Ralph Waldo Emerson: Completed Works
Book Cover and Poem Spread
For this project we had to select a poet from a given list and
create an illustration for a book cover of their completed works and choose a single poem to create a spread. We were only allowed to use “wet media” to complete the illustration. I chose the poet Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Spread
Along with the cover, we also had to choose a poem from the collection and create a cohesive spread for it. The poem I chose is titled “The Past,” and it is about learning that the past is the past and that there is more peace in just letting things be and to not dwell on what has happened. To illustrate this, I used the same coffee watercolor technique to indicate an “aging” aspect. I also bring back the leaves used on the cover and have them as they would be blowing in the wind. And lastly, to indicate time and the past, I designed the sections of the poem to be in a line to simulate a timeline.
Book Cover
Emerson is most known for his movement of Transcendentalism, and the idea of being connected with nature and with one another. For my cover I wanted to illustrate that connectedness with nature. I used brewed coffee and hints of blue watercolor and let them bleed together to illustrate that interconnectedness. I also painted leaves with a mixture of brown and green watercolors and stamped them on to the paper to emphasize his roots with nature.
