Event scheduled June 8.
Clik here to view.
"Spring" by Ruth Sanderson The 8th annual Children’s Book Festival on June 8 at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art will transport visitors to a world of fantasy with its theme of fairy gardens, while offering the opportunity to members of the Western Massachusetts Illustrators Guild inspired by this theme and view their original artwork.
“It’s a great opportunity for a family to spend a fun day together,” said Rosemary Agoglia, the museum’s curator of education.
Festivities will include book signings, building fairy houses in the Amherst museum’s orchard, where staff have gathered natural materials like moss and acorn caps, and shows by the Galapagos Puppets.
Visitors are encouraged to wear fairy, gnome and other nature-inspired costumes.
Agoglia said the museum works with the guild every other year in putting on the festival.
“It’s one way of really embracing our local community of artists,” Agoglia said. “It’s one of the ways we’ve established this relationship, and it’s really fun. This year, we decided to do this fairy garden celebration because lots of them are connected with fairy tales and fantasy.”
Clik here to view.
"The Little Elf Man" by Kathryn Brown “There will be the opportunity to meet all of these wonderful artists in person, and we’ll have an exhibition of their original art in the Great Hall, related to the fairy tale theme,” Agoglia said.
There will be some works for sale, and the artists will be engaging visitors in the various fairy-themed activities.
Sanderson, who started writing and illustrating her own children’s stories in 1988 with “The Twelve Dancing Princess,” said she’s happy to participate.
“I will have many large fairy paintings on display at this year’s festival,” said Sanderson, who grew up in Monson. “I am working on a book idea with fairies of the seasons, and I am thrilled to be able to show these paintings in a sneak preview.”
Clik here to view.
"Thumbelina and Toad" by Lauren A. Mills “I illustrate fairy tales,” she added, “so it’s a perfect theme for my work.”
Mills, who also sculpts and paints, said she was eager to be involved in the festival because of the theme.
“I just love the whole fairy world and what it invokes: magic, nature, spring, and something else so ephemeral and delicate that it can’t be explained,” she said.
“Einstein had it right when he allegedly said that if you want your children to be smart, read them fairy tales, and if you want them to be even smarter, read them more. Tales of faerie folk ignite and exercise the imagination.”
Mills, known for such books as “The Rag Coat,” added the appeal is to all ages.
“I think our psyches need to believe in something that is small, playful, and even mischievous like a child, but magical and powerful and closer to nature than we are,” she said.
Agoglia said The Carle Museum enjoys collaborating with the Western Massachusetts Illustrators Guild, and it’s an event, free with museum admission, they all look forward to.
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art’s Children’s Book Festival runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 8. Admission is $9 for adults, $6 for children under 18 and $22.50 for a family of four.
For further information and directions, call (413) 658-1100 or visit
SCHEDULE
According the website, www.carlemuseum.org, here is the schedule for the 8th annual Children’s Book Festival on June 8 at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, and edited background on the participating artists and times they will be at the festival.
10:30 to 11 a.m. - Storytime in the Reading Library
11 to 11:45 a.m. – Create apple-head puppets with artists Lauren A. Mills and Kathryn Brown in the orchard. Sign-up sheet available in the art studio on June 8
11:30 to noon - Storytime in the Reading Library
11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. - Galapagos Puppets presents “Badger Meets the Fairies” in the auditorium.
12:15 - 12:45 p.m. - “How to Draw a Dragon” with artist Astrid Sheckels in the art studio.
1 to 1:30 p.m. - Showing of “Cinderella” in the auditorium
1 to 1:30 p.m. - Storytime in the Reading Library
1:30 to 2:15 p.m. - Create apple-head puppets with artists Lauren A. Mills and Kathryn Brown in orchard. Sign-up sheet available in the art studio on June 8
2 to 2:45 p.m. Galapagos Puppets presents “Badger Meets the Fairies” in the auditorium
2 to 2:30 p.m. - Storytime in the Reading Library
3 to 3:30 p.m. - “How to Draw a Dragon” with artist Astrid Sheckels in the art studio.
3 to 3:30 p.m. — Storytime in the Reading Library 3:30 to 4 p.m. - Showing of “Hansel and Gretel” in the auditorium
Micha Archer artmicha.com, 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Archer worked for many years as a kindergarten teacher before venturing into illustration. She has illustrated “The Wise Fool” and “Lola’s Fandango,” created illustrations for “Reading Rainbow” and many book and magazine covers, stamp designs and other commissioned works. She and her husband divide their time between Western Massachusetts and Costa Rica.
Kathyrn Brown, 1:30 to 5 p.m.
Author and illustrator Brown has been praised for her whimsical approach and attention to detail. Among many notable awards, she been honored by the American Library Association and received Outstanding Children’s Book of the Year.
Linda Graves www.lindagravesartist.com, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Graves has been illustrating books for children for more than 20 years. She has illustrated more than 30 children’s books, published worldwide. She graduated with an undergraduate degree in illustration from San Jose State University, received an award at the Boskon exhibit at the New England Science Fiction and Fantasy Guild. She lives in the Berkshires with her husband and their golden retriever.
Gary Lippincott www.garylippincott.com, 1:30 to 5 p.m.
Lippincott graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a degree in fine arts. He taught fantasy art and imaginative drawing at the Worcester Art Museum, and has received numerous awards for his artwork at science-fiction and fantasy conventions.
As a member of the Western Massachusetts Illustrators Guild, his artwork appears in not only children’s books, but also in text books, book jackets, and even jigsaw puzzles.
Lauren A. Mills laurenmillsart.com, 1:30 to 5 p.m.
Mills has won national acclaim both as a sculptor and, earlier for her career, as a book author and illustrator. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums across the country and internationally. Her sculpture, “Legacy” is installed at the Heritage Park Trail, Lake Winona, Indiana and “Ebeneezer Reflecting” is in the permanent collection at the Salmagundi Club in New York City.
Her book illustrations are included in various collections across the country.
Greg Ruth www.gregthings.com,10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Ruth has worked in comics since 1993, creating artwork for The New York Times, DC Comics, Paradox Press, Fantagraphics Books, Caliber Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and The Matrix. His book projects include “The Lost Boy,” which he wrote and illustrated, and “The Secret Adventures of Jack London,” “The Haunting of Charles Dickens,” “A Pirate’s Guide to First Grade,” and R.L. Stine’s “Goosebumps” tales.
After watching President Obama’s Inauguration he was inspired to create sketches that eventually became the basis of his picture book “Our Enduring Spirit.”
Ruth Sanderson www.ruthsanderson.com,10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Besides the guild, Sanderson is a member of the Society of Illustrators and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. She is a highly-regarded fantasy illustrator and has received numerous awards including the Texas Bluebonnet award. A solo show of all her original oil paintings from her book “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” is scheduled for November at The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge.
Astrid Sheckels www.astridsheckels.com, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sheckels, a native of Hatfield, has been telling or illustrating stories for as long as she can remember. Her first two titles, “The Fish House Door” and “The Scallop Christmas” garnered awards and her subsequent works include picture books, chapter books and book series.
Besides the guild, she is a member of The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and has won a number of art awards. In addition to illustration, she paints portraits and landscapes in oil on canvas and watercolor, and teaches art courses at Artspace Community Art Center in Greenfield, where she lives.
Nicole Tadgell nicoletadgell.blogspot.com, 10 a.m. to - 1:30 p.m.
Tadgell always knew that she wanted to be an artist and only ventured into illustration after college when she realized that there was a lack of books with African American characters. She is an award-winning illustrator who has more than 20 books and numerous educational pieces published. She lives in Spencer, where she tends to her vegetable garden, enjoys bird-watching, sci-fi and fantasy.