The IndependentNine SUU senior Art and Design students collaborated and contributed three illustrations a piece to put together a 58-page book called, “Spirit of the Forest,” that is available in hardback or paperback. The art depicted in the book is a vibrant exploration of the book’s title.
The contributing artists will be part of a special Art Insights presentation, SUU’s weekly art series, on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015, at 7 p.m. in the Auditorium Theatre. The illustrations themselves go on exhibition in SUU’s South Hall beginning Monday, Feb. 2 through Friday, May 1. Hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. -5 p.m. and the show is free and open to the public.
Taking their inspiration from the phrase “Spirit of the Forest,” these nine illustrators broke their own creative boundaries to depict a realm that is stylistically distinct from each other when they created the project in the fall of 2014. Mentored by Ron Spears, former SUU Art and Design Assistant Professor and now Chair of Illustration of Sequential Art at Savannah College of Art and Design, the students, with assistance from the Cedar City Arts Council, were able to have the book published.
Spirit of the Forest features original art created by Shelby Crockett, Sarah Denny, Robert Ennis, Brice Gielgens, Brian Heritage, McKenna Horman, Ann Middleton, Zakery Mitchell and Vachelle Thomas. Middleton and Heritage headed up Spirit of the Forest as Art Director and Producer.
This is the second year that SUU Art and Design students have created and produced a book. In 2014, a number of students contributed to Moon Goddess in which Ann Middleton was a contributor. In reflection of the overall process, Middleton observed, “I’m very happy with this project. We were able to learn a lot from the mistakes and trials of the Moon Goddess project and use that to make Spirit of the Forest better. We have better print quality for the book, we have amazing artwork for our portfolios, and a venue to speak to the public about what we did.”
