Molly Mendoza BFA’14 was awarded a 2024 Caldecott Honor designation for their illustrations in a children’s book about a Mexican freedom fighter who dressed as a man to lead revolutionaries in a fight for religious freedom. The Caldecott Medal and Caldecott Honors are the nation’s top illustration awards for picture books for children.
Mendoza is a Portland-based artist focusing on illustration, painting, comics and picture books. They are also a part-time illustration faculty member at PNCA. Their work has been lauded for its intricacy and the sense of wonder it conveys. “I’ve often been tasked with taking on more difficult subjects, and I think that has led to me working on books for children that deal with more complex or charged material,” they said.
Jovita Wore Pants: The Story of a Mexican Freedom Fighter (Scholastic Press, March 2023) falls into that category. Written by Aida Salazar, the book bursts with color and explores the story of Jovita Valdovinos, the author’s great-great-aunt and a celebrated historical figure in Mexico.
“Jovita is an incredible person and a complicated figure,” Mendoza explains. “Her story is harrowing, revolutionary, and triumphant.”
A Talent for Visual Storytelling
Mendoza says their gift for conveying the psychology and nuances of a character was cultivated during their time at PNCA. They love using punchy, intense colors to represent specific moods, or as a visual language tool in their work.
“I came into PNCA with an art style that was very meticulous, and I wasn’t sure if I would be an major or veer more into installation-based work,” she said. “But I knew that I wanted to be a storyteller.”
Mendoza encourages students to explore a range of mediums at PNCA. “In order to understand how to make a brayer digital brush, it’s worth taking classes to see how that texture is made.”
Enrolling in PNCA's Digital Media Strategies course would prove to be a defining moment in their artistic journey. As a painter and illustrator, it was the first time Mendoza used Photoshop, and they poured their heart and soul into a final project.
But fate had other plans and Mendoza’s computer vanished from the lab, taking with it countless hours of painstaking work, leaving them devastated.
Mendoza said encouragement and firm compassion from Assistant Professor of Illustration inspired them to forge ahead. “He was like, ‘Well, I guess you need to make something in eight hours then!’ That changed my life! He was instrumental in firing me up at that pivotal moment when I was feeling defeated.”
Mendoza also credits a Visual Vocabulary class for shaping their approach to projects and arming them with more artistic tools. “The class helped me pay attention to the whole page. Because I learned how to do all of that groundwork, I’m always thinking about my work in terms of primary, secondary, and tertiary marks that lead you through the piece. That extra level of richness makes the whole project feel more considered, because it is,” Mendoza said.
Mendoza's storytelling instincts and thoughtful approach to every project have earned them widespread recognition for their work.
“Telling stories about interpersonal relationships, whether they’re good or bad, is what I love,” they said. “I love telling complicated stories about the ways we treat and interact with each other.”
