The Arts Council challenged artists to create a piece inspired by a literary work from a predesigned list of books and poems.
The result was inspiring.
Fifty-eight artists submitted work in the exhibition. Paintings, prints, film photography, ceramics and all styles of mixed media were incorporated into the show. You can check out the full list of books artists could choose from here.
Sam and Adam Morris, owners of Your Brother’s Bookstore, juried the exhibit and chose three works for cash awards.
- “Venomous Kerosene” (mixed media) by Elizabeth Isaac. $451. Book: “Farenheit 451”
- “Frankenstein” (oil on canvas) by John Helfrich. Not for sale. Book: “Frankenstein”
- “VILLAIN(S)” (acrylic on canvas) by Lauren Adcock. $600. Book: “Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead”
“Literally” is available to view in-person at the gallery 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday until May 25. The next exhibit at the Bower-Suhrheinrich Foundation Gallery is “Art in The City,” the Arts Council’s members-only show.
If you are interested in purchasing the pieces below, or have any questions, please contact Gallery Director Andrea Adams.
Matthew C. Fitzpatrick
“I can’t explain what I mean, And even if I could, I’m not sure I feel like it,” wood and acrylic, $200, Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, 1951, fiction
William Tortoriello
Serenity, digital photography, $250, Walden by Henry David Thoreau, 1854, nonfiction
Aaron Soulberry
Don’t Clip My Wings Before I Learn to Fly, handtorn paper, $300, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, 1969, nonfiction
Kyle Darnell
Animal Farm, digital, $100, Animal Farm by George Orwell, 1945, fiction
Jennifer Weigand
Claiming the Sky, acrylic on canvas, $165, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, 1969, nonfiction
Lesley Nelson
Grow My Own Wings, mixed media, $NFS, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, 1969, nonfiction
Ought Resonance
Neo San Fransico, mixed media, $500, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, 1968, fiction
Lori Rivera
Anticipation, acrylic on canvas, $350, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, 1963, fiction
Katie Nelson
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”, mixed media, $40, The Shining by Stephen King, 1977, fiction
Sarah Wolfe
Bull in the Desert, oil pastel, $200, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson, 1972, nonfiction
Annie Fitzpatrick
There’s Always Been a Lottery, printmaking, $50, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, 1948, fiction
Lauren Adcock
VILLAIN(S), acrylic, $600, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, 2009, fiction
Claudia Congleton
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, mixed media collage, NFS, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, 1943, fiction
Bethany Swartzentruber
Target Audience, fast food paraffin, $1 Big Mac, Fast Food Nation by Eric Schossler, 2001, nonfiction
Jackie Pandit
Pride and Prejudice, acrylic, $350, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, 1813, fiction
Mary Kay Glinis
A Florida Tale, acrylic, $400, Florida by Lauren Groff, 2018, short stories
Brooke Wheeler
Eyewall, mixed media, NFS, Florida by Lauren Groff, 2018, short stories
Dawn Murtaugh
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, textile art, $350, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, 1943, fiction
Frederica Diane Huff
Self Portrait, oil, $1500, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, 1964, fiction
Elaine Littrel
The Giving Tree, pencil and colored pencil, $30, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, 1964, fiction
Samantha Scott
Where the Wild Things Are, digital illustration, $100, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, 1963, fiction
Julia Starr
Coffee, Texts, Austen Love, digital illustration, giclee print, $85, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, 1813, fiction
Michael Lanham
The Plants are Moving, oil, $500, The Shining by Stephen King, 1977, fiction
Angela Price
Francies Tree, decoupage, $350, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, 1943, fiction
Heidi Krause
HeLa, mixed media, $125, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, 2010, nonfiction
Rebecca Thomas
There and Back Again, mixed media, $465, Lord of The Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, 1954, fiction
Elizabeth Isaac
Venomous Kerosene, mixed media, $451, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, 1953, fiction – 1st Place Award
Elizabeth Isaac
Detail of Venomous Kerosene, mixed media, $451, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, 1953, fiction – 1st Place winner
Elizabeth Isaac
Detail of Venomous Kerosene, mixed media, $451, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, 1953, fiction – 1st Place winner
Ripley Davis
“No, I do NOT like them Sam I Am!”, found objects, cedar, plaster, acrylic, NFS, Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss, 1960, fiction
Beau Ransom
The Stranger, mixed media, NFS, The Stranger by Albert Camus, 1942, fiction
Cedric Hustace
Les Trois Mousquetaires, acrylic, $6000, The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, 1844, fiction
India Moore
Fast Food Nation, pen, pencil, and acrylic, $50, Fast Food Nation by Eric Schossler, 2001, nonfiction
Sharon Mahoney
Blame It On The Gods, acrylic, $275, Epic of Gilgamesh by N/A, 2100 BC, fiction
Jane Gilbert
OrhDA2 KASa laska hU oKnza2 (Beloved flower cutdown by enemy), mixed media, NFS, Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann, 2017, nonfiction
Judith Kunst
(In)Sufficient, mixed media, $85, Beloved by Toni Morrison, 1987, fiction
Donald W Glinis
Frankenstein’s Monster Returns, acrylic, NFS, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, 1818, fiction – prints available
Justin Ewers
The Stranger, selenium tone silver geletin, $300, The Stranger by Albert Camus, 1942, fiction
Jacob Steffenhagen
Media, acrylic marker, $300, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, 2001, fiction
Scott Wheeler
In Hiding, mixed media, $NFS, The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, 1947, nonfiction
Scott Wheeler
In Hiding, mixed media, $NFS, The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, 1947, nonfiction – interior
Kristen Burckhartt
Bouillabaisse, acrylic, $600, A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, 2016, fiction
Andra Donea
Lost in Translation, photography, $279, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, 1968, fiction
John Helfrich
Frankenstein, oil on canvas, NFS, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, 1818, fiction – 2nd Place Award
Gene Lyons
Mysterium Fremendum et. Fascinans (The Visionary Overcoming Symbols in Search of Suchness and the Ddharma Body), acrylic painting, $275, The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley, 1954, nonfiction
Harlow McCreary
Jackpot!, paint and marker on canvas, $35, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, 1948, fiction
Yvonne Pund
Humbaba, mixed media, $230, Epic of Gilgamesh by N/A, 2100 BC, fiction
Jullianna Iyog
In Cold Blood, photography, $50 each, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, 1966, nonfiction
Beata Marczak
A Thousand Mornings, mixed media, $190, A Thousand Mornings: Poems by Mary Oliver, 2013, poetry
Alex Burns
You Can’t Make People Listen, paper on canvas, NFS, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, 1953, fiction
Steve Strait
Hunt the Dark Knight, acrylic, $300, Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, 1986, fiction
Emily Tingley
Goodnight Moon, embroidery/applique, $35, Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, 1947, fiction
Abby Murphy
In the Great Green Room, there was a Teapot, copper, silver, and acrylic paint, NFS, Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, 1947, fiction
Jessica Mason
Circe’s Sailors , underglaze triptych on wheel-thrown porcelain, $195, Circe by Madeline Miller, 2018, fiction
Christina Zimmer Robinson
You Contain Everything, mixed media, $2500, A Thousand Mornings: Poems by Mary Oliver, 2013, poetry (specifically the poem “Hurricane”)
Al Holen
Searching for Clarity, ceramic , $236, When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, 2016, nonfiction
Wendy Turner
LOTR, mixed media, $500, Lord of The Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, 1954, fiction
Wendy Turner
LOTR, mixed media, $500, Lord of The Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, 1954, fiction
Wendy Turner
LOTR, mixed media, $500, Lord of The Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, 1954, fiction
Jesse Ross
Leave to Start, mixed media, $NFS, Walden by Henry David Thoreau, 1854, nonfiction
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