CHRISTINE E. DOKOLASA, "READING TAKES YOU THERE," 2004-05

acrylic on masonite, 8' x 4'

Located: Galesburg Public Library,Children's Room, 40 E. Simmons St., Galesburg, Ill.

Other works: Murals in Trinity Lutheran Church, Galesburg

Inspired by traditional stories, fairy tales, and nursery rhymes, familiar characters and creatures jostle with those created from the artist's imagination. Dozens of storybook characters share the magical space in a landscape of trees with faces, a distant castle and calm blue waters. The whimsical subject matter is handled in the traditional style of children's illustrations. Attention to detail makes the stories visually come alive down to the fine details in the gossamer fairy's wing.

Nestling in the landscape, relaxed children read. They metamorphose into the characters in their books. The artist, as an almost hidden eye in the forest, reads the panorama before her.