43
Book illustrators visit Poland elementary students
Photo
Illustrators Jeanette and Christopher Canyon spoke to students at Dobbins Elementary School on Friday. From left, Jacob Antil, 9; Brooke Chandler, 7; Mike Nicholudis, 6; Isabella Khoury, 5; and Emily Frost, 9, display works illustrated by the Canyons.
Photo
Illustrator Jeanette Canyon describes to students at Dobbins Elementary School how she uses polymer clay to create illustrations in children’s books.
Photo
Illustrator Christopher Canyon, of Columbus, shows students how his drawings evolved over time. This illustration was used in Canyon’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” which is based on the song of the same name by American singer and activist John Denver.
POLAND
Jeanette and Christo- pher Canyon gave students at Dobbins Elementary School a behind-the-scenes look at how they illustrate books.
“We’re showing them how differently we each interpret things when we work in the same profession,” said Christopher, who draws and paints illustrations.
“We’re encouraging the satisfaction of trying things in different ways,” he added.
Christopher and Jeanette, both of Columbus, showed their creative process to students Friday at assemblies organized by grade level.
Christopher is best known for his work adapting and illustrating songs by the late American singer and activist John Denver. Jeanette’s previous works include “Over in the Ocean: In a Coral Reef” and “Over in the Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme.”
“I liked how they told us what they do,” said Adam Rumble, 9, who added he enjoys drawing animals.
His classmate, Cailor Sundstrom, 9, said she liked watching how the two create pictures. Jeanette explained to students how she uses various colors of polymer clay, sometimes shaping it through a pasta maker, to create sculptures of illustrations. Photos of the sculptures are used in picture books.
“I tried many different ideas. It’s so important we take our time with our ideas,” she said.
Jeanette said sometimes people want to finish a project and forget to enjoy the process.
“Remember how fun it is to create and share your own stories,” she said.
Nine-year-old Ava Izenour said she “likes to write about everything,” and the star of her stories is a character named Kate.
“Kate’s always funny and helps people out,” she said.
Dobbins Principal Cheryl Borovitcky called Jeanette and Christopher “inspiring.” Borovitcky said she met them at a literacy conference about a year ago and extended an invitation to visit the school.
The school’s parent-teacher organization also helped bring in the illustrators, the principal said.