AMHERST – Ed Emberley has been a working illustrator since the 1970s and has been influential to millions of young artists over that time.

“You know what I like to hear the kids say? ‘I could do that,’” Emberley said.

In honor of the talented and universally respected illustrator, the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is presenting “I Could Do That! The Picture Book Art of Ed Emberley,” on view until June 12. The exhibition showcases Emberley’s incredible printmaking and drawing talents through more than 110 objects, spanning from over 20 books he has collaborated on. This includes illustrations from his work as well as his Drawing Book series and books now out-of-print.

Born in 1931 and raised in Cambridge, Emberley is the son of carpenter who occasionally painted signs. From being with his father, Emberley would play with the cast-off wooden pieces that came from his father’s building projects and watched how his father used a grid to draw letters. This foot in the door to a form of artistic expression helped Emberley quickly discover his talent for drawing.

As a young adult, Emberley attended the Massachusetts College of Art and Design where he would meet Barbara Collins, who has become his life partner and regular collaborator. Since the 1960s, Ed and Barbara Emberley have lived in their Massachusetts home that dates back to the 1600s.

The exhibition also includes illustrations from two of Emberley’s most famous books that show off his talents and the type of work that he produced that resonated so well with people. “Drummer Hoff,” written by Barbara Emberley, tells the story of a soldier who fires off a cannon that explodes into color – a 1960s anti-war parable that won the prestigious Caldecott Medal in 1968.

“Go Away, Big Green Monster,” became a best-seller in the 1990’s due to its assistance in helping young readers overcome bedtime fears. The work done by Emberley has been inspirational to the youth and introspective all together.

Working on the exhibit as a guest curator has been Caleb Neelon, a longtime wall painter, indoors and out, and friend of Emberley.

“Ed Emberley shies away from calling himself an artist and instead likes to say that he, “draws pictures for a living,” Neelon wrote in a short retrospective of Ed Emberley on The Carle’s website.

At request of The Carle’s Chief Curator Ellen Keiter, Neelon is painting several of Emberley’s images directly on the gallery walls. Neelon first met Emberley when he wrote a magazine article on Ed and Barbara and came away from the meeting wanting the opportunity to work more with Emberley.

“He was this childhood art hero of mine that I had grown up with,” Neelon said. “It’s always been one thing leading to another thing with me and Ed and his work and this iteration of the Carle was really a great pleasure.”

The exhibit showcases a wide variety of the work done by Emberley and many of it has been unseen until this project at the Carle. Neelon broke down his exhibition in an essay on the Carle’s website titled, “Keeping Up with Ed Emberley.” In it, he explains how Emberley’s process starts with the designing of every aspect of the book.

Always trying to experiment in what Neelon explains as a restless fashion, Emberley has used a multitude of innovative techniques with his art. Hand-lettering text, see-through paper, stickers, stencils, die cuts, optical illusions, clip art, and flip books are just some of the techniques that have been used by Emberley to shine in his work.

“It’s about two-thirds of stuff never seen by the public. There’s so much material that Ed had that was stuff he had made in conjunction with making books. He always considered the book the final product, but along the way he made a lot of amazing stuff that was kind of process art. Sort of a draft or a dummy or a mockup to show a publisher.”

For Neelon this project in a way is a full circle from childhood to adulthood and the passions that remain through art and the art of Emberley. Neelon remembers being a child and taking a character from Emberley’s “Big Purple Drawing Book” and took it from reference to his own creation. “The little fuzzy guy with big eyes” as Neelon referred to it as had taken on a mutation through Neelon’s own drawings.

“Somewhere along the line I kind of lost track of the connection between Emberley and my original drawings and they just became the characters that I did and they went on to be this constant companion for some of my artwork for a long time and still are,” Neelon said with a laugh. “It was just one of those funny things. When I had met Ed, I had still not made that connection back again as an adult and it took actually giving the ‘Big Purple Drawing Book’ to a 10-year-old and him calling me on it saying ‘this is your character and this is where you got this.”

Alexandra Kennedy, The Carle’s executive director, explained in a release for the exhibit why this work is so relevant to the work of the museum.

“Like so many children of the 70s, I learned to draw thanks to Ed Emberley. His lifetime of work has come to stand for so much of what The Carle represents, like encouraging artistic expression, championing experimentation and innovation, and finding ways to be inclusive for everyone, regardless of whether they consider themselves ‘artists,” Kennedy said. “Our team here at the

Museum have been fans of Ed’s since forever and are so excited – and humbled! – to be able to share his original art.”

Emberley’s inspiration to children who come across his work is undeniable and has impacted those far into their adulthoods.

“You’re not supposed to draw it the same way that Ed does. This is not the Julia Child recipe you really want to follow to make it right,” Neelon said. “You kind of go halfway through it and if you want to take it another direction, go for it.”

The Carle is closed until Jan. 4 for a break for staff and in preparation for the beginning of the next year, but the exhibit will be running all the way until June.
The exhibition, located in the East Gallery of The Carle, makes dozens of Ed Emberley books available for browsing in a comfortable reading area and visitors are encouraged to try some of the many drawing techniques that have come to define Emberley’s legacy. The Emberley family also plans to donate a portion of Ed’s archive to the Carle, according to the release.