Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table was my first published children’s book as an illustrator. The project brought together storytelling, agriculture, community history, and the idea that imagination can transform the places we live.
Written by Caldecott Medal–winning author Jacqueline Briggs Martin, the book tells the story of Will Allen, a former professional basketball player who became one of the most influential urban farmers in the United States. When others saw abandoned lots and broken soil, Will Allen saw possibility. Through ingenuity, persistence, and community collaboration, he built a system for growing food in places people had written off, turning empty city land into tables big enough to feed neighborhoods.
My illustrations for the book aim to capture that sense of vision. The images move between realism and imagination, showing the energy of urban farming while honoring the scale of Will Allen’s ideas. The visual world of the book treats the garden as both a practical space and a kind of living monument to community care, resourcefulness, and shared nourishment.
For me, this project sits at the intersection of storytelling and public imagination. It reflects an idea that runs through much of my work: that ordinary people, working together, can reshape the landscape around them.
