Pia Himmeln is an artist and communication designer "with a preference for illustrations & linocut printing" and an equally great love for the sea, surfing, and camping. Together with radio host and podcaster Tim Winterscheid, she has published the children's read-aloud book "Yuki and the Waves". We took this as an opportunity to interview Pia and ask her a few questions.
Pia, you illustrate travel guides and books, but you also have your own online shop. What is the biggest challenge or the highest demand for you when illustrating children's books?
I love beautifully illustrated children's books. However, my taste changes quite quickly, so the biggest challenge is to draw pictures that I will still like in a few still like it after months and not be too influenced by current trends leave.
The book is about little Yuki and the desire to ride a big wave, as well as the associated big feelings of fear and courage. Earlier this year, you illustrated a children's book from the series "Lumi's Emotion Galaxy" on the topic of anger: "Lumi on the Planet Wutaris." What would you like to convey to children about feelings?
I find it important that our children learn that all feelings – whether positive or negative – have a right to exist and should be felt. For us parents, it is important to take these feelings seriously and support them properly.
Another major topic is gut feeling. We live in times of booming online advisors, AI consultants for all situations, and fitness apps that analyze steps, heartbeats, and sleep patterns. Is this an important topic for children and adolescents for you?
I just really hope that children do not forget to trust their gut feeling. No perfect technique can know what the heart wants for its own decisions says and what feels "right" or "wrong," just because numbers and statistics suggest something say something else.
A quick online search tells me that "Yuki" is a Japanese first name that can mean "snow," "courage," or "luck," depending on the writing, and is used for both girls and boys. The choice of the name was certainly not unintentional, was it?
My buddy Tim came up with the story of "Yuki and the Waves" and is in the search for a name that works for boys and girls, I landed on "Yuki," came across the Japanese word for "courage," that’s it!
The background for Yuki's story is surfing, and you and Tim are passionate surfers. Why do you think surfing is so well suited for a story about courage, fear, and gut feeling?
Surfing is a complex sport where one not only has to consider their physical limits but also has to submit to the power of nature. Those who do who doesn't heed it quickly pays the price and gets hit by the next wave A healthy self-assessment and one's own gut feeling have kept me often leads to – in the worst case – life-threatening foolishness while surfing preserved :-)
Was there a special occasion for you and Tim that inspired you to create the book, or was it more of a gradual process? You both became parents around the same time, after all.
Tim wrote the story based on a situation in which he had one of his children wanted to motivate him to go beyond his limits because he believed that it can create something that it (still) hasn't dared to do in that moment. I think this Everyone knows situations from their childhood or experiences with their own children. Tim reflected on this situation and realized that there was no book about there is exactly that moment when one is brave enough to admit that one not yet daring.
How did you develop the book together? Did you illustrate Tim's text, did he "caption" your pictures, or how exactly did the collaboration look?
We were sitting in a cozy circle at the campsite in the evening when Tim told me about his shared the children's book idea, and I was immediately excited and suggested the to create illustrations for it. He then sent me the texts and I illustrated. We then embellished a few text passages with some decorative words were added, and Tim was also allowed to make a few changes to the pictures. It was really fun to see how Tim's idea turned into a finished book was!
Aside from Yuki's emotional world, your own illustrations also depict waves, beach, sea, and its inhabitants. This question has probably been asked of you many times, but I still want to ask you again: What connects you to this theme?
In this context, I always like to tell the story that my grandparents actually intended to be responsible for my love of the sea. If they hadn't holiday home built in Domburg, Netherlands (my grandpa is an architect), then I would maybe now drawing mountains and skiers. So I associate the sea not only with the the usual wanderlust & feelings of freedom, but also beautiful times with my ffamily.
Surfing is ultimately about freedom and experiencing nature, two things that are very important to you. Your base is a small farmhouse in the Lower Rhine, but in the summer, you are traveling with your van and surfboard along the Atlantic coast and other coasts. What is important to you to convey to children about this associated way of life?
This may sound very cheesy, but it doesn't take much to have a beautiful life. lead. Fresh air, sunshine, and plenty of movement is already (almost) all one needs needs to be happy. In the morning, pushing open the van door, the sea behind the hearing the dunes rustle and in the evening, dead tired with sandy feet and salty hair falling into bed is simply priceless.
Is it now a "children's book break" or do you already have more such projects in the pipeline?
I am really eager to illustrate more children's books, so if anyone has an idea, they can gladly get in touch with me. Until then, I dedicate myself to my linocut art and the Renovation of our 120-year-old house. In the next life, I will Craftswoman :-)
