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The enchanting intersection of art, books, and food

ON 16 MARCH 2025, IN SUNSHINE 2-4PM, TALKING ABOUT COOKBOOKS AND MORE. Saskia Ericson is giving a talk based on the wonderful presentation she gave at the 2024 symposium, if you missed it, or would like to see it again…

                                      From Alice Oehr’s A-Z, photograph by Amber Fletcher.

Join local collector and ESA member, Saskia Ericson, and Melbourne illustrator, Alice Oehr, for a delicious afternoon celebrating the enchanting intersection of art, books, and food. Saskia and Alice will take you on a journey to a vibrant world of cookbooks and children’s literature, brought to life with the skill and playful magic of illustration.

From kitsch to counter-culture and beyond, join us for a whimsical journey through Saskia Ericson’s collection of vintage (1945-1985) illustrated cookbooks. Offering the sweetest windows into the cultural landscapes of their respective eras, and with styles ranging from childlike drawings and simple instructional spot illustrations to sumptuous hand-drawn, hand-written artpieces, discover the creative convergence of art and food through the decades. First up, Saskia Ericson’s collection of the most charming vintage cookbooks, filled with quirky illustrations that are as delightful as they are nostalgic.
Alice Oehr will share her process of translating delicious things onto paper through her extensive experience illustrating food for both kids and adult’s publishing. Often requiring more than a little artistic license, she’ll discuss the ins and outs of translating flavours and evoking deliciousness on the printed page through her drawings. She will also present her lockdown experience of transcribing recipes from more than 200 people in a self-published project, which still enjoys global success today.
Date and time: Sun, 16 Mar 2025 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM AEDT

Location: Brimbank Libraries: Sunshine Library, 301 Hampshire Road Sunshine, VIC 3020

Free – RSVP here

About Saskia Ericson

Graphic designer Saskia Ericson works at the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation, cooking up fun designs and illustrations for projects ranging from recipe booklets to textiles and annual reports. A keen cook and collector, Saskia’s treasured illustrated vintage cookbook collection has featured in Frankie magazine, and at the Ephemera Society of Australia Symposium. Saskia loves to write about food and vintage nostalgia. She ran a food blog for many years, and blogged about vintage children’s toys, cakes and pop culture for UK children’s magazine, Anorak.

About Alice Oehr

Alice Oehr with her book, photograph by Amber Fletcher.

Alice Oehr is an illustrator and designer from Melbourne. Her distinct, colourful style incorporates a love of food, pattern, collage and drawing. She draws both for work and for fun, which has led her to teaching, speaking and writing on the subject.  Like most professional doodlers, Alice loves to record the world as she moves through it, and uses her work to showcase her observations and interpretations of the details she encounters. Her commercial work is sought-after by local and international clients and has appeared in numerous books as well as on textiles, homewares and large-scale installations.

About the Brimbank Writers & Readers Festival
The Brimbank Writers & Readers Festival, now in its 20th year, is an annual event that encourages a love of reading and literature, celebrates creativity and diversity, and promotes lifelong learning in Brimbank.
The 10-day program features a lineup of interactive workshops, author talks, creative & professional writing, storytelling, and more.
All events are free, but bookings are required.

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