SAIL IF*

Who wouldn't want to sail away?

I love it when daydreaming gets the best me, and I get lost in the artwork.
This was a part of a wordless picture book contest from a few years ago when I was studying book illustration. The little girl gets carried away by Queen Alexandra birdwing butterfly, narrowly misses an unfortunate encounter with a kio fish, and lands on a little island that seems familiar.

What you don’t see are the illustrations of a lovely tea party with Silkworm and Mr. Japanese beetle. The two have a gift for her. It’s a special purple silk shawl. They all dance about until it’s time for her hosts to sail away. The evening is coming and so is her way home. I huge Luna moth swoops down from the night sky and carries her away on its soft down- like back. She later awakes to find herself right back on the sofa where she started.

But where did the shawl really come from?