Story-spark.

Andy has not strayed far from his childhood home on the Sunshine Coast and it seems as if he has taken on the character of the state.

His answers are as warm with good humour as the unwavering Queensland climate.

Andy grew up wandering around the local hinterland and relates these early days in palpable detail.

‘As kids, my brothers and I would spend all day roaming through long grass and exploring the bush until it got dark. We’d search for ripe mulberries and catch yabbies in hidden streams.’

Andy seems to harbour a gentle, natural well of creativity and sees inspiration in the simple curvature of life. This mentality is epitomised in the two things he longed for as a child:

‘A go-kart and a pet duck.’

Andy has managed to preserve and carry this lighthearted perspective into to adult life and allows a spirit of openness to guide his creative work. Naturally, his children are his biggest inspiration.

Now that is one hella cute photo of daddy and his little Harri.

Andy caters with easy charm to a younger audience, with books like ‘Meep’, ‘Australian Backyard Birdies’ and ‘The Balloon Blow Up’.

Andy has the unique gift of presenting information in an engaging, comedic way to children.

In books like ‘Australian Backyard Birdies’ and ‘Australian Backyard Buddies’ he showcases the colours of animals and their prevalence across Australia with distinct eye-catching and understandable diagrams. Alongside these diagrams, one can also appreciate painted details like sticky tape holding a feather in place or arrows pointing to a true to size chip. These choices give young readers the sense of an interactive collage of every day objects.

Such a simple, tactile approach can spark inspiration for children and lead them to collect commonplace objects and design their own visual diaries. With the goal of galvanising creativity, Andy runs workshops with groups of children across Australia.

One of Andy’s simple but effective ways of motivating creativity, is through the creation of 3D yellow paper stars that he hands out at the end of workshops.

Small enough to fit safely in a child’s palm whilst symbolising something greater, he has been calling them ‘Story Sparks’. This concept made its way into his kite design.

‘I imagine, that if any of them made it home on the bus unflattened or uneaten, there’s a very small chance that one day they will remind their owner to make a book or create art. At least, that’s my hope.’

Andy hopes the kite will function in much the same way, bringing together themes of hope and creativity in his design.

In his own life he hopes for, ‘Laughter! The baby/toddler unfiltered hysterical kind. I wish my kids happiness, which is expressed through laughter. I hope lots of people get to hear them laugh and feel the same joy I do.’

Since we’re a bit better acquainted with Andy by now, I’m sure no one will find it surprising that his own experience with a kite was fairly recent: ‘A month ago, during the school holidays, we flew a jellyfish-shaped kite at the beach in Pottsville. Kites spread joy even if you’re not the one flying it.’

Andy’s work reminds the adults in the room, that things that seem uncomplicated or might be readily dismissed by them can be very impactful for a child. His book ‘The Balloon Blow Up’, is a great example of this message. He was inspired by one of his own children picking out a balloon and painstakingly deciding how much they wanted it to be inflated.

He was struck by how something so small to him, became such a huge decision for his child. He chose to explore this idea in the book, injecting it with all the imagination a child might when faced with such a dilemma.

Andy’s art style is digitally produced using a pen and a tablet. It often features animals that are soft, textured and filled with character, just like that stuffed animal you may have yearned to take home with you as a kid. Andy sees the individual personalities shine through objects and creatures and brings this to us though his character design.

‘Art, to me, is imagination. It’s a (good) challenge. It’s something I protect.’

You can find Andy using his instagram handle @andygeppert.books

By Adelaide Stolba