Picture this: Springville exhibit highlights the work of Utah illustrators

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but there are some words that are worth — oh, at least 32 pictures. That's about the average number of illustrations included in many children's books.

"Just think how much work is involved in doing just one picture," says Margy Layton, and then multiply it 32 times. "I've always been one who respects people with talent, and these illustrators have so much talent."

The illustrators she's referring to are part of an exhibit at Springville Museum of Art called "Unbound: Original Picture Book Art by Utah Illustrators," curated by Layton, a former bookstore owner and now teaching at Utah Valley University. The show runs though Dec. 28.

Back when she had the bookstore, "I was surprised how many illustrators had local connections. As we put this show together, we found even more. What a fabulous opportunity to show them off," she says. The exhibits features works by 27 artists. "You see the different styles, how versatile they are. We wanted to show people the range of styles in children's books, but there's also amazing art," she says.

Illustrations in children's books don't just help tell a story, Layton says. "A child's introduction to art is usually through picture books. The first time you see well-done art, you connect on an emotional level." That's true at any age, she says.

The art children see in picture books often inspires them to create pictures of their own; to tell stories of their own. "Plus," Layton says, "we hope they connect the art they love with finding something to love at a museum. We are planting seeds, hoping they will become museum lovers."

In fact, the gallery features a couch where parents and children can sit down together and read any number of books by the featured illustrators. On Saturday mornings, a special storytime features one of the illustrators talking about his or her books. (For a schedule of appearances, visit unboundsma.blogspot.com.)

"We get a lot of comments from the kids about how they love that area," says Shelley Williams of the Springville Museum of Art. "Parents love it, too." Reading together is so important, she says, and what could be more fun than reading the book with pictures you just saw on the wall?

Layton has another purpose in staging the exhibit. She also wants people to know how many illustrators are living and working in Utah. "The national publishers, the people in New York, have Utah on the radar screen. It's a bright spot between the two coasts," she says.

Not all the illustrators actually have a home in Utah. Some were students at Brigham Young University; some have gone to live in places such as Idaho, Maine and New York. But they all have a Utah connection. And many are really making a name for themselves.