Fantasy Art in High School

Kathleen Harte, visual arts instructor at Millburn High School in New Jersey, has encouraged her students to use maquettes and posed models to add realism to their imaginative work.


According to Ms. Harte:

“One of the students, Joy Jeong, had to create an image of a young girl riding a giant caterpillar for a series of 12 paintings she is creating based on a story she originated in which giant insects have invaded our world.

Joy had seen your book, Dinotopia, and had heard me tell about the presentation you gave at the Society of Illustrators last year. I had explained how you make models when needed to use as reference and to explore lighting situations. So Joy came in after school and made a rough mock up of her caterpillar. She put a small figure on it that I brought in from my own studio and used a strong light to create her shadows. Combining those photos with one she took of a fellow student, she created the final piece that I have included here.”

Thank you to Ms. Harte, Joy, and Anna, for permission to use your images. I’m impressed with the wonderful results you got from your extra effort. It’s fun to imagine what will happen next in your story world when that caterpillar turns into a butterfly.

For other arts instructors in the Mid-Atlantic region, don’t miss the Dinotopia arts-in-education event tomorrow in eastern Pennsylvania. Here’s the official announcement, and I hope to meet many of you there.

James Gurney, author/illustrator of ''Dinotopia,'' will talk about his fantasy artwork and sign copies of his books about a world where humans and dinosaurs live together in harmony. It's Saturday at Zion's Reformed United Church, 622 Hamilton St., Allentown. Gurney's talk is part of the Lehigh Valley Arts Council's arts-in-education forum. He will talk at 1 p.m., followed by the book signing at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10; $5, students. Info: 610-437-5915, http://www.lvartscouncil.org .