Jana Rogers and Professor Linda Sullivan, Visual Arts
My ORCA project was creating a children’s book that teaches children international awareness. Creating a book of this nature has always been a dream. Receiving the ORCA scholarship helped finance my endeavor. Now that it is created I hope that this book will be able to influence our children in being culturally aware.
Through books, I researched the cultures, traditions, and hobbles of children in other countries. Another element of my research was doing an internship in New York City. I was there for two months. Most of the scholarship money went to help me finance this trip. Housing, travel, and food cost around $3,000. I sharpened by design skills and was able to see how a design business is ran. On top of my working for a design firm, I met with many Illustrators. I was inspired how they communicate through art. Artwork is vital to the success of a children’s book. The art in books inspires imagination. It reinforces the message and morals of the story by using another sense, sight. I learned of the different styles that illustrators have and analyzed what would work best in my book. My time in New York also made it possible for me to gather resources necessary for producing my book. I bought books on art and designs from around the world ($60). The museum exhibits were fascinating ($30). My favorite was the African sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The sculptures were so different but they were also so creative and beautiful. I hope that my book will portray this attitude to children. Because New York is crowded with artists I had access to many art supplies. I bought $40 of paper that was made in different countries or had patterns with an ethnic feel. I used scans of these papers in my book and for the cover. In addition, I was able to discover the market of publishing companies. I now have a list of publishing companies and what areas of interest that they will publish.
I’m excited about how the book turned out. I designed it so that there is a story involving many children from around the world on one side and on the reverse side there are maps geographical, and cultural information, so it is educational too. Depending on which side you open it determines what you will read.
In creating the actual book there were additional costs. The materials to make the book: book board, bookcloth, glue, and paper amounted to $50. In designing the book a lot of print outs and revisions were made, both in black and white and in color. The total of that expense ended up at $140. (I am always amazed at how much of my money goes to paper that ends up in the recycling bin.)
I am grateful that I was able to finish this dream. I get so excited to think of the other variations and versions of this type of book that I can create. I am grateful that there are organizations like ORCA that push students to go the extra mile in their studies and do something that is meaningful to them. Thanks for your help.