Storytelling in Pictures

Some of our first experiences with art occur on the pages of books. From fairytales to science lessons, the images within children’s books nourish our young intellect and imagination. Even in today’s high tech world, a good picture book has the power to whisk young minds off to another time and place. The fine artists who create children’s illustration engage our youngest audiences and help foster the development of language, relationships and an interest in reading.

Storytelling in Pictures: From Idea to Art, highlights the work and process of contemporary Bay Area children’s book illustrators: Bob Barner, Yuyi Morales, Stacy Schuett and Susan Jaekel, as well as the digital media illustration process of Thi Bui and Emma T. Capps. In Storytelling in Pictures: From Idea to Art, viewers are invited to explore the illustration process step-by-step, from the development of the story manuscript, to preliminary sketches and mock-ups, to the final published work.

The show is a family friendly exhibition that presents a variety of techniques to help celebrate the importance of illustration as art. Audiences will have the opportunity to see how each artist works. Examples include an artist that utilizes collage to tell stories, while another paints to create richly hued mythic tales. Pen and ink illustrations within a graphic novel describe the moving story of one family’s journey and a zine invites us into the life and times of a young girl.