Picturebooks!

I am taking graduate classes at THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY... (I think it is fun to say... it sounds so big and important). I am getting my Masters degree in... wait for it... Children's Literature. I have always had a love for books written for children. I think it my love for books was solidified at Messiah College taking classes with one of the best teachers I have ever had... Anita Voelker. She is the reason I am continuing my education in the field of literature. Anyways... this quarter I am taking a class that focused on Picturebooks. Before I started the class I imagined we would focus on the practical uses of picturebooks in the classroom. On the first day of class I discovered I was completely wrong. Instead of practical uses we are learning about the ART of a Picturebook... how they are made, the actual art involved in making the illustrations. Our final project involves making a book. How cool is that? Two weeks ago we spent the entire three hours in class in an art studio creating various forms of art centered around a sketch we had to bring to class. We took our sketch and then we experimented with four different art medias used to make illustrations for books. Some classmates were quite frantic about having to be artistic. Me, on the other hand thought the night was fantastic. I like to refer to it as therapy. I don't think I am an artist in comparison to "real" artists... but I am a "dabbler", and this night gave me an opportunity to dabble in things I'd never experienced before. We had to mount our creations with a poem for the next class. I thought I'd share!