After graduation she worked in an outdoor equipment shop and volunteered with conservation projects; she was torn between becoming an artist and working for the
Department of Conservation.[1] Her entry into illustration was a 2013 poster depicting New Zealand fishes.[2] Later illustrations of New Zealand native birds featured on
RNZ's Morning Report were distributed through
Twitter,[3] which led to commissions from
Forest and Bird's children's magazine, the New Zealand School Journal, newspapers, websites, and magazines, and a career in illustration.[1][2]
Work
Clarkson's first published comic, "The Flood", appeared in the 2016 collection of
Aotearoa women's comics Three Words.[5] Her best known work, "Biscuits and Slices of New Zealand", is a visual catalogue of New Zealand baking, with each object given a fanciful Latin name: for example,
Anzac biscuit is "Lestwee forgetum". Widely shared in social media, this was published in Annual 2 (2017) and subsequently became a poster and
tea towel; Clarkson was interviewed about the success of the comic on
TV3's The Project.[6][7] A follow-up illustration appeared in Annual 3 (2022).[3]
Clarkson has a bimonthly comic in New Zealand children's literature website The Sapling, on children's books and how they influenced her as an illustrator.[8] She frequently undertakes field expeditions as part of her work to places such as the
Kermadecs,
Milford Sound (to draw penguins) or the
Subantarctic Islands (a 19-day sea voyage which led to an 8-page comic in the School Journal).[1] She regularly creates illustration and T-shirts for the
Radio New Zealand show Critter of the Week.[9] In 2018 she produced a comics summary of a scientific paper on the migration of the Fiordland penguin or tawaki (
Eudyptespachyrhynchus),[10] which was enthusiastically retweeted by
Diana Gabaldon.[2] She has also illustrated a number of children's books published by
Gecko Press.
In 2022 Clarkson began illustrating a regular evolutionary-biology column by Kate Evans in New Zealand Geographic magazine. This led to a nomination as Best Artist in the 2023
Voyager Media Awards.[3]
Honours and awards
In 2023, Clarkson received an
Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate Award.[11] The panel described her work as "always technically impressive and incredibly imaginative; demonstrating huge sensitivity whilst retaining her trademark energy and vibrance."[3]
^
abcdef"Giselle Clarkson". The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi. 1 September 2023. Archived from
the original on 11 September 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
^Joyce, Rae; Laing, Sarah; Neville, Indira, eds. (2016). Three words: an anthology of Aotearoa/NZ women's comics. Auckland, New Zealand: Beatnik.
ISBN9780994120502.
OCLC948291321.