Jenna Stewart is a passionate and talented artist, I C Publishing author, and our illustrator extraordinaire. In this post, Jenna imparts her youthful wisdom and experience on how art tells a story, and how embracing this will help you as an author and business owner. She is a joy to have on our team, and there is much to emulate and learn from her.

In 2014, we published Jenna’s first book of prose and art called, There is This Place. In 2015, we commissioned her to illustrate our first children’s book for author, Annabella Stoyke, called Christy Solves a Mystery. She has done some independent pieces for us as well. And, as of now, we are collaborating with her on two more inspiring book projects we can’t wait to unveil . . .

Jenna will help you discover the extraordinary in the ordinary, and find the real magic in life and art. Read on.

Art Tells a Story

You’re an author. You teach and tell stories through written words and you want your words to stand out against the unlimited online landscape, the internet, as well as in physical bookstores.

How do you do that?

The saying goes, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” I fully support this statement and believe that you can sometimes find incredible treasures hidden in the most boring skins. Unfortunately, “boring” gets lost amongst the mass amounts of stimulation flooding our phones, TVs, and computer screens these days; and your viewers do not have the millions of hours it takes to sift through this saturated market to find you. That’s why you need to make your words stand out. One way to do this is to pair them with the right image.

Art tells stories too, and if you can use the language of art to help enhance your words, you’re likely to stand a better chance to get spotted in the torrent of media out there.

The Language of Art

The question still remains, “How do I do that?” Firstly, it’s important to understand the language of art and how it speaks to its viewers. By using colours, lines, shapes, contrasts, perspectives, and a number of other elements and principles of design; art evokes feelings, emotions, and moods. Often one image can be interpreted in a variety of different ways, and that’s why your content is so essential as well.

Consistency and Clarity

In my own journey into the entrepreneurial world, these two words have been spoken over and over to me; consistency and clarity.

It’s so important to know what your message is to the world, and communicate it in a clear and concise manner. Once you establish this, then everything you do and say needs to express that too. Make sure your blogs and other social media posts reflect that message as well, and choose imagery or artwork that best suits and further projects your intentions.

Dive into the world of creativity and don’t be afraid of the visual aspect of it just because, up until now, you have allowed yourself to think that your creativity stops with words. It doesn’t!

Open up to the language of art and you will be surprised by its voice.

Jenna Stewart holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) degree from the University of Waterloo. After also graduating teachers’ college at Nipissing University, Jenna spent a year teaching in England. There she continues to expand on her captivating vision of the world. Jenna is also a teacher with the Simcoe County District School Board, bringing her affection for creativity and the love of simplistic values to the classroom.

In another blog post we will explore, with Jenna, the Principles and Elements of Design, and how best to select an image, or for that matter an illustrator or artist to work with. In the meantime, if you have questions for Jenna or any of us at I C Publishing, please feel free to comment below, or email us directly at Info@ICPublishing.ca, and we’ll be sure to get back to you right away.

Kindest regards,

Sheri Andrunyk

I C Publishing – Committed to Quality Content, Design, and Platform