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Children’s book art on display at Scottsdale Library

BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer

“Pictures Tell Stories: Children’s

Book Illustrations” is the newest exhibit at the Civic Center Public Gallery inside the Scottsdale Civic Center Library and will stay there until Sept. 20.

The art has been collected by retired librarians Cathy Bonnell and Mary J. Wong and aims to provide joy to audiences of all ages.

“Adults might feel nostalgia and joy as these are stories they might recognize from their youth or that their kids might recognize,” said Wendy Raisanen, curator of collections and exhibitions for Scottsdale Public Art.

Planning for the exhibit began in 2015, when Raisanen first heard of Bonnell and Wong’s passion for collecting children’s book art.

But it was not until two years ago when Raisanen found the perfect venue to display the art.

“About two years ago, we got this new gallery, and this is perfect for the show because it’s nice and intimate,” she said. With the venue locked in, Raisanen then began sifting through Bonnell’s and Wong’s vast collections.

“For me, as far as choosing from the hundreds of pieces that these wonderful ladies have, was the novelty of the materials, the graphicness, the impact of the art and the cuteness,” Raisanen said.

The exhibit features art from artists like: Juana Martinez-Neal who illustrated “Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story” and “La Madre Goose;” Tempe resident Molly Idle, whose work is in “Flora and the Flamingo;” Tucson resident Adam Rex, who worked on “Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich.”

Other artists and their books represented in the show are: Rafael López, “Drum Dream Girl” and “Tito Puente Mambo King;” Robin Brickman, “One Night in the Coral Sea;” and Wendy Watson, “Bedtime Bunnies.”

“These artists all have a distinct style,” said Bonnell. “Kids probably wouldn’t get the chance to see art like this if there weren’t exhibits like this.”

Visitors will see the various techniques used by the artists, from traditional painting to color pencil coloring.

“There’s a lot of mastery, technique and actual texture that you can see on these original artworks,” Raisanen said.

Though the art was at times costly, the duo discovered that collecting these kinds of works is their passion.

“We know the literature and as we met different authors and illustrators, we got a passion for this beautiful art,” Bonnell said.

Bonnell also began to grow more passionate about the art while working as a librarian in the Washington School District.

“When you work with the books and you’re surrounded with trying to get kids to read these books, you begin to appreciate the art that goes into it more yourself,” Bonnell said.

Though the exhibit aims to recreate the nostalgia of turning the pages on a beloved children’s book, it also aims to inspire artists to create handmade art.

“At some point this art is going to be rare because of digital art,” Wong said. “There’s going to be a whole generation of readers that have no idea what original art is because they only know digital art.”

Wong has already begun noticing the shift from handmade art to digital art and sometimes finds herself doublechecking the source.

“Now when I look at a book and I think if it’s possible if I can obtain some of the art, I have to look carefully to see if the art is a combination of digital art or if the art has been enhanced digitally,” Wong said.

This worries Wong, who feels “handcrafted art will last a whole lot longer than digital art” and that hand-crafted art is easier to preserve.

While the exhibit does preserve some beautiful, handcrafted art, it also aims to inspire the next generation of creative minds. “I hope that kids get inspired,” Raisanen said. “If the kids can get inspired to write a story, draw cartoons about their story and share it, that’s the steppingstone into a creative life.”

Books featuring the art have been ordered to be stored on shelves in the library’s youth section and outside of the exhibit, visitors can pick up a fun workbook for them to create their own art in and learn how to tell a story.

The exhibit will be on display until Sept. 20 and host a special event Aug. 20 at 10 a.m., when some of the artists and collectors will be on hand to talk about the art on display.

Cathy Bonnell, Mary J. Wong and Wendy Raisanen opened their exhibit of children’s book illustrations recently at the Civic Center library in Scottsdale.

(Pablo Robles/Progress Staff Photographer)

Info:

When: Art on display from July 5-Sept. 20 Where: Scottsdale Civic Center Library 3839 N. Drinkwater Boulevard Cost: Free Info: scottsdalepublicart.org/ exhibitions