_ 139
WOMEN HEROES
TEXT
ALICE VAN ESSEN
ILLUSTRATION
AMY BLACKWELL
“This portrait came about when I put out a call for doodle
suggestions,” says illustrator Amy Blackwell, who lives
in Nottingham, UK. “Someone said I should draw a woman
in space and instantly Helen Sharman sprang to mind. The
first British astronaut, she is one of those incredible stories
that proves that your dreams can be as real as you want
them to be. Becoming an astronaut is up there withbecoming a movie star or an Olympic athlete. I always told
myself I wanted to be an artist and that’s what I
am. Fortunately my artistic career doesn’t require me
to undergo eighteen months of vigorous space
travel training.”Amyblackwell.co.uk; @amyjpegHelen Sharman by Amy Blackwell
Helen Sharman is the first British astronaut. She was also the first Briton in space when, in May 1991, she
launched on a Soyuz spacecraft to spend eight days orbiting the Earth, most of that time on the Mir Space Station