Teaching
I am pleased to be the director of the Hollins University new Certificate In Children's Illustration, a six-week summer program, taken over the course of two summers, in Roanoke, Virginia. It is a beautiful campus! Click on the link for more details, and feel free to email me if you have any questions about the program. In 2013 we have Caldecot winner, Eric Rohmann, doing a lecture and a guest workshop.
Ruth
ruth@ruthsanderson.com
Certificate in Children’s Book Illustration
Hollins University offers a graduate level certificate in children’s book illustration. Closely associated with Hollins’ longstanding graduate program in the study and writing of children’s books, this new program is taught by noted illustrators, including core faculty Ruth Sanderson and Ashley Wolff. Students undertake four courses over two six-week summer terms. Picture Book Drawing Fundamentals and Creating Picture Books for Children in the first summer are followed by Picture Book Design and Picture Book Media in the second summer.
The Illustration Certificate program runs concurrently with the graduate program in children’s literature and includes an exceptional array of visiting speakers and the chance to participate in the annual student-run Francelia Butler Conference on Children’s Literature.
Classes are held in the Richard Wetherill Visual Arts Center which opened in 2004. It is one of the best of its kind for both the study of art history and studio practice. With 60,000 square-feet of space, the building offers beautiful, light-filled studio spaces for painting, drawing, and printmaking, as well as areas for sculpture and ceramics, and a complete photography area that supports traditional and digital approaches. Art history seminars and classes are taught in modern spaces supported by state-of-the-art technology and an auditorium hosts special lectures and films. The visual arts center also houses the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum.
COURSES IN CHILDRENS BOOK ILLUSTRATION
ART 523: PICTURE BOOK MEDIA (4)
Today’s book publishing technology allows for huge variety in approaches to illustration. As digital platforms such as iPads and smart phones evolve, the demand for novel approaches to illustration will continue to grow. This course will explore the origins of illustration, its roots in fine art, and various forms of image reproduction, from ancient China to today. With lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on practice, students will be introduced to a complete range of historical and contemporary picture book media. Both black-and-white and color media will be covered, including pen and ink, crayon, oil and chalk pastel, oil, acrylic and watercolor paints, graphite and colored pencils, charcoal, and various forms of printmaking. Also included are low-relief 2-D media such as collage, cut paper, quilting, embroidery, appliqué, beading, and bread dough. Finally, students will discuss and explore various approaches to creation of digital artwork. Class time will include lectures and demonstrations by the instructor and visiting artists. Materials fee: $100 Prerequisites: ART 527 and ART 568.
ART 523S: PICTURE BOOK MEDIA (2)
Studio time will place an emphasis on hands-on exposure to more advanced approaches to image making using various media. Every class will include critique and discussion time, and students will be expected to participate in critiques in a constructive manner. All students will give a detailed presentation on the techniques of a picture book illustrator of their choice.
Prerequisites: ART 527S and ART 568S
ART 527: CREATING PICTURE BOOKS FOR CHILDREN (4)
The emphasis in this course will be on the importance of visual thinking in writing and illustrating for the picture book genre. Students will write two picture book stories of one to six pages each, created for this class only, each in a different genre. Simple storyboards and/or mind-mapping will be utilized to help with the process of thinking about writing and revision. One of the manuscripts will then be revised and polished. A 32-page book dummy will be created with the type placed on the page, with the emphasis on pacing the story for appropriate page turns. Students will then create a cover design and one full-color double-page spread. Materials Fee: $50
ART 527S: CREATING PICTURE BOOKS FOR CHILDREN (2)
Studio time will place an emphasis on hands-on exposure and development of basic media skills in creating picture books for children. Classes will include critique and discussion time, and students will be expected to participate in a constructive manner. Materials Fee: $75
ART 568: PICTURE BOOK DRAWING FUNDAMENTALS (4)
Drawing is the most important skill to develop in order to become a working picture book illustrator. This course will ground students in basic drawing skills as they first work on their powers of observation and the craft of drawing in light and shade. Through a variety of class exercises, the students will learn about form, value, texture, quality and styles of line, perspective, drawing architecture and interiors, drawing people, animals, nature, and landscapes. Students will work mainly in graphite pencil, charcoal, pen and ink, and colored pencil, and will explore drawing in a variety of styles, skewing perspective, using exaggeration, and developing their own “signature” style. The drawing styles of a variety of published illustrators will be examined in detail. Class time will include lectures and demonstrations by the instructor and visiting artists. Materials Fee: $95
ART 568S: PICTURE BOOK DRAWING FUNDAMENTALS (2)
Studio time will place an emphasis on hands-on exposure to basic and more advanced drawing techniques. Every class will include critique and discussion time, and students will be expected to participate in critiques in a constructive manner.
ART 578: PICTURE BOOK DESIGN (4)
This class will cover the theory and practice of 2-D design for picture book illustration. The elements of successful design in a wide variety of published picture books will be examined. Students will build on the skills they have developed in the first year classes of Drawing and Creating Picture Books for Children in a variety of challenging exercises and assignments to solve problems of visual organization while considering the interplay of text and pictures. Class time will include lectures and demonstrations by the instructor and visiting artists. Materials Fee: $75
Prerequisites: ART 527 and ART 568.
ART 578S: PICTURE BOOK DESIGN (2)
Studio time will place an emphasis on hands-on exposure to basic and more advanced approaches to 2-D design. Every class will include critique and discussion time, and students will be expected to participate in critiques in a constructive manner. Perry Nodelman’s Words About Pictures will be required reading, and students will be asked to do an in-depth presentation on the design of a picture book of their choice. Prerequisites: ART 527S and ART 568S.
FACULTY
Lauren Mills, M.A. In Illustration, San Jose State University. She has illustrated the children's classics, At the Back of the North Wind, Anne of Green Gables, and Thumbelina, and is also the author of several original tales Including The Rag Coat, which received the Charlotte Award, as well as thirteen state award nominations. Fairy Wings, co-illustrated with Dennis Nolan, won the SCBWI Golden Kite Award. laurenmillsart.com
Ruth Sanderson, author and illustrator, is a graduate of the Paier College of Art. Among her many books for children are The Enchanted Wood, Cinderella, and The Snow Princess. Her book The Golden Mare, the Firebird, and the Magic Ring won the Texas Bluebonnet Award in 2003. In 1997 she was writer-in-residence, and her illustrations for her books The Twelve Dancing Princesses and Papa Gatto adorn our Web page and poster. Ruth is Chair of the Certificate in Children's Book Illustration.
Wendy Watson, B.A. Bryn Mawr College. She has written and illustrated 21 children's books and illustrated more than 60 children's books for other authors. She has been nominated for the National Book Award and her works have been Included In "Best Books of the Year" lists published by The New York Times, American Library Association, School Library Journal, and Publisher's Weekly. wendywatson.com
Ashley Wolff, B.F.A., Rhode Island School of Design, is the author and/or illustrator of over 40 children’s picture books including Baby Beluga; Stella and Roy Go Camping; Me Baby, You Baby; Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar?; Mama’s Milk; and the beloved Miss Bindergarten series. Her books have won numerous state and national awards. She lives and works in San Francisco. ashleywolff.com
Elizabeth O. Dulemba, B.F.A., University of Georgia. She is an award-winning author/illustrator of fifteen books including: The 12 Days of Christmas in Georgia; the bilingual Jack Tale adaptations Paco and the Giant Chile Plant and Soap, soap, soap; and one of the first children’s book apps, Lula’s Brew. She is the Illustrator Coordinator for the southern region (Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi) of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and a Board Member for the Georgia Center for the Book. She teaches “Creating Picture Books” at various venues and taught Beginning and Advanced Illustration at the University of Georgia. Her Coloring Page Tuesdays have garnered over a million visits to her website annually and over 3,000 subscribers to her weekly newsletter. She lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia. www.dulemba.com