Overview
This digital exhibit is an adaption of the physical exhibition Empowering Through Visual-Storytelling: Rascally Ravens Picture Book Process, on display at the Texas Woman's University Blagg-Huey Library from February 24 - May 16, 2025.
All items in this exhibit are protected under copyright and were included with permission from the copyright holder(s).
Empowering Through Visual-Storytelling: Rascally Ravens Picture Book Process exhibition is funded in part by Texas Woman's University School of the Arts & Design and the Greater Denton Arts Council.
Artist Statement
As a visual storyteller, professional educator, and naturalist, Texas Woman's University Professor of Graphic Design & Illustration Sheli Petersen draws upon study of New England, Midwest, and Texas landscapes and wildlife to realize her picture book characters and their world.
Her most recent book Rascally Ravens of Greystone Farm, features Carmen and Angelo, a mischievous raven pair who take up residence in farmer Hattie Greystone’s backyard, creating adventures and challenges for her and themselves.
Empowering Through Visual-Storytelling : Rascally Ravens Picture Book Process is a collaborative effort between illustrator-designer Professor Petersen and writer Patricia Petersen, a mother-daughter team who are life-long birders. They based their whimsical visual narrative on their direct observations of ravens in the wild.
While the book’s primary purpose is entertainment, the exhibition models for audiences Professor Petersen's picture book process—designing characters and world-building from photographic references and life-sketches, storyboarding for planning and sequencing layouts, and applying traditional and digital techniques to finish the illustrations.
Professor Petersen's hope is that her Rascally Ravens picture book exhibition will inspire viewers to create their own authentic visual narratives from their direct observation and experiences.
Story Synopsis
Carmen and Angelo, a pair of rascally ravens, descend on Hattie Greystone’s farm stead and take whatever they want from her garden. They tease her dog, Buster, steal kindling from her woodpile and “borrow” her scarf to line their nest. But when Dink, the last of their chicks to hatch, falls out of the nest and Hattie and Buster nurse him back to health, the ravens must ask themselves where Dink really belongs, with them or with his new-found friends?
Learn more about the book by visiting https://spetersenillustration.com/Ravens-Book.html