How Supriya Kelkar Illustrated KAMALA RAISED HER HAND at Warp Speed

When the picture book Kamala Raised Her Hand, written by Raakhee Mirchandani and illustrated by pal Supriya Kelkar, was announced, I was a little confused. How could there already be a book coming out about VP Harris stepping into the presidential race?

The answer: a warp-speed timeline and not a lot of sleep. The book comes out tomorrow, on October 29th. I had to talk with illustrator Supriya Kelkar about how the book was made.

Travis: Hi Supriya! Thanks for taking my questions.

Supriya Kelkar: Hi Travis! Thanks for having me on 100 Scope Notes.

Travis: It sounds like Kamala Raised Her Hand has a pretty unusual backstory. How did it all come together?

Supriya Kelkar: For years, author Raakhee Mirchandani, and I talked about what VP Harris means to us and our kids, and how much that representation matters for us as Indian Americans. We had talked over the years about writing a book together about her, maybe about when she visited India as a child and spent time with her grandparents. But for one reason or another, it never went past the idea stage.

On that summer Sunday, when  VP Harris announced she is running, Raakhee and I got on the phone, and we both had the same idea – this needs to be a book. There was no book about her that covered her historic run for presidency and we wanted to be the first. So Raakhee called Samantha Gentry, her editor at Little, Brown, and told her the idea. I’m not sure of the exact timelime here but within a few days she had the manuscript done and the greenlight. And then I was brought on as Illustrator at the end of the week.

Travis: How did you make the art for this book?

Supriya Kelkar: I was actually in Naperville, IL. for LITapalooza when I got the call that it was a-go. I left very early Friday morning and began the process of thinking about the imagery on my five hour drive home. I knew on that drive that I wanted to be very deliberate about the palette and that every background was going to be red, white, or blue, or a shade of red and blue.

I got home and immediately began digging through my closet to find the  fabrics I wanted to use. It was important to me to use Indian fabrics to show that all of us, in our multitudes get to claim these colors as ours too. I incorporated the fabrics and paper into collages, and then began to piece it all together to digitally illustrate the book. With the Olympics on all night, I worked every single day for 9.5 days, sleeping one to two hours each night, fueled by all the treats my incredible agent, Kathleen Rushall, and Raakhee sent my way, and at last the art was all done! And then I slept. A lot.

Travis: That’s nuts! The main character is a pretty recognizable figure – what are the pros and cons of illustrating someone well-known?

Supriya Kelkar: As someone who isn’t a realistic artist but rather a mixed media collage artist whose work can look more fantastical, I was very nervous about how I’d be able to illustrate Vice President Harris. I only had a couple days to figure out how to make her face look like her while also staying true to my style. There were several missteps but with the guidance of the art team, I was able to adjust and revise. I have learned through the process that when you’re illustrating a public figure for a children’s book, you can take some liberties with your style while also making sure you correctly depict recognizable features that immediately identify the character as their real life counterpart. 

Travis: Thanks for taking my questions, Supriya!

You can learn more about Kamala Raised Her Hand here.

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