It’s an unbelievable luxury to work with what I think is fun, even if it has its moments of struggle. Maybe I'm something as old-fashion as a happy person. If as kids we learn to see and experience the things around us, flowers, insects, birds, clouds or the joy of reading books and listening to music, we'll find at least one moment of happiness every day. I believe."
Kristina Digman was born in Gothenburg in 1959 and grew up in Båstad on Sweden’s west coast. After having attended a number of art schools in Stockholm and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, she has painted, sculpted, worked with graphic design and restoration.
Kristina debuted as a children’s book artist in 2001 with Sanna Töringe’s Our Secret Garden (Vår hemliga trägård). Since then she has illustrated more than thirty books, among others Astrid Lindgren’s Peter and Petra and the books about the Sand Wolf written by Åsa Lind. She has been awarded the prestigious Elsa Beskow plaque for her illustrations. Flora’s Hill was Kristina’s debut as an author and for that she was awarded the Slangbellan prize for the best Swedish children’s book debut in 2008. In 2012 she received the Ottilia Adelborg prize.
Photo © Andreas Apell