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Meet Tony DiTerlizzi

A conversation with illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi, an iconic photo, and...a stegosaurus IPO?

Paige Bowers
Paige Bowers
5 min read
Meet Tony DiTerlizzi
Photo: Steve Martine

Tony DiTerlizzi might never have become the acclaimed illustrator he is today had it not been for an art teacher at Stuart’s South Fork High who noticed and nurtured his creative gifts. Back in those days, DiTerlizzi, now 55, says he was a skinny kid who listened to The Cure and didn’t feel like he fit in. He spent a lot of time drawing but wasn’t sure if it was a viable career, so he thought he might eventually pursue a career in marine biology. By senior year, he had taken every art class South Fork had to offer. Many teachers noticed his talent, but it was one particular art teacher, Tom Wetzl, who showed him that he could have a future as an illustrator.

“Mr. Wetzl wanted to do this one-on-one class with me, where I’d figure out a semester-long project that would become the crown jewel of my portfolio,” DiTerlizzi recalls. “I decided I would redesign all the characters from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I modeled the Mad Hatter after Elton John, did an anime Alice, and made the Caterpillar kind of Muppet-y. I called the book Views from Wonderland. Mr. Wetzl saw it and said, ‘Wow!’ Then other people who saw it told me it was cool too. I was 17 at the time and realized then that I wanted to make books for a living.”

Now a best-selling author and illustrator of many popular fantasy/adventure books, DiTerlizzi is having a (really big) moment as of late. This past April, he watched one of the fantasy series he co-created—The Spiderwick Chronicles—find a new generation of fans when it was released as a TV series and quickly became the most-watched debut on Roku of all time. Ten weeks later, the first season of his sci-fi trilogy WondLa debuted on AppleTV+ to rave reviews. “It has been such a surreal and strange experience,” DiTerlizzi says of the whirlwind release schedule.

For more about DiTerlizzi, click here to keep reading my story in this month's Stuart Magazine.


Writing prompt: Reflect on a teacher or mentor who made a difference in who you are today. Who was that person and how did they influence and inspire you to follow a certain path in life? What wisdom of theirs has remained in your head and heart?


Tony DiTerlizzi's "Spiderwick Chronicles" show just came in hot with 13 Children and Family Emmy nominations this week, by the way.

Here are the categories in which "Spiderwick" is a nominee:

  • Young Teen Series
  • Lead performer in a preschool, children's or young teen program (Christian Slater)
  • Younger performer in a preschool, children's or young teen program (Noah Cottrell)
  • Writing for a young teen series
  • Directing for a single camera live action series
  • Show open
  • Cinematography for a single camera live action program
  • Editing for a single camera live action program
  • Sound mixing and sound editing for a live action program
  • Lighting, camera and technical arts
  • Visual effects for a live action program
  • Casting for a live action program
  • Art direction/set decoration/scenic design for a single camera program

We'll see how the show does on March 15. In the meantime, congratulations to DiTerlizzi, co-creator Holly Black, and the show itself for being one of the top nominees!


Quote

The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.
-- Barbara Kingsolver

Endnotes

Photo: Kane Archive

What I'm watching: "A Great Day in Harlem – Art Kane 1958", the documentary about how Kane managed to convince fifty-seven iconic jazz performers to meet on a Harlem doorstep for a group photo on August 12, 1958. Kane was then art director of Seventeen and this was said to be his very first photograph, taken for a special jazz issue of Esquire. It was an unruly morning, by all accounts, with many of the jazzmen and jazzwomen excited to catch up as Kane tried to wrangle the shot. Count Basie grew tired of standing, so he sat on the curb and neighborhood kids joined him. The only musician from that photo who is still alive is saxophonist Sonny Rollins, and he spoke with The New York Times this week about the day, which led to one of the most famous images in music history. What made this photo work? Kane's realization that he couldn't tell fifty-seven jazz performers what to do. He had to let them be themselves and, well, improvise.

What I'm reading: This story about how a private company is going to allow investors to buy shares in a stegosaurus fossil on Dec. 20. When the bones go public next week, 200,000 shares will be offered at $68.75 a pop. The IPO (yes, it's even registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission) is going to raise up to $13.75 million, and investors are hoping for a big payout once the bones are sold privately or auctioned off in another year. As you might imagine, paleontologists aren't thrilled about the booming private market for dinosaur fossils. They feel it hampers their ability to get their hands on good research specimens. Rally, the company behind the IPO, says it is hoping this expands its clientele beyond 30-somethings with a little bit of money to burn, to "18-year-olds who wanted a share, private equity managers or sizable institutions."

What I'd love to hear about: A book you've read and loved recently and why. Hit reply and let me know what's on your nightstand, or what you couldn't put down. Thanks so much! Also? Do you have any questions for me about writing, history, whatever-you-think-I-might-be-able-to-answer? If so, ask me anything and I'll answer in a coming newsletter.

What I'm looking forward to: Seeing the holiday lights at the Atlanta Botanical Garden on Sunday.

Answers to last week's pop quiz: The two English Beat spinoff bands were General Public and Fine Young Cannibals. My favorite English Beat spinoff band song is "Tenderness" by General Public because it's really bubble-gummy and cute, and typical of something you might listen to at age fourteen when you wonder why the cute boy won't dance with you. But then? You get to be my age and realize that the lyrics really don't mean what you thought they meant, even though the song still sounds cute and peppy. The English Beat song used in the Ferris Bueller running scene is "March of the Swivel Heads"...and it's absolutely perfect trying-to-elude-Principal Rooney music.

Where I hope you'll donate this week: Reading Is Fundamental was founded to inspire children to become skilled readers. Sixty-one percent of children living at or below the poverty line have no books at home, and a donation can help change that and the lives of these kids. Please consider a gift of any amount this holiday season.

artatlantabiographycreativitydilly-dallyfeature writingfreelance writerhistoryjazzinterviewmusicnonfictionphotographypassion projectsprofile writingprofileswriting prompts

Paige Bowers

Paige Bowers is a journalist and the author of two biographies about bold, barrier-breaking women in history.

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