As an illustrator it can be inspiring to get away from the old drawing table once in a while. And
so it was when I was invited to Hirado, an island at the southernmost point of Japan. There I gave workshops
in schools, and painting lessons for adults.
I told a story to the children, and made some drawings to illustrate it. Then the children got to work on
their own story illustrations.
When I worked with toddlers, I asked them to make a fish. I put blue sheets of paper on the wall to make our sea,
and together the children filled the sea with their fish. I asked the older children to sketch or paint their own houses,
and naturally I did the same. Soon we had created a beautiful city with our homes, and also got to know each other better.
To learn more about Hirado, you can read my travel diary at www.12xholland.nl.
During our longtime collaboration, author Arend van Dam and I have produced acclaimed publications including the
picture-book series about The sweetest papa. We also worked together on the book Long ago, which includes stories
about the history of the Netherlands.
We are now working on a new venture together.
