“Bits & Pieces: The Illustration of Red Nose Studio” is now on exhibit at the Emily Davis Gallery in Folk Hall, 150 East Exchange St., and reveals the many processes behind the award-winning artwork of Chris Sickels. “Bits & Pieces” demonstrates elements of character development and narrative structure alongside a blend of sculpture, painting, photography, animation, and digital and traditional illustration techniques to challenge and inspire creativity. An Artist Talk with Sickels will be held Thursday, Jan. 24, at 6 p.m. in Folk Hall.
Featuring a collection of 3D models, sets, sketchbooks and prints from Sickels’s career, the exhibition also includes work from his most recent project, “Time Pieces.” This illustration project was designed to be a promotional piece for Red Nose Studio clients. In its entirety, “Bits & Pieces” gives an in-depth view of Sickels’s creative process, from conception to completion.
Artist Chris Sickels, left, with Dave Szalay.
The Myers School of Art will host Sickels through a visiting artist residency accompanied by the Myers Forum course: Explorations in Visual Narrative with Chris Sickels. This residency and class were proposed by Dave Szalay, associate professor in the Myers School of Art and an award-winning professional illustrator. The Myers Forum course will conduct exercises in narrative construction and practice illustrating them through various mediums.
Sickels operates Red Nose Studio from his home in Greenfield, Ind. He received a BFA in Communication Arts with an emphasis in illustration from The Academy of Cincinnati in 1996. His work has been recognized in various national design and illustration competitions. The Society of Illustrators awarded him three gold medals and one silver medal for his still and animated illustrations.
Sickels is the author and illustrator of “The Look Book.” His illustrations appear in several New York Times best-selling titles, such as “Here comes the Garbage Barge” and “The Beginners Guide to Running Away from Home.” He has also worked with corporate clients, including The New Yorker, Target, Random House Books, Scholastic and Pepsi.
“Bits & Pieces: The Illustration of Red Nose Studio” continues on exhibit through Feb. 1. Visit the Myers School of Art online.
Media contact: Lisa Craig, 330-972-7429 or lmc91@uakron.edu.