Vija and his daughter Lisa have produced a series of children’s books.
The ‘Let’s learn’ series uses illustrations that Vija produced about 40 years ago.
Lisa has been gradually producing different language editions of the ‘Let’s learn to count’ book. From Patois to Persian, and French to Filipino, all the books have been translated by native speakers whom Lisa personally knows.
Paintings by Vija Sodera
Having always had a special love of animals, Vija is an accomplished wildlife artist, and has exhibited many of his paintings. A number of his paintings are featured in his book One Small Speck to Man and are also on view in his consulting rooms.
Professor Kreb described two biochemical cycles. The famous ‘Kreb’s cycle’ (also known by the catchy name ‘the tricarboxylic acid cycle’) deals with the metabolism of glucose to produce the energy bonds in adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The less well-known ‘Kreb’s urea cycle’ deals with the metabolism of ammonia waste into urea. Vij was in a biochemistry lecture when he thought about linking the two cycles into the framework of a bicycle. With the ‘Kreb’s cycle’ and the ‘Kreb’s urea cycle’ making up the front and back wheels respectively, the painting Kreb’s Bi-cycle was born. To complete the picture, the Bi-cycle stands inside an abstract mitochondrion, which is where Kreb’s cycle does its thing.
The painting ‘Red Thunder’ displays the power and majesty of the elephant, Vija’s favourite animal. He’s always amazed as to how wonderful they look, and likes to imagine that, after having made all the other creatures, God jotted down these notes regarding His next creation: ‘I think I’ll now make something with the longest nose ever, huge sticking-out ears, long goofy teeth, and a great fat belly’. On paper, it seems the most ridiculous of characteristics, but how fantastic and noble is the living elephant! God certainly knew what He was doing.
