Elżbieta Wasiuczyńska

A good friend of Mr. Kuleczka, Pypcio the dog, Katastrofa the duck, and the ubiquitous fly Bzyk-Bzyk. A painter and illustrator of children's books, she graduated from the Faculty of Painting and Graphic Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. In 1991, she received a diploma with distinction from the Painting Studio of J. Joniak, and in 1994, a diploma from the Book and Typography Studio of Prof. R. Banaszewski. She has won numerous prestigious awards in Poland and abroad. She received an honorable mention in the Pro Bologna 2001 competition (Warsaw) for her illustrations to W. Widłak's short story series "Mr. Kuleczka" and in 2002 for her original book "Miau-Miau." A year later, she received the special jury award and the audience award for her calendar illustrations in the international Vidical 2003 competition (Warsaw). In 2004, she received an honorable mention at the Illustration Biennale in Japan for her book "Podróż," and in 2005, she received an honorable mention in the Child-Friendly World competition for her illustrations to Małgorzata Strzałkowska's "The Tale of the Snail, Kacperek." Also in 2005, she was nominated for the Book of the Year award from the Polish Section of IBBY for Zofia Stanecka's "Three Little Pigs," and in 2007, she received an honorable mention in the same competition for her illustrations to Jarosław Mikołajewski's "Zoo." In 2009, she created a series of original felt and fleece illustrations for the book "Mój Pierwszy alfabet." For Endo, she created her first, unforgettable characters – the Spotted Beetle and the Dwarf, thanks to which Endo's art found its way onto street billboards.