Ančka Gošnik Godec: Slovenia Illustrator

Nature gives me back peace; it teaches and heals me. I can always admire it: clouds, mountains, the world under water, the sea, grass, flowers. Even in the city, I can stand and stare at the trees in any time of the year. My work is very much connected to nature.

Ančka Gošnik Godec

Ančka Gošnik Godec was born 1927 in Celje, Slovenia. Her childhood mountain surroundings still influence her artwork today. She studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana. After graduation, she began her post-graduate study of graphics with Bozidar Jakac and also attended advanced courses in Paris. She currently lives and works in Ljubljana.

Ančka Gošnik Godec is known for her illustrations of fairy and folk tales, both Slovenian and foreign. She herself noted, "Because I spent all my childhood holidays with my grandma and aunts in Bohinj, I got to know all the folk tales, the sad ballads, the merry songs, and the witty stories of ages ago. What attracts me is that they are both wise and cunning. As a child, I was frightened by Pehta, the werewolves, witches, and evil little gnomes … These beings do not scare me anymore, of course, because I can draw them up for myself any time I want. Serves them right. Shlick-shlack."

Her illustrative style is easily recognized by her intimate characterizations and color palette. Using both rich colors and black-and-white drawings, she creates details that lend themselves to the telling of the story. Her expressionistic style uses color to create mood, often with monochromatic washes of blue or gold or orange. Added to that is her distinctive use of precise and tiny details to create humor or add fantastical elements. Finally, her depiction of landscapes is also a distinctive hallmark of her illustrations, particularly the hilly fairytale landscape or the use of diagonal lines to create tension and symbolism.

Many of the books she has collaborated on have been translated into French, German, Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Macedonian, and other languages. Godec has illustrated nearly 120 books for children over the last five decades, as well as contributing to children's and youth magazines, especially Ciciban and Kekec, and to several major television programs. Her work has been displayed in thirty exhibitions and Godec has won several awards including the Levstikova Award and the Hinko Smrekar Lifetime Achievement Award.