July 24th, 2011
Combining the power of art with the written page is exactly what collage artist Megan Coyle did for her latest project – a children’s book featuring about thirty paper collage illustrations. Coyle wrote an original story, Duck & Fish, which is about a mallard duck who meets a flying fish at the beach. The two animals tell one another about the joys of flying in the sky or swimming underwater. Once they go their separate ways, Fish finds himself imagining what it would be like to fly while Duck ponders life underwater. The story then follows the two animals as they go on an imaginative adventure.
Coyle recently completed her children’s book and decided to have an exhibit to celebrate its release – “Select Works from Duck & Fish.” Several illustrations from Duck & Fish will be on display in Arlington Central Library’s East Gallery. The show will be up for the month of August so you can take a look at the artwork in-person. Each illustration was made entirely from magazine strips and by seeing the work up-close, you’ll have a chance to see all the layers and detail Coyle used.
“Select Works from Duck & Fish” is a great exhibit to visit with your kids. You can pick up a copy of Duck & Fish (megancoyle.com/duckfish) and show your young ones how the illustrations in the book compare to the artwork in-person. Lovers of collage will also enjoy getting to see the detail Coyle works into her collages by using a technique she calls “painting with paper” – whereby she recreates the look and feel of a painting through the manipulation of magazine strips.
In conjunction with her exhibit, Coyle also decided to sell prints of the exhibited artwork (since the original artwork is not for sale at this time). All proceeds will go to the Friends of the Library.
“Select Works from Duck & Fish”
Arlington Central East Gallery
August 1st – 31st, 2011
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