York College students publish art books; See exhibit
Senior graphic design majors at York College created books for their capstone exhibit.
A new art exhibit at York College might look a little more like a library than a gallery.
Seniors in the graphic design major take a capstone course that asks them to complete a project showcasing everything a graphic designer should know how to do, said Melanie Rodgers, associate professor of art and coordinator of graphic design program.
This year, a theme was chosen - Ex Libris - resulting in a collection of 16 student-produced books.
Students could produce any kind of book, but most chose a digital format. Still, the end results produced a variety of works including a children's book, a compilation of letters from a World War I soldier, a re-imagining of movie posters, and a dark humor magazine.
"Every single one ... is so incredibly individual," Rodgers said.
Here's a look at some of the student artists you'll see at the exhibition.
Artist: Kendra Miller
About: York College senior, graphic design major and fine arts minor
Project: "End of the Yarn," a children's book illustrated with watercolors and micron pens
Inspiration: Miller said she'd always wanted to write a children's book, so this project provided the perfect opportunity.
"I wanted to do something that was kind of emotional that could also be appealing to young readers and old readers," she said. The book is about a child who follows a piece of yarn to discover what's at the end. "It's more of an allegory for life," she said.
Future plans: Miller is still looking at career paths, though she's interested in illustrating.
Get her work: Miller has copies to sell and the book can be purchased on Lulu.com for $16.
Artist: Rebecca Shaffer
About: York College senior, graphic design major and fine arts minor
Project: "Tales from the Black Forest," a book of German folktales
Inspiration: Shaffer is of German heritage and always wanted to connect with that, she said.
"I wanted to immortalize and ... keep something alive," she said. She researched lesser-known German tales to preserve, sought permission to reuse them in her work. She designed and carved linocuts, a type of printmaking, for each of the 12 stories, and she was influenced by traditional arts like embroidery, wood block printing and medieval illuminated manuscripts.
Get her work: Tales from the Black Forest has been self-published on Blurb.
If you go
What: Ex Libris, York College's senior exhibition for graphic design majors
When: open through April 14. Hours are Monday, Tuesday, Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Cost: free
Where: DeMeester Recital Hall, Evelyn and Earle Wolf Hall at York College
Awards: First place, Kendra Miller, for "End of the Yarn" a children's book she wrote and illustrated; Second place, Lina Than, for the magazine "Aspiration, featuring interviews and articles as well as hand-lettering and illustration; Third place, Rebecca Shaffer, for "Tales from the Black Forest," a collection of German fables she paired with Linocuts illustrations