Recent USU Graduate Publishes Children's Book

A recent graduate of Utah State University’s art department, Scott Wakefield, self-published a children’s book that will go on sale June 15. The book, Woodchuck Chuck, was part of his graduate thesis in which he explored a range of art styles for the book’s illustrations.

During the September 2008 Gallery Walk in Logan, Wakefield displayed his work and let Cache Valley residents vote for their favorite style. After considering the votes, he chose a combination of styles but focused on one called “Supermole Returns,” which was one of the more popular illustrations. The final images were created using oil paint on illustration board. “Supermole Returns,” as well as other images, can be viewed online.

 

“Finishing this book has been a six-year process, and it is really nice to finally pull it out of my imagination into a form that other people can touch and read and experience,” Wakefield said. “Watching people smile as they read the book is very rewarding.”

 

The public will have its first chance to see Wakefield’s original art for the book and how they compare to the other styles he explored as part of this graduate work. His work will be exhibited at the Alliance for the Varied Arts Gallery (35 W. 100 South, Logan) June 12-July 11. This show will be part of the next Gallery Walk on June 12 from 6-9 p.m. The evening will feature a story-time reading of Woodchuck Chuck, a coloring station where children can color pages from the book and a free book will be awarded to someone who voted during the 2008 exhibition of the illustration styles.

 

The concept for the book came from the well-known tongue twister “How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck if a Woodchuck Could Chuck Wood?” Wakefield said his dad used to speed-read the rhyme to him as a kid, and he always thought it would be fun to take the concept and turn it into a story book.

 

Beginning June 15, the book will be available for purchase through www.woodchuckbook.com and www.scottjwakefield.com. It will also be available through www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com and other online distributors beginning August 2009. Additionally, the book will be for sale at the AVA, at Summerfest (June 18-20) and at Art of the Lawn (June 27).

 

Writer: Annalisa Purser, 435-797-1429, annalisa.purser@usu.edu
Contact: Scott Wakefield 435-753-3337, scottjwakefield@yahoo.com