Imagining the Self is a book of illustrations and self-reflection questions that invite the readers to explore transformation through the lens of living systems.
Transformation
Nature is in constant motion as it shifts forms, regenerates, and adapts to the world around it. By observing how nature transforms, we can find metaphors and models to support personal, professional, and collective change.
This book explores transformation as an essential step to growth. Each section introduces an organism and its transformation strategy, then asks the reader a related question about themselves, their relationships, or their community.
Imagining the Self invites readers to reflect on their own transformations through the quiet wisdom of living systems.
How it Started
This project began with a goal to improve my vector art skills. Over a year it evolved into a book that explores transformation through art, science, and storytelling.
Each exercise in this interactive workbook offers an insight into transformation, sharing how organisms grow, adapt, and evolve. This is followed by a question to the reader asking how they might bring these strategies into their own development.
How does nature transform?
Approach
January - November 2023
I started the project by researching an organism every two week centered around the question: How does nature transform. Each one included a high-detail image which developed into a body of art and research. Through rounds of feedback and iteration, I began to explore the alignments between biological strategies and human approaches to change.
What began as a personal research project turned into a creative process that translated nature’s patterns into visual stories and questions for the self.
Materials Research
Summer 2023
The First Edition of the book was published in November 2023 alongside an art installation at Felice Cafe.
The First Edition book and the posters for the art show used sustainably-sourced materials made of post-consumer waste and hemp, showcasing the properties of this material and exploring its uses in printing and packaging.
Art Show
November 2023
Imagining the Self was launched alongside an art show at Felice Cafe in Edmonton. Prints from the book were installed as posters and the show included my first two lanterns: Caterpillar and Snowflake.
During the presentation, guests were introduced to my art and research process, materials research for the book, and steps in the lantern-making process. The show created space for curiosity and dialogue, celebrating the book’s release and the broader journey of translating science into art.
Lanterns
May 2023 - November 2023
Each lantern began as a vector illustration for the book. Drawing in this way allows information to be transferred to different formats allowing me to use the art with programs like AutoCAD.
Vector drawings can be translated into into physical forms with CNC machines and 3D printers, creating objects that let the light shine through.
Educational Licensing
Imagining the Self is available for licensing and bulk orders by schools, educators, and organisations exploring nature-inspired learning.
Educational groups can license individual illustrations or the full book for classroom printing, curriculum integration, or workshops. Bulk copies can also be arranged for events, courses, or institutional libraries, either printed locally or via platforms like Amazon.
Reach out to discuss options tailored to your course, group, or organization.
Continuation
The project will continue through new lantern prototypes and as part of the Diatom Lanterns project, where concepts like growth, adaptation, and emergence are explored through light-based sculpture.
Future phases will continue to weave together art, biology, and personal reflection, extending the foundations developed for the book.
Reflection
This project taught me to follow curiosity wherever it leads—even when the path is slow or strange. What started as a drawing practice became a study of transformation, not just in nature but in myself. The book is an invitation: to reflect, to explore, and to grow in ways we can’t always predict.
Connect
Are you exploring transformation in your own work? A facilitator, educator, or coach using nature as metaphor?