AOI poster created by junior Wes Talbott

CCAD’s annual Art of Illustration (AOI) exhibition opens March 3 at Rivet Gallery in Columbus’ Short North arts district.

The student-produced exhibition is in its 15^th year and is part of a collegewide illustration competition that is juried by local professional illustrators.

The exhibition, which used to be shown on CCAD’s campus, moved to Rivet Gallery last year. The exhibition will once again debut during Gallery Hop, a first-Saturday-of-every-month event in the Short North.

“We wanted to showcase the best illustrative work created by students of CCAD and give them a chance to have their work exhibited in a gallery off campus,” said Brianne Schulze, a student organizer of AOI. “This is our second year working with Laura Kuenzli at Rivet Gallery, and she has been a big help to us throughout the entire process and in giving the exhibited artists an opportunity to sell their work.”

This year the show is organized by four Illustration students: seniors Lexie Holliday and Brianne Schulze, and juniors Andrew Thompson and Wes Talbott. Advisors are Professors Stewart McKissick (CCAD 1979) and Walter King (CCAD 1981) and Chair of Illustration Chris Payne.

Left to right: Chris Seaman, Jeff Carlisle, Lora Innes, Chris Payne, Adam Watkins, and Maxe Smith

The panel of judges included alumni Lora Innes (CCAD 2002, Media Studies), Chris Seaman (CCAD 2000, Illustration), Adam Watkins (CCAD 2004, Illustration), Maxe Smith (CCAD 2009, Illustration), and Jeff Carlisle (CCAD 1997, Illustration). They evaluated 190 submissions, narrowing the pool down to 41 accepted illustrations for the show.

Awards will be given for first, second, and third place. Six pieces were also chosen as  judges’ picks and will receive awards. The show is sponsored by Chipotle, Starbucks, r designs & printing, Noodles and Co., Dick Blick Art Materials, Kroger, and Giant Eagle.

Art of Illustration will open March 3 at Rivet Gallery, 1200 N. High St., with a reception from 7–10 p.m., during which awards will be given. The show will run through March 28, 2012.

Alumna Lora Innes has been asked to create a graphic novel for HBO's new miniseries.

Media Studies alumna Lora Innes (CCAD 2002) will create a graphic novel to follow the new HBO miniseries, To Appomattox, which is currently in production.

To Appomattox is an eight-part TV miniseries about the Civil War, starring Michael C. Hall, William Petersen, Paul Giamatti, Bill Paxton, and Noah Wyle. It will air in 2013 to coincide with the 150^th anniversary of the Civil War. Learn more about the project here.

Innes is the award-winning writer and artist of the historically-acclaimed graphic novel series The Dreamer, a story about a teenage girl who begins having vivid dreams about the American Revolutionary War. She also co-hosts a podcast series called Paper Wings, the show for visual storytellers.