Page 10 - Twice-Told April 2018

Page 10 Twice-Told Tale

The Magic of Storytelling

By Sarah Bennett
E where they frequently shared ideas and
veryone has a favorite book the he or she can
recall from their childhood. Where the Wild Things Are inspirations with each other. Her family
by Maurice Sendak, Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White, didn’t have much of an influence on her
and Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss are just a few of art when she was growing up, but they
the many well-known classics aimed at children. Per- all enjoyed her work regardless. She
haps in the next decade, the recently published Rosanna wasn’t the only artist in the family
and Owl by Robert Mohr will also find its place on a though. One of her aunts was an oil
shelf of favorites, among the likes of Dr. Seuss. It is a painter who encouraged and helped
modern-day fairy tale that teaches important lessons for Mrs. Forster develop her craft through-
the soul and is illustrated by Lake Highland’s own art out her youth.
teacher, Mrs. Kathleen Forster, and written by her broth- Rosanna and Owl is dedicated to
er, Dr. Robert Mohr. Rosanna and Owl is dedicated to Mohr’s first granddaughter, Rosanna.
Mohr’s first granddaughter, Rosanna, as a means of He wanted to share with her, “Journeys
sharing journeys of imagination and spirit, in addition to of the imagination and spirit, as he had
providing intriguing lessons from which she can learn. experienced, as a way of providing joy,
Mrs. Forster’s daughter, Lauren, also designed the imaginative play, and intriguing les-
cover’s title text, making this book a true family project. sons.” Both he and Mrs. Forster hope
With 73 pages, seven chapters, eight ink illustra- that children who read the story experi-
tions, and a beautiful front cover, Rosanna and Owl took ence an adventure of the imagination
around three years in total to complete. Mrs. Forster and while following Rosanna’s adventure
Dr. Mohr had thought about collaborating on something that Owl provides to help her solve a (Above) From left to right, Lauren Forster, Dr. Robert Mohr, and Mrs. Kathleen
perplexing problem. Forster. Rosanna and Owl is a book made by family, for family. It is written by
Rosanna’s two best friends hate Dr. Mohr, and illustrated by his sister, Mrs. Forster. The title on the front
each other, so when Owl sees her trou- cover was designed by his niece, Lauren Forster, and the whole thing is dedicat-
bles, he takes her on seven adventures ed to his granddaughter, Rosanna. The stories in the trilogy following Rosanna
that point towards a resolution, but not a and Owl will be written for and dedicated to Dr. Mohr’s other granddaughters.
direct path. Owl takes her to various
animals and powerful beings who test her and give her the characters, people and animals alike, presented more
gifts she needs in order to solve her problem. On of a challenge since the chosen passages were beautiful-
Earth, she encounters an otter, a mysterious big wom- ly written out. She says that the story about the tricky
an, a panther, and a coyote. In deep space, she visits a coyote in particular, “Was especially fun and challeng-
celestial wizard, a powerful queen, and the very first ing.”
drum. By the end of the story, Rosanna has learned Mrs. Forster chose the technique of inking to
how to move in and out of the magical reality she vis- illustrate Rosanna and Owl for its reference to an older
ited and how she might bring her two best friends style of illustration that seemed to fit very well with her
back together. brother’s story, as well as being one of her favorite tech-
Dr. Mohr describes his story as, “A modern- niques. She also enjoys etching, watercolor, and graph-
day fairy tale based on ancient Shamanic ways from ite rendering. Rosanna and Owl was Mrs. Forster’s first
which so many classic children’s stories spring. Ro- time illustrating a book, although some of her drawings
sanna’s adventures make a gripping story and, like all have been used in catalogues and posters in the past.
good tales, contains lessons for the soul.” He began Most of her art is in private collections or has been ap-
Shamanic studies in 2003 and completed a two year propriated for commercial use.
training as a Shamanic practitioner in 2008, elements Rosanna and Owl is the first in a trilogy, each
of which are wonderfully threaded into the story. book dedicated to and featuring one of Dr. Mohr’s
When Rosanna was born - his granddaughter, not the granddaughters. Mrs. Forster does not know the story
character - he envisioned teach- lines of the next
ing her how to use her imagina- two books or when
tion to seek answers to life’s they will be fin-
many questions. Years later ished, but she and
when writing Rosanna and Owl, her brother have
(Above) The front cover of Rosanna and Owl was illustrated Dr. Mohr searched through his already begun prep-
with watercolors by Mrs. Kathleen Forster. It is a simple de- own journal of Shamanic jour- arations for the next
sign: Rosanna flying with Owl on one of their adventures against neys for inspiration for Ro- story. Mrs. Forster
the backdrop of a blue and yellow sky. The rest of Mrs. For- sanna’s series of adventures, believes each book
ster’s illustrations found inside the book are drawn in black and builds upon the
white, but they are so well done that even though the cover is opening this ancient practice to others. All three
in color, it doesn’t outshine the other pictures. All photos cour- her and to all children who read
tesy of Mrs. Kathleen Forster. the story. books will also
After reading an early continue to feature
like Rosanna and Owl for many years, but this was the draft of the book and choosing a the character of
first time they’d ever done so before. When they were set of passages for possible il- Owl as a journey
young, “[Their] mother mused about this sort of collab- lustrations, Mrs. Forster collect- guide for traveling
oration.” They have always respected each other’s work. ed resources to use for the draw- with his imagina-
So when Mohr decided to create Rosanna and Owl the ings, constructed thumbnail tion, to answer
decision to collaborate occurred quite naturally. He’d sketches, and then shared those questions, and help
already formulated the concept and outlined the stories ideas with her brother. The time solve problems. To
well before he asked Mrs. Forster to join the project. it took to complete each of the anyone who wants
The story itself took about three years to finish, while seven illustrations varied from to read Rosanna
Mrs. Forster’s illustrations took two years to complete - image to image. Mrs. Forster and Owl, it is avail-
working on them mainly during breaks and the summer. explains that this was due in part able for purchase
After everything was put together and ready to be to the amount of research neces- on Amazon in pa-
shared with the world, Mohr and his acquaintances from sary for accurate and relevant perback for $11.99.
the publishing industry researched and submitted Ro- resource materials. Fortunately, (Above) In this illustration, Rosanna has taken the form of a For such a well-
sanna and Owl to a few publishers. In the end, however, she was familiar with many of panther and is peacefully interacting with a deer, while Owl crafted story with
self-publishing on Amazon proved to the best choice for the stories’ settings - much of watches over them both atop the branches of a nearby tree. beautifully drawn
them at this time. the book takes place on Earth - Each of Mrs. Forster’s illustrations perfectly depicts their ac- illustrations and
Mrs. Forster says that working together with her and was able to render the dif- companying scene, drawn in a way that goes well with the unique interesting life les-
brother on Rosanna and Owl was an absolute joy. They ferent environments accurately aesthetic of the story. The cartoon-like way of illustrating sons, it is certainly
went into the project pretty certain they could work well with the help of a just a few found in many children’s books would not at all have fit Rosanna worth the purchase.
together, having both gone to college in San Francisco reference pictures. The poses of and Owl.