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Meneka Repka wasa child whospent a lot of time doodlingon herclassroom desk. Initially, she thought drawing wasjusta fun hobby. Creating art as afull-time job seemed unrealistic.Nowa published children’s illustrator and author,Meneka hasprovedthat you can turn your passion into a career. 

Meneka is thrilled to be back in her hometown of Calgary as the Library’s Children’s Illustrator in Residence.She is sharing her creations with the community while also helping children and families create art of their own. 

An accessible form of art 

Menekadidn’t grow up visiting art galleries or museums, but she still managed to find a passion for art. This passion started withsimplyflipping through the pages of picture books. 

“Picture booksandillustrations offera way toencounter art inan accessible way. I thinkI'm drawn tothe magical nostalgic qualityof picture books and children's art in general,” saysMeneka. 

Over the years,Meneka hasfound her own distinctstyle. She describes her illustrations as having a classic, vintage feel to them. She loves drawing cute animalsandincorporating nature into her work. 

Wait... is that a seagull? 

Picture this — a seagullfalls intoa pot ofcurry and stirs up a lot of trouble.His newturmeric-stained feathersconfuse everyonehe meets.While theadults assumehe’s an exotic bird,one little girl can see him for what he really is.That’s the plot ofMeneka’s next book which she is thrilled to work on atCentral Library. 

"I wanted time and space to really think about what I wanted to do for this book and not have a lot of distractions.I knew that my residency would bea good time to work on the book. This new Library building isvery beautiful and inspiring.” 

It takes a while for picture bookstopublish — you may have to wait a couple ofyears until you can read this one! 

Art through the eyes of a child 

Meneka appreciates the way children create art and sees their lack of experience as a strength. 

“The work they create is just so free and unrestrained. Theydon’t worry abouttrying to think of the right word. Theydon’t have a desire to be perfect or worry about conveying something completely accurately.” 

As the Library’s Children’s Artist in Residence,Meneka will inspire kids to create different works of art. She hopes everyone has fun and can discover the value of creative thinking. 

Meneka’s programs include a character design workshop andastorytime with a monster craft. She is also happy to meet with people during her office hourswhere she can go over drawing techniques orhelp young artists get started. 

To book office hours withMeneka orattend one of her programs, visit our website. 

Residencies at the Library 

There are sixresidencies at theLibrary throughout the year. Our three seasonal Artists in Residence support artists, collectives, and arts organizations working in Indigenous art and placemaking, children's art and illustration, or the Newcomer experience.