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WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) – The Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU has opened Young at Art: The Caldecott Collection of Children’s Book Illustrations, providing first prints of popular drawings that were collected starting in 1984.
Director of the Wichita Falls Museum of Art, Matthew Bailey, emphasized that the purpose of the exhibit is to encourage families to visit, enjoy the artwork together, and compare the original illustrations with those from familiar books.
“Well, it’s one of those things where you, where children see just the process. Books are not just the writer but also the illustrator, the publisher, the starting with just the idea, and so they can see how all of these things go together,” said Jennifer McLarty, Education Curator at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art.
McLarty, says that through the exhibitions, children can come up with their own story without having to read the book, teaching them by showing them illustrations in the book, and having them predict what the significance of the story is.
“The print, the inks, are in much more vivid color than you actually get whenever you’ve printed 2000 copies of something or when the book gets a little bit older and it’s aged with time, and the sun’s bleached it. That kind of thing, and it’s been loved by kids, and a lot of times those illustrations are not just as vivid,” McLarty said.
Bailey said people of all ages will find interest in the exhibit. He said it will inspire children to get into art, and for older adults, it will bring them nostalgia.
“I think first and foremost are the original illustrations and the tremendous skill and creativity, and imagination that they demonstrate, and people can physically engage with these objects in ways that you can’t with their illustrations and books. I think for children it’s a way to get them inspired about books and inspired by the stories the books themselves tell, and get engaged with reading,” Bailey said.
The exhibition officially opened today, and it will go on through Aug. 8. For more information on the various workshops, you can click here.
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