English student illustrates children’s book about local architects

It’s not surprising that an English student would be interested in books — that comes with the territory. But Sasha Leithead’s interest extends beyond words.

Leithead, a University of Alberta fourth-year student, has done illustrations for commissions and even self-published some of her own children’s books. But recently, she collaborated with a local elementary school educator, Tyson Mastel, to illustrate a children’s book, The Girls: The Wild and Wondrous Lives of Jean Wallbridge and Mary Imrie.

The book is about Jean Wallbridge and Mary Imrie, two female architects who founded the first women-led architectural firm in Canada. The two also lived together as a couple.

“They had a firm on Jasper Ave, near where Merrick’s department store used to be, and they worked and they lived together as a lesbian couple on a property called Six Acres, and they had things like goats and turkeys,” Leithead said.

Wallbridge completed her degree at the U of A. Imrie, however, completed her degree in Toronto after the U of A’s program shut down.

“They are responsible for a lot of the architecture in Edmonton actually,” Leithead said. “A lot of things are getting torn down for new things, but certain schools like Greenfield Elementary school they designed.”

She said the two women were big on open concepts and integrating greenery into their designs. The book incorporates blueprints.

“We really need stories like this,” Leithead says

“It’s my first foray into professional illustration,” Leithead said. “And definitely a lot of learning experiences happened with things like formatting and a couple of other things I haven’t had experience in before.”

She said she got to see the story unfold in a different way. 

“You’re looking through the eyes of someone else and how their perspective shapes the story and trying to match the art to their vision,” she explained. “I genuinely found [that] quite fulfilling. The collaborative process is something I really enjoyed because there’s two heads to bounce ideas off of.”

She added that “we’re in a political climate in Alberta where we really need stories like this, stories coming from locals, about our local history, and about queer people.”

“I’m really excited about that, but I’m also really excited to engage with community and have my work out there.”

A book launch will be held at Audrey’s bookstore at on November 23 at 2:00 p.m..