Arts and picture books for the conservation of Mother Earth
Ammi LEONG 阿米 @ 梁玉美
I am a freelance illustrator, artist and art teacher currently based in Bukit Mertajam, Penang. I have created a few arts and picture books related to wildlife conservation.
I grew up a very timid girl who really likes drawing, in a urban housing estate. Despite that I had no tree to climb, and hardly venture out into the wilderness, I felt a strong love for nature, and always tried to sketch trees and plants around me without knowing their names.
When I was growing up, I often fell down when I ran, and I thought it was just bad coordination.. Only at the age of 21, during a medical check, I realized it was due to scoliosis! Coincidentally that was also the year I entered college and became actively involved in outdoor activities, where I had my first rainforest experience through a few overnight hikes. Despite that I cannot carry any heavy load, I still enjoy hiking, even only in short and light ones. During my hikes I like to do live sketching of the scenery of waterfall, river and trees.
Arts and picture books to speak for wildlife
The beauty and unseen forces in Nature constantly remind me that we shall have love and mercy to all creatures, and I can do something for this beautiful world. And the more I learn about Mother Nature, the more I want to tell her story through my words and illustration. That is why when I had the opportunity to know about sun bear through Dr Wong Siew Te‘s sharing, I decided to tell the story of sun bear through my illustration.
“I Belong to the Forest” was published in 2019. It tells the story of a sun bear cub returning to the forest. I collected my primary sources such as the stories and info data from my personal visits to the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, Sandakan, Sabah. This started my journey of illustrating picture books to tell the stories of wildlife conservation, by collaborating with specialists and conservationists. This journey involves getting primary sources through field work or site visit, to study and research on the subjects in order to get more inspiration for illustration.
Another book, “Anak Murid yang Memakai Kain Cawat”, published in 2019, talked about Kelabit children in 1950’s trekking through the forest to school in Kelabit highland in Bario, Sarawak.
Overcoming much technical hiccups, “A Seahorse Story” was published in late 2020. This collaboration with Dr Adam Lim (Save Our Seahorse Malaysia) features a real story about seahorse and development in the southern state of Johor.
Most recent books and ventures:
With the support of Pardicolor Creative Arts Fund 2021 (under a special theme “Art of Darkness”), I collaborated with Dr Priscillia Miard (Night Spotting Project, Malaysian Primatological Society) to produce a picture book “Into the night, gliding”. We had a field trip to Langkawi in Oct 2021, to learn more about the Sunda colugo. The book will be published in June 2022 by the Malaysian publisher Oyez!Books.
My solo exhibition titled “The Beauty of Malaysia’s Stories”, features a collection of original illustrations of picture books that depict our country’s unique stories about people, nature, and wildlife. Held from 5th March to 20th March 2022 at GMBB, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This exhibition was organised by Museum of Picture Book Art and supported by the Cultural Economy Development Agency, Pakej Rangsangan Industri Kreatif Malaysia (PRISMA), and MyCreative Ventures under the Visual Arts Showcase Funding Programme 2021.
I look forward to explore & learn more about nature with like-minded nature-lovers, and to share my love for Nature through my arts & illustrations in more books, workshops, and exhibitions.