Book and Paper Commons^™

Zine Open Assignment Guidelines For Mmp460, Anna Pinkas

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

There Was Time And Place, Mary G. O'Connor

Graduate Artistry Projects and Performances

There was Time and Place is body of work that explores the relationship between reality and imagination as it relates to themes of creativity and transformation through time and place. Inspired by surrealism, automatism, science fiction, and poetic theory, the exhibited drawing-centered lithographs create encounters with fictional designs of rendered objects, machinery, and architecture. These encounters estrange us from monotony and banality of the current moment, reminding us that there is time and place for imagination in our routines.

Beauty Temples, Courtney Obrien

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This photo story explores the profound intersection of physical touch, professional craft, and emotional sanctuary within the independent beauty spaces of Lincoln, Nebraska. By documenting the work of practicing hairstylists, a tattoo artist, and a nail technician, the project positions the modern studio not merely as a place of aesthetic enhancement, but as a "Beauty Temple".

At the heart of this narrative is the intimacy of the artist-client relationship. In an increasingly digital world, these practitioners remain among the few professionals whose work requires sustained, purposeful physical contact. Through close-up photography and environmental portraiture, this project captures the steady hands …

Three-Dimensional Thinking Through Bookmaking, Whitney Harris

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

Rewilding, Hanna Kaye Sosin

Graduate Artistry Projects and Performances

Rewilding attempts to bridge the distance between humanity and nature through play and embodied play. To speak to the permeability of humans to their environment, Hanna Sosin references a wide range of inspirations from Biochemistry and population dynamics to poetry and folklore. Each work is an exploration between medium and substrate to make an open ended narrative; they are improvisations based off of the surface of a panel, the expansion and contraction of a tunnel book, or a series of indelible marks made in balsa wood. Characters and symbols such as the match or candle people repeat throughout her work …

Creativity, What Is It Worth?, Katrina M. Olmstead

Art 895 Research Papers

Abstract

Creativity is an essential part of human life and sustainability. It is being able to generate ideas, problem-solve, communicate, and be open-minded and innovative. In an ever-changing world, one of the most critical skills a person can acquire is creative thinking. “Numerous authors have noted the current interest being paid to creativity and creative thinking by international government and business leaders” (Gustina & Sweet, 2014, p.47). Art educators have a distinct opportunity to teach students how to think creatively. Researching methods for teaching creativity will provide educators with the opportunity to utilize this information. This qualitative research will reveal …

Forever Tree, Alyse A. Petersen

Healy Poetry Prize

No abstract provided.

Mythic Arcana - A Tarot And Mythology Guidebook, Kiya Whitaker

English Student Scholarship

Mythic Arcana is part of my senior thesis show and the culmination of my writing and design journey at the college. It is a creative spin on the Major Arcana tarot deck and features mythological characters from around the world. Tarot is used for spiritual guidance, and the Major Arcana cards represent the Soul’s journey from naivety and vast potential (starting with 0, the Fool) to success and fulfillment (ending with 21, the World).

Enjoy this celebration of our world's rich and diverse cultures. Immerse yourself in enchanting art and storytelling. Allow this work to bring you to the past, …

Folding Lessons From A Librarian Who Designed A Seven-Week Course For Undergrads, Robert J. Snyder

University Libraries Faculty Publications

In this article, a faculty member at a mid-size state university describes the context, creation, and content of a credit-bearing college course he taught focused on the art and science of origami.

Designing Your Next Read: How Psychology Shapes The Way We Choose Books, Stephanie M. Xu

ENGS 15.11: Design and Education

Designing Your Next Read invites students to explore the psychology behind everyday choices through the familiar act of picking a book. Using the lens of design psychology, the lesson examines why decision-making often feels overwhelming and how small shifts in perception, environment, and heuristics can make choices easier and more enjoyable. Students engage in interactive exercises, including a book-browsing activity, mini-lectures on choice biases, and a “Book Blurb” exercise, to reveal how heuristics such as availability, affect, and familiarity shape responses.

Through guided discussion and reflection, students connect psychological theories like the paradox of choice and decision paralysis to their …

Between The Lines, Sarah Laura Nesti Willard

CoHSS Faculty Work

No abstract provided.

Drawing 1 Course Syllabus, Fall 2025, Jennifer Sullivan

Open Educational Resources

This introductory drawing course offers an immersive, practice-based exploration of observational drawing from life. Emphasizing perceptual skills, students will engage with key visual principles—such as proportion, space, perspective, and composition—through projects focused on still life, the human figure, and portraiture. Working with graphite, charcoal, and ink, students will develop both technical fluency and expressive range, learning to convey presence, mood, and memory through mark and form. The course blends rigorous studio practice with critical looking and discussion, encouraging students to cultivate their own artistic voice through sustained attention, experimentation, and care.

The Provenance Of A Pali- And Thai-Language Manuscript At The Rollins College Library: A Buddhist Book Of Merit And Its Long Journey From Southeast Asia To America, Wenxian Zhang

Faculty Publications

Through researching the provenance of a Buddhist manuscript written in the Pali and Thai languages currently held at Rollins, this article seeks to answer the question of how a religious document created in Thailand ended up in a liberal arts college library in America. Regarded as an act of devotion by many Buddhist followers in Southeast Asia, the use of folding manuscripts (samut khoi) has been observed for centuries. The folding manuscripts served as handbooks and chanting manuals for Buddhist monks, who often recited in religious ceremonies while paying tributes to the deceased, with the hope of reincarnation in a …

Uncommon Elegance: Black Women And The Abolitionist Print Market In The U.S. Civil War Era, Rachel Hooper

Curatorial Publications

No abstract provided.

National Parks Field Journal, Isadora Davis

Art and Design Student Scholarship and Projects

A handwritten, richly illustrated field journal by Binghamton University art major Isadora Davis, recording a trip through national parks in the American West via SUNY Broome's BIO 217: Ecology of National Parks. Davis uses colored pencil drawings and pressed botanical specimens to record landscapes, birds, mammals, and plant life in Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Wind Cave, and Badlands National Parks, as well as Custer State Park. Davis's sketches and diagrams visually explore how to decode past landscapes from current formations, while her written entries explain species diversity, animal behavior, and the mechanisms causing geological formations and geothermal events. Part memoir of …

With Love, ; An Interdisciplinary And Intersectional Look At Why Creativity Is Essential, Theo Starr Gardner

Whittier Scholars Program

My Whittier Scholars Program self-designed major, Teaching Creativity, is a mixture of Art, Literature, and Education classes. My research and praxis classes have been focused on the ‘how?’s and 'why?’s of creativity, so it felt only right that my project should be a constructivist, generative project. The project I have been working on throughout my time at Whittier, and that has just fully come to fruition on April 11th, 2024, was a solo art gallery/open mic event entitled ‘With Love,’. With Love, was conceptually inspired by the research I’ve conducted on creativity and creative arts education over the past few …

Saint John's Bible Gallery Anniversary Conference In London, England, Hannah Weldon

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

From November 4th to 11th, 2023, The Saint John's Bible Gallery Team celebrated the 25th anniversary of the commissioning of the Saint John's Bible by undergoing a pilgrimage through some of the most prominent Anglican institutions in the United Kingdom. On the evening of November 7th (my birthday) I attended the Anniversary Dinner Celebration and shared my valuable experiences as a student intern at the Saint John's Bible Gallery with my fellow attendees. Attending this special event allowed me the opportunity to connect and network with professionals in the gallery and museum industry, which is what I would like to …

Duality: Artists' Books Exploring Multiple Sides, Kathryn Schug

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

In the display case next to the Schu on the upper level of the Learning Commons building at SJU is the exhibit Duality: Artists’ Books Exploring Multiple Sides. This exhibit was curated by Kathryn Schug CSB ‘25 through an internship with the CSB+SJU Libraries during the spring 2024 semester. The exhibit features 16 Artists’ Books from the Clemens Library Artists’ Books Collection plus 2 copies of the book Schug made for ART 213: Introduction to Artists’ Books during the Fall 2023 semester.

Dangerous Dyes: The Poison Book Project At Lipscomb University, Michaela Rutledge, Jan Cohu

Faculty Works

Last year, the Winterthur Library began a worldwide effort to identify 19th century books that have covers dyed with toxic heavy metals, such as arsenic and chromium, which they called the Poison Book Project. Lipscomb University joined in the Poison Book Project, looking for books dyed with dangerous chemicals. The library collaborated with the University's Chemistry department for the testing of suspected books. We will give results, recommendations, and resources for other libraries.

Photography, Architecture, And Environment: An Architectural Analysis Of Edward Ruscha’S 26 Gasoline Stations, Rebecca Tonguis

[Archive] Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

This presentation explores Edward Ruscha’s photobook 26 Gasoline Stations through an architectural lens. Specifically, it treats Ruscha’s work as historic evidence of how consumption, industry, and commodity have infiltrated all kinds of environmental contexts through architectural manifestations. Known for being the first artist’s book, 26 Gasoline Stations ambiguously exists as both fine art and documentation of everyday conditions, with the overall graphic character highlighting its perceived focus on overarching narrative. Since gasoline stations are the primary subject of each of the 26 photographs, the subject of this work is arguably architecture, suggesting that the historic relationship between mass gas consumption—or …

Bridging Borders: Exploring Local To Global Citizenship Through Zines, Tanisha M. Jackson Ph.D.

Global Citizenship Pedagogy Community

"Empowering Voices through DIY Zine-Making" workshop, where participants will harness the power of zine-making to explore themes of community, activism, and global citizenship. Zines, small-scale publications with big messages, serve as a conduit for diverse voices to be heard and shared, making them a perfect medium for exploring the interconnectedness of local and global issues.

This workshop delves into the intersection of art, activism, and citizenship, providing a space for participants to express their perspectives on pressing social and environmental issues. Led by experienced zine-makers, attendees will delve into the rich history of zines as tools for social change, discovering …

Diy Delivery Systems Rethinking Self-Sponsorship Through Extracurricular Literacy Narratives, Jason W. Luther

College of Communication & Creative Arts Departmental Research

This essay reconsiders the role of the “self-sponsored” writer in the attention economy by suggesting that contemporary do-it-yourself publishers have not only attempted to negotiate a public sphere which has linked "self-sponsored" to "entrepreneurial," but contend with a digital environment that makes it difficult to parse authorial desire from neoliberal rationality. Ultimately, this essay suggests that materialist models of circulation should be accounted for in studies of extracurricular literacies, specifically by drawing from the literacy narratives of public writers such as zine authors. It thus provides a method of analysis for understanding how these writers, who must necessarily exist within …

Experimentation On Manual Paper Making Using Mango Seed Fibers, Mercy Wanduara

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

This paper seeks to explore the use of Kenyan mango fiber as a core ingredient in papermaking. Mango is a tropical fruit grown in many countries around the world, including Kenya. The fruit tree grows naturally and has a maturity period of approximately three years. When this juicy fruit is ready for harvesting most of the fruits are harvested for consumption but plenty of them find their way into compost because of overproduction and lack of market. Moreover, the fruits are either consumed whole or juiced. The core of the fruit is a hairy seed which has little value to …

Visual Narratives And Global Journeys, Sarah Laura Nesti Willard, Claudia Maria Tresso, Jolanda Guardi

CoHSS Faculty Work

No abstract provided.

Retrospective Exhibition Additional Initiatives Section, Sally Brown, Lemley Mullett, Michael Sherwin

Art in the Libraries Retrospective: 2015-2024

The section of the WVU Art in the Libraries Retrospective (2015-2024) includes a summary of the program's special initiatives.

Emirati Comics & Illustrations, Sarah Laura Nesti Willard

CoHSS Faculty Work

No abstract provided.

Hacking The Library Exhibition Panels, Sally Brown, Jackie Andrews, Matthew Conboy, Ruth Yang, Trudy Trudy Borenstein- Sugiura, Shan Cawley, Chantel Foretich, Xue'er Gao, Ryan Lewis, Robin Miller, Imari Nacht, Chris Revelle, Erin Tapley

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The hacker ethos in the positive sense is about the ability to deconstruct and reconstruct information systems. Hacking starts with reconceptualizing libraries. Libraries are now beyond the book. As libraries evolve into a new sort of space --still a space for research, learning and study-- but also for community engagement and collaboration, library exhibits present a unique opportunity for both collaborating exhibitors and library users. Artists engage with libraries creatively through artist residencies, installations, using discarded library materials in their work, collaborative workshops, digital collections remixing, performances and more. Hacking the Library will present artwork that highlights the intersecting values …

If We Were Fiction: Insect-Human Stories, Isabella Delaney

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This creative project delves into the nonlinear, interconnected web of insect-human relations in Nepal. Through exploring humans’ perceptions and stories of insects, this work intends to remedy the limits of traditional entomological knowledge, which forgets the ubiquitous reality of insects as more than biological and ecological agents. Insects are social, economic, and ethical “characters” in our lives, and recognizing this opens up possibilities for connection, hope, and evolution in this world. The potential of the mundane, the forgettable, pulses within humans’ unique attitudes toward insects and the forces that shaped them. This potential is represented in the final product of …

Charles And Ray Eames, Tracy L. Ketz

Communication Design: Design Pioneers

Charles and Ray Eames were a dynamic husband-and-wife team and were two of the most influential multidisciplinary designers of the 20th century. Their innovative and humancentered design approach and remarkable creativity resulted in innovative contributions to various fields of design, including architecture, graphic design, industrial design, and filmmaking. Known for their groundbreaking contributions to design, the Eameses employed a deep understanding of human needs that combined functionality, technology, and aesthetics that still resonate today.

Dick Bruna, Roseld Laguatan

Communication Design: Design Pioneers

Dick Bruna was a talented and successful Illustrator and designer. He is most famous for his creation, Miffy, a curious simple white rabbit that has the innocence of a young child—which made her an endearing character to children all over the world. Because of his successful children’s books, he was highly sought after by children’s medical hospitals and world health organizations to help promote health and safety for children everywhere. He also designed thousands of spy, mystery and detective novel covers for his family’s publishing company. Bruna was a master designer of simplicity, color and form—able to convey a great …