7/15/2023 - 9/04/2023

Inside the Cover – PCA&D York

Children's Books and Illustrations by Amber Kane | Bill Dussinger | Matt Novak

Inside the Cover aims to offer a behind-the-scenes look at different ways to create a children’s book. Featuring work by Amber Kane, Bill Dussinger, and Matt Novak, each of these artists and authors showcases the collaborative nature of creating a children’s book and the various methods that can be used to illustrate a story. This exhibition is on display at PCA&D York, 133 S. Duke St., York, PA, through September 4, 2023. 

About the Artists:

Bill Dussinger:

Is a graphic designer/illustrator/educator who has been in the design/illustration business for over 40 years and has been an educator for the past 11 years at PCA&D in the Illustration and Graphic Design departments. Bill has previously worked at Lancaster Newspapers and Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company. The first children’s book that he illustrated was called The Land of Can. The book’s author suffered from food allergies and has gone through life having to note things he can not do or eat. The book stresses how children should focus more on what they can do instead of what they can’t do. Bill’s first book evolved into a company that has published numerous books and more to come with topics like sleep, screen time, COVID, worry, fire prevention, and more.

Amber Kane:

Amber is, at her core, an art teacher. She spent eight years teaching 9-12 grade art in the public school system. Amber left art education to focus on her own business in weaving and fibers but quickly found herself teaching online and never stopped! She currently teaches AP Drawing, AP 2D Design, and AP Art History online. In addition, she is currently The Art of Education University, Director of Product Management. Well-designed instructional materials promote student learning and support teachers by saving them time and giving them confidence in what and how they’re teaching. In this role, Amber oversees the strategic vision of the curriculum and professional development products where she oversees a team that creates lessons, resources, assessments, and videos.

In 2021 she started creating books with her brother, Ashley Sollenberger. Ashley and Amber are educators with over 15 years of experience each. Ashley’s focus is physical education, and Amber’s is art education, emphasizing ideation and creative thought development. Some of their early projects include the longest paper chain and wrapping yarn around their childhood home to catch Santa. Ashley started writing stories to incorporate into his elementary physical education classes and wanted a way to make them more than words on a page. After asking several times, Amber finally agreed to give illustrating a book a try as her medium of choice is textiles.

Matt Novak:

Internationally recognized children’s book author Matt Novak has been writing and illustrating picture books for over 30 years. Among his many titles are The Everything Machine, No Zombies Allowed, and Twelve Snails to One Lizard (A Reading Rainbow Book). His books have garnered many awards including School Library Journal’s Best Book of the Year for Mouse TV and the International Reading Association’s Children’s Choice Award for Newt. Matt has also worked for Disney Studios. While at Disney he worked on such films as Rescuers Down Under and Beauty and the Beast.

 

The Center for Creative Exploration at PCA&D offers creative experiences for adults, high school students, and children in grades 1-9. Its goal is to provide community education for enthusiastic beginners and aspiring professionals, as well as both credit-bearing and non-credit class options occurring throughout the year on evenings and weekends, both online and in person. Current class listings can be found at pcad.edu/cce.

Pennsylvania College of Art & Design is a private, non-profit college offering BFA degrees, certificates, and curricula that enable students of all ages and backgrounds to pursue art as their life’s work. PCA&D prepares graduates to create influence through adaptive thinking, effective making, and a commitment to social justice. With visual, verbal, and virtual communication increasingly valued in a diverse and global society, the PCA&D experience centers around thinking, making, and communicating. 

 

Can’t make it to PCA&D York? Take a look at the exhibition with these behind-the-scenes photos from the day it was installed.