Shane Evans, world class artist and illustrator of many celebrated children's books, is inviting the public to Dream Studio, his workspace and gallery located at 711 W 31st Street in Kansas City, MO, on the first Friday of every month starting Sept. 7.
Having sparked the imagination of millions of youth around the world with his illustrations, it could be argued that Evans' body of work has power and reach comparable to many popular Disney animated franchises, which is an interesting comparison given that Shane's Dream Studio is located in a 100+ year-old building, a stones throw from where the famed Walt Disney created Laugh-O-Grams studio on East 31st Street.
Evans has a create an inviting atmosphere for young artists to create, participate in artist workshops, show their own work and have access to the work that Evans has created. "Dream Studio is a place that provides opportunities for artists, poets and musicians to share their work and connect with one another," says Evans. "I want this space to be open to everyone, a cross section of people and ages."
The studio's name is inspired by a new children's book series written and illustrated by Evans titled Olu's Dream. Olu's Dream is a story about a young boy's dream world. Slated for a Fall 2008 release, the book series is intended to empower children to dream, to have ideas and to be creative.
Evans has ample experience illustrating books in this genre, and has created artwork for more than twenty children's books, many of which have been featured in such media as The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, Reading Rainbow and Late Night with David Letterman.
Evans received much acclaim for his work on Osceola, The Way The Door Closes, and Shaq And The Beanstalk. His accolades range from being honored by First Lady Laura Bush at the 2002 National Book Festival, The Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and The Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Non-Fiction for Children.
He's worked with publishers such as Scholastic Inc., Harper Collins, Chronicle Books and Hyperion Disney, and illustrated for authors and celebrities such as Shaquille O'neal, Bell Hooks, Roslyn Jordan the mother of basketball great Michael Jordan, Angela Johnson and Andrea Davis Pinkney. Shane also developed the popular Shanna Show for Disney, which spun of into Shane's Kindergarten Countdown.
The September 7th event will feature music, refreshments, book signing and much more.
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