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Coral
Nault - Accentuate the Positive
by Sally Hansen
Coral Nault responds to life's negatives by focusing on the
positives. And what better way to do that but through her
art? A long-time teacher of art to children and adults, Nault
knows the power of art as therapy, and as a way to see things
differently. In her recent illustrations for two children's
books dealing with mental illness, she uses her artistic talents
and innate sensitivity to shed light on a subject that remains
difficult for most families to come to grips with - mental
illness.
When her son was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 19, Coral
came face to face with her own fear of mental illness. "From
my upbringing, I believed that mental illness meant that there
was something wrong with a person's spiritual connection to
God. I've learned that schizophrenia is a brain disorder that
can be treated like many other diseases through medication,
therapy, love and support. It isn't anybody's fault."
Dragon Power
To foster a healing climate of understanding and support for
families dealing with mental illness, Coral creates images
of irresistible characters who help kids (and parents) deal
with the extremely difficult situations and issues they encounter.
In Catch a Falling Star by Gayle Grass, Coral's depiction
of Iris, a gentle, wise green swamp dragon who befriends a
boy troubled with the onset of a brain disorder, is wondrously
sympathetic and accessible. Or as Dr. Peter Jensen, Director
of the Center for the Advancement of Children's Mental Health
puts it: "Beautifully told, incredibly illustrated. My
highest recommendation for parents and their children afflicted
with this disorder." (www.iristhedragon.com/ourbook.htm).
Jensen is right - Nault's illustrations are incredible. She
produced over twenty pencil-crayon drawings on oil pastel
paper with a sandpaper finish for the book. Each superbly
rendered illustration took nearly sixty hours to complete,
and in my opinion, each is worth at least a thousand words.
Somehow she is able to create totally lovable, believable,
fantastical characters without resorting to saccharine, stereotypical
cuteness. Their power to heal emanates from the emotional
integrity she is able to portray in their expressions and
in their body language.
For the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Coral has
illustrated Gretchen Kelbaugh's story to help children understand
a parent's depression. Titled Can I Catch It Like a Cold?,
this educational resource for children aged 5 to 9 years old
tells the story of 8-year-old Alex and his struggle to maintain
his self esteem and understand his father's behaviour (available
by calling 1-800-661-1111).
Staying Power
Just for fun, I asked my grandchildren (aged 8 and 10) if
they had read "Best and Dearest Chick of All" by
Bob Barton (ISBN 0-88995-117-9). Not only did they remember
it, they could quote passages and vividly describe Coral Nault's
visual images of the main animal characters. The 10-year-old
had read it three times. I read it twice myself. It received
the Choice Award from the Canadian Children's Book Centre.
Nault credits neighbour Tim Wynne-Jones with landing her this
first illustration job in 1993 for Northern Lights Books for
Children.
Coral's art has stayed with her in one form or another throughout
her life. She has fond early memories of teachers' encouragement
of her artistic talents, and she pursued her formal art education
at the University of Guelph on a scholarship from the Optimists
Club of London.
In 1974 when she moved to Brooke Valley (a small community
near Perth, where artists are delightfully over-represented,
supportive and active), she and husband Michael were instrumental
in establishing the cooperative Brooke Valley School where
Coral taught grades one through eight. All four of their children
attended, and their grandson will attend next year. During
the busy years of child rearing, Coral augmented the family's
income with commercial graphic arts assignments and by tutoring
children with special needs.w
Serenity
"It's the best job anyone could have - serenity at its
ultimate". This is how Coral responds to my asking why
she pursues a career as an illustrator and educator. She loves
teaching art classes because "Learning about art trains
our eyes to see. This is a real gift to give people; all my
students can teach people how to see." She gives other
gifts as well, like a series of four whimsical posters promoting
books that she donates to the local Perth Library and to the
Canadian Children's Book Centre to raise money for Canadian
writers. And she gives of herself, dipping into her reservoir
of serenity to tutor children who face inordinate obstacles
in the mainstream educational system.
Experience Coral Nault's magical illustrations by going to
the Perth Library to purchase her posters or order one of
her books to share with some lucky kid. Or contact Coral at
coralnault@yahoo.ca.
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