Jan Ormerod

As a child

Jan grew up in the fifties, in a series of small towns in Western Australia, with three older sisters. As a child she drew constantly and compulsively, inspired by beautifully drawn schoolgirl annuals from England and secretly devoured forbidden American comics, poring over the draughtsmanship.

As an adult

Jan went to art school and took options which led to the fine arts – drawing, painting and sculpture; she was obsessed by the human face, figure and gesture. Jan became an Associate of the Western Australian Institute of Technology in Design and Art Education and taught in secondary schools on enrichment programmes for talented students, then lectured in a teachers’ college and art schools. As a young woman Jan had not planned to have children, but that changed! Her books have largely been a celebration and savouring of the positive experiences of parenthood that were not anticipated – the fun, warmth and love. Jan spent her last years in Cambridge, England, and has two daughters, Sophie and Laura.

As an artist

Jan wrote: "My task as a visual storyteller is to observe, record and edit. Some images go straight from life into a book. Most need to be carefully sifted, reinvented, reorganized. Telling a story with words and pictures is a little like watching a movie, then selecting the evocative moment, like a still taken from a film. I need to capture the moment that has clarity and simplicity, invites empathy, and allows the reader to bring her own knowledge to that moment, to enrich it and develop it according to her own life experiences."