From Guided Culinary Journal to New Story Book: Author-Illustrator Lisa Wee on Life and Creating a Unique Voice Through Art
Whenever we talk about childhood, a lot of us probably feel the nostalgia rushing in and have our own exquisitely beautiful memories to share. Whether your favorite childhood memory is about your first day of school, a tooth falling, or your favourite book, all of these have certainly taught us simple yet precious life lessons.
Let’s also not forget the lessons learned from reading our beloved children's books, which carried truths in themselves and starred relatable characters that went on to become our favourites. These story books expanded our imaginations, allowing us to explore the untested with fascinating tales and beautiful illustrations. There’s no doubt that children’s books play an important role in a child’s life. An art form all on its own, children’s books have the power to foster emotional development in children, such as build empathy and understanding of cultures different from one’s own.
To learn more about the power of children's books and what it means to find one's own voice, we at The Beat Asia interviewed one of the most talented illustrators of children's books of this generation — Lisa Wee.
Lisa is an author and illustrator from Penang, Malaysia and represented by Hilary Harwell of KT literary for children's publication. She grew up in a “very conservative Chinese family” where she was told she had to become a nurse or a doctor to have a successful and stable career. As an artist, this went against her dream of pursuing an art career.
She told The Beat Asia that she never had the courage to stand up to her parents about her passion for the arts. For 12 years, she worked as a nurse in Singapore until she decided to move to Kenya in Africa to teach art to children and help them develop their creative skills.
She was drawn to creating children’s books because she believes that these stories will never become outdated in spite of any economic downturn or pandemic that may happen.
“This is because we feel that we are investing in our future — our children. We always see them as our future and we really would like to jumpstart or give them a platform to be brave or to be confident…” she said. “The world can be quite tough to be in, so if we prepare our kids in the right way somehow or another they're able to actually adjust themselves.”
Rekindling Old Passions
Throughout her 12 years of working in Kenya, she realised that most children’s books do not represent Asians as main characters. No Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, or even Filipinos. For her, it appeared as if Asians or Africans seemed irrelevant to other nations.
She noticed that her African students would look at all the picture books and only see characters from Western countries. Because of this, she was inspired to learn more about children’s books and went back to study illustrations at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom.
Lisa shared one of the greatest lectures she had at the university was with Chris Gibbs, one of the illustrators of the book series “How to Train Your Dragon.” The lecturer told her the most important lesson in terms of doing illustrations — creating your own voice.
Upon finishing her degree and leaving her stable job as a nurse, she found herself in uncertainty and decided to take some time off to think about the future.. Thankfully, Lisa has a supportive partner who encouraged her to stop worrying and start to hit the trail.
Her journey started after she launched an Instagram page where she shared her drawings that showcased diversity and inclusivity. People started to notice her illustrations, prompting her to believe that people have "realized the world is changing, and then we live in a very diverse [world] where people live together.”
Illustrative Guided Culinary Journal for Children
Through Upwork CoLab, Celebrity Top Chef Kristen Kish partnered with a team of independent creatives, including Lisa, who created a unique guided culinary journal for kids called “It's All in the Sauce: Bringing Your Uniqueness to the Table.”
Ideal for children aged eight to 10 years old, the culinary journal is designed to promote self-expression and self-reflection through cooking experiments blended with art and play. Kristen's special project is also dedicated to the LGBTQIA+ people of color, a portion of the net proceeds from book sales will be donated to What’s In The Mirror.org, an organisation raising awareness on mental health and suicide prevention among marginalised communities.
According to Lisa, working with Kristen’s production team was “quite cool” and it was a privilege for her to witness the behind-the-scenes of this project, not to mention the hard work the whole crew devoted to complete the making of the culinary journal.
Lisa also commended the acclaimed chef for her kind and humble attitude. Kristen encouraged the team to always focus on their strengths, which helped them successfully finish the culinary journal despite their limited time.
“I think I am very privileged to meet out with a celebrity that doesn't pull her celebrity in it. She comes across [as] really quite normal. And throughout the whole project, she never steals the limelight to herself. [For her], it is always a team effort. She always talks about how wonderful the team is,” she said.
When asked about her favourite part working with Kristen, Lisa said that creating the character design really appealed to her as it delved into the celebrity chef’s life story. She shared that Kristen is a Korean adopted by a very loving family in the United States. Kristen’s life and journey inspired her to incorporate the story into the culinary journal to make it more unique yet relatable.
To know more about the illustrative guided culinary journal for kids, visit Upwork.
‘Li Na is My Name’
To continue her aspirations in creating a new voice as an author and illustrator, Lisa introduced “Li Na is My Name,” featuring Li Na as an Asian main character with a universal appeal.
Lisa explained that the character’s name means elegant, but clarified that “there's nothing elegant about Li Na” because she likes boyish activities, prompting people to call her tomboy.
According to Lisa, the book is about labeling children and their preferred hobbies, which can be harmful as kids are still exploring things. Lisa wanted to convey that it’s okay if a young girl wants to play football or a boy prefers to do ballet because “sometimes activities are quite [gender] neutral.”
“Li Na is My Name” is about reminding the people that ’I'm individual, you shouldn't just group me in and label me as this is what I am,’” Lisa added.
The book will be launched on March 31 this year under Dixi Books, a publishing based in the U.K.
Message to Aspiring Young Illustrators
Some words of advice that Lisa would give to young aspiring illustrators is to hustle their way and dream big. She thought that imitating another artist's work is a great way to learn and get inspired. Other famous artists like Van Gogh probably did the same thing, but just like them, Lisa believes that as an artist matures, each of them has something unique to offer.
Based on her experience, the world is filled with extremely talented people but it’s the moment you acknowledge this kind of reality, then you can start learning to have your own voice.
“There [are] two ways you can go. You can either be intimidated by it or you can be motivated by it and to create your own voice…” she said. “Find that little niche, that little uniqueness in you, and then to put it out into your illustrations, you will not go wrong.”
Subscribe to The Beat's newsletter to receive compelling, curated content straight to your inbox! You can also create an account with us for free to start bookmarking articles for later reading.
