St. Edward's University Senior Art Exhibition, opening night, April 22, 2022.
For my Senior Art thesis, I wrote and illustrated a book titled The Art of Storytelling. The autobiographical tale tells my life’s journey as an artist, illustrator, and writer. The poetically written and uniquely illustrated graphic short story is written for children and young adults. The pages start in black and white with few details in pen and pencil. As the story progresses, the illustrations become more colorful. Past artworks and poems are inserted throughout the story to illustrate my growth as an author/illustrator.
Artistic choices include drawing “comic-like” images with simple lines to imitate the look and feel of graphic novels. Watercolor is used to appeal to children and young adults and invoke a fantasy-type aesthetic and the sense of a child-like mind. The front cover illustrates a silhouette of the author reading as creative ideas and bright colors spill out from the book she holds.
The cover displays all the mediums used in The Art of Storytelling, transitioning from black and white to an explosion of color. Conceptually, the image contrasts a boring black and white world with a world filled with art, color, and exciting ideas.
The words in the book are written poetically to add a rhythmic sound and provide a second sensory element to engage sight and sound. The second chapter of the book, “Create Your Own Journey,” provides an interactive opportunity for the reader to explore their own life story. The project engages the viewer through four learning modes–visual, reading, auditory, and kinesthetic. Visually through illustrations, reading through the written word, auditory through the spoken poetry, and kinesthetic by providing an opportunity for the viewer to write and draw. The creative cat ear headphones light up to draw in the views.
Wall stickers and paint splatters were displayed on the wall behind the podiums to create a thought bubble to define the exhibition space. The positive words and bright colors represent creativity exploding from the book.
The exhibit was set up on two podiums. The taller podium held the 11 x 8 ½ inch book on a small black easel stand. The book was printed in two formats– paperback and hardcover. Viewers could pick up the book, look at it and read it highlighting the visual and reading component. A sign stating, “Look In!!!” is posted on the podium to encourage viewers to flip through the book.
The shorter podium displayed handouts, pens, highlighters, sharpies, and a sanitizer bottle. The handouts were from the second chapter of The Art of Storytelling which encourages readers to create their own journey. The pages were printed separately to make this section accessible to the gallery audience. A sign stating, “Take Me!” was posted on the podium to encourage viewers to use the handouts, highlighters, and sharpies to draw and write their own stories. An example using the handout was displayed on the wall above the shorter podium.
An iPad and headphones were mounted on the wall to the left of the podiums along with a sign reading "Play Audio." The iPad held an audio recording of the poetic words from the story being read aloud to provide the viewer an auditory experience of being read to as an adult would read to a child.
Additionally, the exhibit included a poster to advertise the book and draw the viewer to the display. The poster shows three self-portraits of the author at different ages, drawn in three different artistic styles. First, as a young girl in a simple cartoon-like style, second, as a teenager in an Anime/Manga style, and third as a young adult in a more colorful, detailed style. The three images represent the author's journey as an artist from child to young adult.
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