Art and Design Commons^™

History, Methods, And Psychology Of Illustrations In Children's Literature, Kelsi Coleman

Honors Theses

This honors thesis includes two parts. The first is a paper written on the history of illustration in children's literature, the ways in which illustrations are created, and the psychological reasoning and effect of illustration in children's literature. The second part is a book created for children to inspire an interest in illustration and give basic information about different kinds of illustration.

Swimming Lessons: Exploring And Embracing The Graphic Memoir, Sophia Donati

Honors Theses

My thesis is both creative and analytical, delving into the graphic memoir genre and its components. My own graphic memoir is at the heart of this piece: Swimming Lessons, which I wrote and drew over the past four years. The first and main piece of my thesis is the 122-page completed draft of Swimming Lessons which details three significant parts of my life centering on my relationship with swimming. Following my graphic memoir is the analytical reflective essay which details the graphic memoir by situating Swimming Lessons in conversation with other prevalent texts in the genre. This piece centers on …

Ipseity Vol. 1: An Artful Exploration Of Identity Formation In Emerging Adulthood, Lauren Alexis Taylor

Honors Theses

Ipseity is a multi-edition coffee-table style book that integrates digital and print design and incorporates handmade elements and processes such as die-cuts, letterpress printing, gold foiling, hand-sewn bindings, and embroidery. Its design is rooted in minimalism, yet the handmade aspects, eye-catching color palette, and bold illustrations make reading Ipseity a visual and tactile experience. The design utilizes typography and flat-color illustrations in a consistent layout, with a strong emphasis on the handmade elements and craftsmanship throughout the book. It is not only a publication to read and ponder, but it is an artful object with a physical presence to be …

Art Of Darkness, Sarah Roper

Honors Theses

This paper describes the process, production, and explanation of Art of Darkness, an artistic expression of the struggle with anxiety. All of the work is inspired by literature and art from the English Romantic and Victorian eras, and focuses on quotes about the mind, emotions, and other thought processes. As each piece highlights a different aspect of anxiety, it also portrays the struggles of anxiety through color palette, printing process, and symbolism. These printed pieces consist of letter-press printed materials, with ink-wiped backgrounds and hand-stitched details. Also included are large-scale prints with silkscreened foregrounds, a selection of bookmarks, a …

The Art Of Making Paper, Kristen Theys

Honors Theses

The Art of Paper Making is an exploration into an overlooked field. My goal was to learn not only how to make paper, but how different materials and processes can change the final product. The process was not only for me though. I wanted to create a fun and informative way to document the papermaking process to present to those who aren’t familiar with it.

One of the biggest things that impacted my studies was the amount of time I would beat the paper pulp. The amount of time the pulp runs through the beater drastically changes the texture of …

Bridging Dimensions: A Robotic Art Project, Samantha Miller

Honors Theses

Spanning the divide between the humanities and STEM has been a pursuit of my undergraduate experience. In my senior project I seek to relate these disciplines through the creation of “automated canvases.” Resulting is a series of robotic art pieces that automate the opening and closing motion of Turkish map folds. These map folds then present a series of paintings displaying a tone of the uncanny and references to parallel universes. Utilizing robotics in my project allows the paintings to push further into a third dimension than normally possible. Providing literal motion to my traditionally two dimensional work requires consideration …

Handicrafts, Kathy Bittle

Honors Theses

For this honors project, the author created several pieces of handicraft art.