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sliceannarbor · 8 years

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Tram Nguyen

Illustrator Chicago, Illinois tramillustration.com Blog, Pen & Palate: www.penandpalate.net Book, Pen & Palate: Mastering the Art of Adulthood, with Recipes

Photo by Romeo Oros

Tram is our fourth subject in a new SLICE Special Guest Series which introduces our readers to extraordinary creative people ⎯ wherever we may find them.

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Tram Nguyen is an illustrator and writer residing in Chicago, Illinois. Her gouache illustrations have been featured in Saveur, Cherry Bombe, Lucky Peach, and Travel & Leisure. Tram also collaborates with writer Lucy Madison in their award-winning blog Pen & Palate, recognized by Saveur with the Editor’s Choice award for Best Writing in the Best Food Blog Awards. The blog has also been noted in Design Sponge, The Kitchn, Daily Candy, and The Guardian. Most recently, Tram and Lucy published a food memoir, Pen & Palate: Mastering the Art of Adulthood, with Recipes, a story about friendship and growing up. In earlier posts, she worked as a costume designer and a fashion designer. When Tram is not working, you can find her in the kitchen, experimenting with new recipes. Tram resides in Chicago with her partner Romeo.

FAVORITES

Book: Drown by Junot Diaz; Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri.

Film: Chungking Express

Destination: Barcelona and Paris

Sanctuary: Home

THE QUERY

Where were you born?

Maryland

What were some of the passions and pastimes of your earlier years?

Books, modern design, and vintage clothing.

How did you come to realize your intrigue with the arts, fashion, and illustration?

I don't think there was ever a conscious decision to go in that direction—I've just always been drawn to the visual. Personally, I'd classify my work as more craft than art, in that it must serve a purpose. I like the challenge of creating something that has to satisfy practical constraints, or answer a design problem in an interesting, novel way.

Why does this form of artistic expression suit you?

With illustration, you're not necessarily choosing the subject matter, especially if you're working with other people. I quite enjoy having these constraints because it really pushes me creatively to come up with new solutions. I love deadlines as well, because the creative process is so amorphous, it's difficult to tell when a piece is "done." Having external pressures really helps me stay focused.

How did you get your start as a costume designer?

I was originally working as a fashion designer, creating women’s wear. I loved my work, but I'd always felt ill at ease with the nature of the business; this constant cycle of planned obsolescence. I pivoted to the field of commercial costume design, in which I could use the same skill set, but the purpose was quite different.

What led to the decision to launch Pen & Palate in 2013?

I had been working in a costume shop, building mascots and props for mostly advertising agencies and corporate clients. I really enjoyed the work, but I was looking for another creative outlet. My childhood friend Lucy was in the same boat, working as a reporter and had a desire to do something that felt more personal as well. We had always wanted to collaborate on a project and an illustrated food blog seemed like a perfect fit. It married a lot of our interests: food, cooking, storytelling, and in my case, illustration.

How would you describe the guiding philosophy/mission of the blog?

Pen & Palate was inspired by two writers in particular—Laurie Colwin and Nora Ephron. We wanted our blog to capture that same sense of intimacy, but in a way that felt modern and relatable to our generation. Ideally, reading our book or blog should feel like sitting down and sharing stories with a close friend.

What have you learned from chronicling your lives and friendship with Lucy in this blog?

Originally, the plan was that Lucy would write and I would provide the illustrations. Despite my protests, Lucy really encouraged me to contribute stories to Pen & Palate as well. I'm naturally quite private, but I discovered in these last few years that I really enjoy sharing these stories and the process of shaping those words. It scratches a different creative itch that I wasn't aware that I possessed.

What led to the decision to include hand drawn and painted illustration, rather than traditional food photography?

We are constantly inundated with photographs of food these days—on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook—that you become almost immune to it. We made a conscious decision from the beginning that the blog would be illustrated. We wanted Pen & Palate to feel more real, less ephemeral than a blog post on the internet. I think there is something so compelling about a painted image. It feels more personal, more intimate, to be able to see the imperfections, evidence of the artist's hand. Your eye tends to linger longer.

Why is the pairing of the personal essay with personal illustration so essential to the mission of the blog?

We've always likened our work on the blog and in the book to a duet, on many levels. There are the two of us contributing stories, of course. I feel that we really feed off each other creatively. I love reading one of Lucy's stories and then spending few days trying to figure out the best way to illustrate her words. The pairing of an illustration with an essay serves to contrast, or underline a certain emotion.

How and when did the blog begin to pick up traction?

A few months from when we launched, our friend secretly nominated us for a Saveur Best Food Blog Award. We didn't think anything would come from it and we were completely shocked when we won. From there on, we were picked up by a few more national outlets.

How did the concept/idea for your new book Pen & Palate: Mastering the art of Adulthood take shape?

Our agent Brettne Bloom of The Book Group contacted us out of the blue and said she'd like to represent us. Originally, we thought our book would be a more traditional cookbook. But Brettne really encouraged us to expand our original vision, and that is how we ended up with the current structure of two complementary narratives, with recipes and illustration throughout.

What have you learned from sitting down to illustrate this book?

It was a tremendous amount of work in a relatively short period of time. I was writing half the book, developing recipes, and illustrating it was well. I think we ended up with over 50 original new illustrations in the final product. I really learned to become more organized and disciplined in order to meet those deadlines. It's also important to build in down time in your workflow, so that your brain has some time to rest, otherwise you risk creative burnout.

Do you have a creative process that you turn to?

If I have a particular creative problem that I'm trying to solve, I find what works best for me is just letting my mind wander. I think your brain needs time to rest, so that what you end up with is not the most obvious solution. When I'm coming up with ideas, I like to engage in activities that keep my hands busy but do not require so much mental energy. I find things like cooking or playing piano very meditative.

What three tools of the trade can’t you live without?

I love my iPad Pro and Apple Pencil. The app I use the most is Procreate. They come in handy when I'm coming up with ideas or sketching roughs. I find the Apple Pencil allows me a degree of verisimilitude that is very satisfying, but at the same time, you get all the advantages of digital art making. On a practical level, when I'm pitching to art directors, it's very easy to show them multiple options.

How do you define creativity?

I think creativity is looking for connections between disparate elements, or looking at something in a novel way.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I think so far, it would have to be our book, Pen & Palate: Mastering the Art of Adulthood, with Recipes.

Who in your life would you like to thank, and for what?

My family and my partner Romeo, for being so supportive.

What three things can’t you live without?

Friends, family, and good food.

What’s the best advice you ever received?

I've received a lot of excellent advice, but more recently my friend Dan said something that really stuck with me. I think I was complaining about something fairly trivial and work-related, and he said, "I have no sympathy for you." And he was joking of course, and we laughed about it, but it really woke me up. Most of those so-called "problems" weren't really problems at all. Perspective and a healthy sense of humor are essential.

#design #illustration #chicago #penandpalate

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