watercolor, colored pencils, markers, ink; 16×20″
“I chose book banning as my topic because I have always loved reading. I have a huge collection of books in my room and used to always go to the library to read new books. Through research I learned that one of the main reasons books are banned is because they are deemed “inappropriate”. Another reason the books are getting banned is children shouldn’t be exposed to inappropriate topics in school or public libraries. I drew a girl who is yearning for a book that is banned. I used watercolor to surround the girl and the book to symbolize that the book isn’t that bad. I used hatching, lines in the same direction used to show shading, and cross hatching, lines going in opposite directions. I used colored pencil and marker to color in the girl and the book. For the watercolor section I used yellow, pink and a blue to symbolize how the book is pure. I don’t think books should be banned just because people don’t agree with them. Books are ways that authors share what they have gone through, by banning them you are silencing them. Books are also ways people express themselves and by banning them you’re not allowing self-expression.”
ARTIST BIO: Megan Schwiegeraht is a grade 11 student at Butler Tech School of Art studying art under art teacher Mary Catherine Ruby.