Alice Y. Chen's Blog, page 17
July 4, 2014
A Most Unusual Creature
Dear Centipede Dragon friends-to-be:
Welcome to my journey toward publishing "Centipede Dragon, A Benevolent Creature," my children's picture book! I will open with answering some of life's most burning questions:
–Who or what is a Centipede Dragon?
–Why centipede? Why dragon?
–Why centipede + dragon?
Well, Centipede Dragon is NOT my creation, but the characterization of him is. The actual symbol came from the Miao (Hmong) Chinese ethnic group (see photo, left side of pic), who decorated their robes and banners with beautiful designs that intertwined or spiraled cows, birds, fish, centipedes and dragons. Centipede Dragon was one of the many symbols created to bring prosperity to their agrarian-based society.
Here is my one sketch of him (right side of pic) from the exhibit where I first laid eyes on him. Doesn't he LOOK like a storybook hero?
Another burning question: why is a medical illustrator (that's me) writing a story about a weird, magical hybrid creature who is shy of but fascinated by humans? TBA next post!
Welcome to my journey toward publishing "Centipede Dragon, A Benevolent Creature," my children's picture book! I will open with answering some of life's most burning questions:
–Who or what is a Centipede Dragon?
–Why centipede? Why dragon?
–Why centipede + dragon?
Well, Centipede Dragon is NOT my creation, but the characterization of him is. The actual symbol came from the Miao (Hmong) Chinese ethnic group (see photo, left side of pic), who decorated their robes and banners with beautiful designs that intertwined or spiraled cows, birds, fish, centipedes and dragons. Centipede Dragon was one of the many symbols created to bring prosperity to their agrarian-based society.
Here is my one sketch of him (right side of pic) from the exhibit where I first laid eyes on him. Doesn't he LOOK like a storybook hero?
Another burning question: why is a medical illustrator (that's me) writing a story about a weird, magical hybrid creature who is shy of but fascinated by humans? TBA next post!
