Booktastrophy

Creating “Booktastropy,” certainly challenged my imagination, sense of humor, and problems solving skills in its conception. The biggest challenge was scaling up art from an 8 by 10 piece of paper onto four, 8 foot by 3 foot glass windows and a door, this was certainly a learning experience for this artist. Fortunately, my mathematic background helped me devise a plan using a grid technic called dilations. 

I love children’s books so it was easy to match art from my portfolio to themes in children’s books. Of course, other ideas surfaced and were added on the spot. Once the characters were drawn on the grids, the fun and magic of art brought Library Alive to life. The scene starts with the exaggerated characters of two librarians crashing into each other causing books to topple open releasing an unhappy Goldfish, Alice in Wonderland and the zany Cheshire Cat, as well as the cascading river of Native American Water Protectors. Let’s not forget a very large pink dragon and other characters that have escaped from the toppling books.

Books created by Indigenous authors and illustrators provided inspiration for the design of the mural. Stop by the Children’s Room to take home a copy of We Are the Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom; Memoirs of a Goldfish by Devin Scillian; How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell or Frog and Fly by Jeff Mack.
 

About the Artist:

Indigenous artist and resident of West Columbia, South Carolina, Trudith Dyer, emerged on the art scene in 2018 after retiring from a teaching career in middle school mathematics. Trudith now spends her time working on two endeavors; 1) reconnecting with her culture and heritage as a member of the Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe of Virginia and 2) exploring, experimenting and expanding her knowledge using a variety of art mediums.

Trudith’s art is influenced by the bright colors of Gustav Klimt, Van Gogh and the collages of artist, Ginny Merritt.

Trudith’s themes range from past and present historical issues to art that reflects eclectics themes. Whatever the theme Trudith tends to prefer the bright colors of watercolor and the power of collage. Trudith’s was first recognized at the 2019 She Festival; Who’s Your Hero? Where she earned honors for Best in Show for outstanding artist presentation on the research and creation of Paper Genocide, a historically inspired piece. Shortly after, the Wren Conference invited Trudith to showcase Paper Genocide at the Columbia Museum of Art. At present Paper Genocide is on display at Jamestown Museum in Williamsburg Virginia.

Additional exhibits include; Indigenous Women art exhibit: Sisters are Sacred at the Nickelodeon Theater, Rob Shaw Gallery and a variety of venues in Columbia and Lexington County.

Trudith enjoys supporting artistic endeavors of students in the Columbia, SC area by volunteering yearly as an art judge for the Atlantic Art Institute of Columbia SC.