Drawing Hope: Ontario photographer brings sick kids' drawings to life

Shawn Van Daele, 37, an Ontario-based photographer, artist, graphic designer and storyteller, is making dreams come true for children with health conditions by bringing their drawings to life.

He calls his project The Drawing Hope Project, which he hopes to compile into "a magical storybook full of hope!" that will inspire children visiting clinics, hospitals, and therapy centres across Canada.

Van Daele describes the concept on his Facebook page:

"The idea is very simple – take drawings done by young children who live with a health condition and turn them into photographs, using themselves, their families, their dog – whatever happens to be in their drawing – it could be Superman, an 84 legged octopus flying in the sky or a field of rainbow coloured sunflowers. The magic is in taking their imagination and turning it into reality, supporting the belief that anything is possible." -- by Nadine Kalinauskas