Dash’s Dream Machine

"Dash's Dream Machine" is a simple story about a sloth named Dash who dreams of going fast. When his dad finds a tricycle for him to ride, a world of adventure opens up to him.

This children’s book teaches that barriers can be broken with creativity. It is a tool for parents and caregivers to show the children in their lives that there is power in their unique qualities, friends help each other get back up when they're down, and family is there to love and support them.

I began illustrating this book by carving my sketches into linoleum blocks and printing them on paper. This was a technique that I had never used before; every sketch took on a surprising and unpredictable form when transferred onto the page. It was a meditative process, and one that made me feel like a kid again.

I hope to create the book series that I wish could have been read to me as a child. My favorite stories were the ones in which the characters were celebrated for being unashamedly themselves. They are reminders to all of us, young and old, that life is more fulfilling when we stop caring about what others might think of us, especially the parts of ourselves that can't be changed and that make us special.

Scope of work: Illustration, writing, typography, layout, printmaking