About

Clayton had such a marvelous passion for writing. It started early. When Clayton was in the second grade, he and his twin brother, Dylan, along with two other friends, produced an illustrated book called, The Attack of the Beastly Dead Ghouls, a story inspired by reading R. L. Stine’s series. Clayton wrote the story. Dylan, along with Clayton and Simon, edited it, and Quentin illustrated it. The youthful venture produced a total of $21.00. The boys were so proud.

During Christmas celebrations, Clayton wrote stories as gifts that he would give to family members. Occasionally, he would read his story out loud to the applause of an enthusiastic audience. Family members would ask if he would sign his stories because they said that, one day, he would be a famous author. When Clayton was in middle school, he wrote a poem that so impressed his teacher she wanted to publish it.

Clayton possessed an amazing intelligence and grand sensitivity that was embodied in a young body with a very old soul. As one book reviewer observed, he “saw so clearly and felt so deeply” our beauty and ugliness, our enduring longing to belong and be accepted, and the hollow spaces in our souls that cry out to be heard.

Thankfully, we have The Mask. Thankfully we still have his voice. Clayton’s challenge to us is not easy. He asks us to be better than we are.

Inspired by traditional woodcuts and engraved imagery, Rohan Eason’s meticulously and expressive hand-drawn style is full of atmosphere, and every image is steeped in the narrative of the story he’s illustrating. The simplicity of his black and white renderings brings the idea behind each image to the fore, and his work is widely used in book illustration – for children and adults. Based in London, Rohan is inspired by artists like Aubrey Beardsley whose prints he first saw in his grandmother’s house when he was growing up. Today, critics freely liken Rohan’s work to Beardsley’s and he not only takes commissions from publishing houses but also self-publishes his work. He has a BA in Fine Art Printmaking from Croydon College.