In The Studio: One Grand Read 2026
Welcome to our new blog series, In the Studio. This series reflects our commitment to highlighting and incorporating more local art in our branches and communications and marketing efforts. Follow along for behind-the-scenes looks at original artwork and installations waiting for you to experience in CADL branches and original artwork and design from our in-house Marketing and Communications team.
Written by Rissa Groves
As CADL’s Multimedia Content Coordinator, I am responsible for several artworks you may have seen in the library and throughout Ingham County. Bookmarks, stickers, CADL’s stop-motion animated commercial, and the One Grand Read logo and artwork were all created by me.
Another year has gone by and it’s time yet again for One Grand Read. When it comes to illustrative projects, I always appreciate a subject that pushes me outside my comfort zone. The artwork went through many iterations before I came to the final three pieces. Throughout the design process, I knew I wanted the art to be colorful, bold, and full of texture to reflect the themes of the book and capture the eyes of a young and diverse range of folks in our community.
Because I was having trouble settling a final concept, I began working with a medium that lends itself well to experimentation and a loss of creative control. Monotype printing is a method of printmaking that creates unique individual prints rather than identical multiples. There are limitless ways to create monotypes, but for this project I utilized acrylic paint and a gelli printing plate, which is effectively a sheet of dense gelatin that can be inked and painted. After the print is painted onto the surface of the gelli plate, paper is applied and the image is peeled off its surface.
Because each print ends up completely different, I was able to quickly experiment with a variety of layouts and subjects. My initial prints were visually interesting but lacked depth and rendering.
I scanned the prints into the computer and added additional digital elements in Photoshop. In the end, the One Grand Read team couldn’t narrow down to a single piece from the options I presented, so we decided to go with all three!
I am glad for the opportunity to share my life’s passion with you all and I hope these pieces inspire you all to read, get involved in your community, and create.
