, I knew she was someone who would understand my aunt Mary."  Amy Novesky kindly shared with me the story of one of Maggie's treasured visits with her aunt:

"Imagine having Mary Blair as your aunt! Little Maggie Richardson loved visiting her colorful aunt. And when Mary was working on the art for Walt Disney’s signature attraction “it’s a small world,” she included her beloved niece in her process, asking her what color she should make the ribbons around the necks of a flock of geese. Maggie doesn’t recall if she chose orange or green, but the illustrator [Brittney Lee] chose orange for the book."

I attended a wonderful presentation by Amy Novesky and Brittney Lee at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, and I loved learning how Brittney was inspired by Mary Blair, as she describes in her Illustrator's Note: "When I attended an exhibit of Mary's 'it's a small world' artwork at the Disney Animation Research Library a few years ago, I was shocked to discover that many of her pieces were created in cut paper! It was so exciting to see how she solved creative problems and expressed herself through colorful bits of paper and vellum. And most important, through those pieces she taught me the value of using a hole punch [instead of painstakingly cutting out tiny circles]! Sometimes the simplest solution is the best."