Hello!
I'm Alexandra, and I make picturebooks. With each book, I'm in search of the tools that help me to better express my idea, and this influenced me to use all kinds of materials: gouache, acrylic, coloured pencils and different techniques: painting, collage, cutouts, monoprint, linocut, whatever I need to get the story into the world. I have a BA and MA in Graphic Arts from the National University of Arts Bucharest.
For commissions or if you just like to say hi you can write to me at alexandra.s.mirzac@gmail.com
Awards
2023 Shortlisted for the Illustrators Exhibition at Bologna Children’s Book Fair
2022 Golden Pinwheel Illustration Special Mention at the China Shanghai International Children's Book Fair
2021 Longlisted for Klaus Flugge Prize
2019 Shortlisted for Nami Councurs
2019 Longlisted for AOI Awards
Book Reviews
“This exceptional debut picturebook by Romanian artist, Mîrzac follows Cat’s growing suspicion that he is invisible as his attempts to engage his increasingly work-preoccupied householders meet with growing indifference. Cat decides to strike out into the big city to seek some more attentive playmates, only to find himself lost, lonely and even less visible in the uncaring metropolis.
Employing an exquisite balance of delicate line drawing with large areas of flat colour, limited to black, red and blue, Mîrzac takes us on a Cat’s eye-level journey into the unforgiving nocturnal metropolis. We find ourselves dwarfed by the monumental figures that step over and around us as they look at their phones, carry their deliveries and grapple with their children. Cat’s realisation that he is lost is described in a stunning panoramic centrefold of night time city traffic, with a glimpse of Cat’s desperately searching owners. Narrative graphic art at its best!”
Prof. Martin Salisbury , book review for LOST in Books for Keeps
“Mîrzac's beautifully crafted illustrations tell the story of a cat who felt 'invisible' in a home where the owners are preoccupied with other matters. The cat's nocturnal journey into the metropolis in search of attention is described through three carefully layered flat colours, augmented by patches of hand-drawn line. The jury loved the craft skills and exploitation of scale to create visual drama and pathos in this tender visual narrative.”