Baggage is an anthology looking at what cultural baggage came into Australia with the stories we told, and continue to tell. With the launch happening just prior to the opening of Aussicon 4, and the knowledge we will have some international guests at the launch, I've been thinking about how to make an Australian theme to the launch, without being too cliche.

Then there was the headlines about the Masterchef contestants making afternoon tea for the C.W.A. (Country Womens Association) and those ladies being somewhat underwhelmed by their efforts. The discussions I had with friends about the difference between what I see as the very basics of cooking and baking, and the fact that the contestants had to cook in a field, made me realise I had something uniquely Australian to offer that perhaps has been lost in the cities.

You see, I'm the daughter, granddaughter and niece of former and current C.W.A. members; and I've worked as a shearers cook. I may not be able to offer the experience of shearing a thousand head of sheep in 43 decgrees Celsius heat, or fencing the last sixty acres when there's icy sleet falling, but I can certainly put on a country style afternoon tea. I need to emphasise that country style. We are not talking about delicate little sandwiches with their crusts cut off, or beautifully decorated miniscule scraps of cake. These things have their place, but they are not great for sustaining a person through a long afternoon.

I'm talking about a real, honest to goodness home baked afternoon tea. With proper sandwiches, and the sort of cakes you'd find in the Country Show Cookbook. I do actually own a copy of this book, not because I needed the recipes, but to support the local Agricultural Show societies. Let the baking commence.

With less than 48 hours now until the launch of Baggage we are coming to the end of the blog tour. I've got a few last stops to share with you.

 Matthew Farrer concludes his two-part series with Kaaron Warren. The pair take a close look at the creation and structuring of Kaaron's story "Hive of Glass".

Tessa Kum has done a lovely guest post for Deborah Kalin on differences between Australian and Tibetan landscapes and the effect that had on her. Gorgeous photos abound. 

 Lastly, Andrew McKiernan joins me today in Elizabeth's Corner for a brief discussion on the gorgeous cover he created for Baggage.

 Welcome, Andrew! Thank you for stopping by. Let me get to the most crucial question first--do you prefer tea or coffee?

I'm not sure I prefer one over the other, although I'm mainly a tea drinker (about three or four cups a day, mainly at night while writing) and limit myself to one cup of coffee a day... but it has to be good coffee. I can't see much point in drinking crappy instant coffee or decaf.

I understand what you mean--loose leaf tea all the way for me! Can you tell me a bit about the initial concept of the cover for Baggage? What sort of baggage was it informed by?

The initial concept for Baggage was much more complicated than the final. It was all based on the idea of cultural baggage being the thing that pigeon-holes us all, and that leads us to pigeon-hole others into neat compartments that best fit our perceptions. I was going to have all these odd shaped boxes on the cover, like an old-fashioned baggage claim area at a train station, and each box was going to contain an object or scene from one of the stories in miniature. (see the images for the initial thumbnail pencil sketch that Sharyn and Gillian approved, as well as one of the completed - but as yet empty - pigeon-hole boxes).

The more I worked on the concept, the more I realised that I was bringing my own baggage as an Illustrator into the equation when I should have been thinking more as a Designer. I still think that what I'd proposed would make a great final illustration, but it was too complicated for the book and trying to speak too much of the stories when I should be letting the stories speak for themselves. What this book needed was good 'design' and not necessarily a good 'illustration'.

That's when I went back, re-read all the stories, and tried to reassess what the book was really about and what I wanted to cover to say to people. I took off my illustrator's hat and starting looking at things purely from a design perspective.
 

 Where did you get the inspiration for the current cover?

 The anthology isn't just about cultural baggage, but also about how we explore that baggage. I realised I wanted to give that impression - of the stories within as being like the great unexplored continent of Australia; something you'd approach with both awe and caution, like the 'Here there be dragons' warnings on old maps. That's when what I was thinking became a strong image in my mind of how the cover should look and I set off to search the Australian National Library for old maps that I could use to convey that.

I was very lucky to find one that almost perfectly matched the image I had in my mind. The map is from an 1863 'pamphlet' by Cassell, Petter & Galpin, La Belle Sauvage Yard, Ludgate Hill, entitled "Cassell's Emigrant's Map of Australia". I'd already decided that this was the right map the instant I saw it, but the title - 'Emigrant's map of Australia' - just seemed so neat and perfect for what the stories in the anthology are essentially trying to reveal about us and about the authors.

What sort of cultural baggage do you feel Australian illustrators and designers have to deal with?

 That's a hard one to answer for me because I don't think too much about that sort of stuff. I try not to think at all most of the time and just let things happen, be intuitive and all that rubbish. I'm not a very introspective person, because when I am I tend to get morose and broody.

Most of the illustration and design world is lead by those trends (both old and new) from Europe, and from New York as the hub of American design - I think many Australian illustrators and designers outside of the art-world tend to follow those trends a little too closely. It would be nice to break away from that and explore our own territory a little more. Sean Tan is definitely an inspiration in being very successful in doing this. His work is very strongly infused with the idea of cultural baggage and I'd love to be more like him.

I've really only just starting to think about an Australian identity to my work. I've been fortunate enough to have illustrated a couple of stories for author Jason Fischer, and I'm finally getting an opportunity to more closely examine the Australian landscape. Jason's stories speak very much of an Australia way of life that is unique to the rest of the world and illustrating those stories has forced me to address the issue a little more. I've still got a long way to go, but it's a start.

Well, thank you for taking the time to chat with me Andrew. It has been a pleasure.

That's all from me here at Elizabeth's Corner for now. I look forward to seeing you all at the launch!