2026 SPE Annual Conference: Catalyst for Exchange
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print this pagePlay + Collaboration: Using Photograms as Children's Book Illustrations
Saturday, October 19 - 9:30AM to 10:00AM
Conference Hall
Inspired by a decade of intro student photograms, Jennifer Ray and Irma Puškarević set out to illustrate a children's book with photograms. As part of the "Artists to Authors" fellowship through the Wichita-based nonprofit Arts Partners, they collaborated with writer Jeremy Thomas to produce Crabbylegs and The Three Shells. Ray will discuss the collaborative and playful process of creating the story and images, which tell of a young hermit crab, living in a plastic lotion pump top on a polluted beach, who must journey through the ocean to find a real shell where she can thrive. The presentation will address inspirations for the book, historical precedents (Anna Atkins, Varvara Rodchenko, Tana Hoban), and interactive presentations and installations of the material.
speaker
Jennifer Ray
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