Over the last couple years, I’ve read several human interest stories about dancers or yoga instructors or whatnot that you might not think could excel at those skills because of their weight, or in one case because she had downs syndrome. But they do it anyway, and they do it well. So, I wanted to draw this lovely dancer who is clearly doing what she loves despite the challenge of her body size.
Karen B. Jones - Illustrator 
The blissful look on the dancer’s face,^ combined with the graceful pose, says it all. Size/shape is so much less relevant.
Yup. She clearly has worked hard and is a skilled dancer. That position is not easy. 🙂
She’s beautiful, Karen. I think Highlights was the first magazine where I saw a diversity of children–white, black, brown, in wheelchairs, blind, skinny, fat–without it be their defining trait.
Thank you. I do try to make a point to draw diverse characters. I think it’s important for kids to see a wide variety of characters both like and unlike themselves. I haven’t drawn very many overweight characters, though. It’s something I’ve noticed and I’m going to try to make a point to draw.