One illustrator speaks English and the other Japanese.

One is known for his bold and colorful creatures while the other works in watercolor, creating whimsical scenes and characters with a folk-art quality. The former works in watercolor, pencil, pen and ink and other mediums. The latter paints largely in watercolor but occasionally dabbles in acrylic.

The artists – Scott Nash of Peaks Island, Maine, and Toshiki Sawada from Aomori, Japan – are teaming up on an unusual children’s book project. To celebrate the fact Maine and Aomori are sister states, Nash and Sawada have been selected to jointly create a children’s book about their respective states and cultures.

The two illustrators have been kicking around ideas through e-mail, through an interpreter, about possible story lines. One is a true tale about a Bath-built ship that ran aground off the village of Shariki in Aomori in 1889. The shipwreck occurred at dawn, but villagers were able to rescue four of the 23 American mariners. The survivors were swaddled in snug kimonos and cared for until they recovered.

On a return trip to New York City, the Chesebrough was carrying pigs, vegetables, canned pears and other cargo when the 1,500-ton vessel was shipwrecked. The Japanese villagers sampled and liked the potatoes, but the onions made their eyes smart and they feared children would lose their eyesight.

Nash, whose children’s book “Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp” was chosen as part of the 2004 Maine Read with ME program in which kindergartners receive three Maine-authored books, read up on the shipwreck.

“They thought onions would blind them,” the children’s illustrator marveled, relating that the villagers buried the bulbs prompting them to grow. Onions are now a staple of the Japanese diet.

Because of the Japanese villagers’ brave actions and kindnesses, the Chesebrough’s home port of Bath and Shariki became sister cities in the late 1800s, and Aomori Prefecture and Maine became sister states in the 1980s under former Gov. John McKernan.

First lady Karen Baldacci conceived of the book project last year when her Maine Family Literacy Task Force selected Nash for the 2004 Maine Read with ME program. Baldacci, who will lead an official delegation to Aomori Nov. 5-12, sought a vehicle to strengthen the sister-state ties between Maine and Aomori Prefecture.

“It’s really important to share our cultures,” said Baldacci who saw a children’s book as a tool to show similarities and differences between Maine and Japanese cultures. “Aomori is almost totally opposite from us [on the globe],” Baldacci said, adding: “We have things in common and things that are different.”

On the trip, Baldacci will be joined by representatives from the Maine Humanities Council, Maine State Museum, Maine Arts Commission, Maine Aomori Council as well as various artists including Nash and Maine ceramist Lynn Thompson.

“As artists, we need to make connections outside of Maine,” Nash said, speaking by phone from Peaks Island. “This is sort of the ultimate extension of that. This whole world is opening up because of technology.”

While in Aomori, Nash will meet with his co-illustrator Toshiki Sawada, and the Maine artist will take in the scenery and experience firsthand Japanese culture. Sawada will travel to Maine next spring for his own cultural immersion.

“I’ll probably work in pen and ink,” Nash related. “I’ve been studying 19th century pen-and-ink art and it’s fascinating. I want to do something in contrast of his [Sawada’s] work.”

“He has a very painterly style, which is very different from mine,” the Peaks Island artist continued, noting Sawada loves to work with children and is known for his mural projects.

Baldacci, Nash and Sawada are seeking a publisher for the book. One company already has shown interest in the project. Once a publisher has signed on, both the Maine and Japanese illustrators will receive advances to compensate them for their work.

“We’ve been communicating almost entirely by e-mail,” Nash said. “He’s about my age, 45, and he’s done about the same number of books, and he’s a designer, which is what I’ve done. I’m very excited about working with him.”

Originally from Cape Cod, Nash co-founded Big Blue Dot, a design studio specializing in children’s media whose clients have included PBS, Mattel and Nickelodeon. In fact, he created the Nickelodeon logo, which looks like a drop of orange paint. The Portland artist is also known for his re-illustration of author Jeff Brown’s “Flat Stanley” book series about a character who travels the world in an envelope – because he’s flat – to learn and visit friends.

Nash plans to create a daily blog, or personal Internet journal, about the Aomori-Maine book project so schoolchildren in both places can follow its progress.

“We want to make the whole process of this very visible,” Nash said. “We’re going to blog so students can follow along and see how things go. I think that could be a terrific way for kids to see what we’re doing as we’re doing it.”

“I’m think of the project not only as a book, but a cultural exchange,” he reflected. “We’re going into this with an open mind. I’m hoping the kids are excited about it.”

Nok-Noi Hauger can be reached at 990-8190 and nhauger@bangordailynews.net.