Looking for new creative material to inspire you this summer? ☀️📖
Check out some amazing book recommendations from Communication Arts Professor Peter Sakievich available at VCU Cabell Library!
⭐ Before the Animation Begins: the Art & Lives of Disney Inspirational Sketch Artists
“This is a gorgeous book showcasing the visual development work that continues to inspire & influence modern animation, where you can see the pictures & better understand the humans behind the foundational early animated films of Disney!”
⭐ Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - The Art of the Movie
“Everyone loves this movie for the enticing blend of stylized 3D animation with comic book inspired textures, colors & 2D animated effects. Explore how the artists worked tirelessly to visualize & produce a film that’s had a lasting outsized impact on active & aspiring artists.”
⭐ The Art of Star Wars, Episode II, Attack of the Clones
“While not everyone’s favorite movie, IT IS a great “art of” book showing off not only the minimum high bar required for a major blockbuster, but also the volume of creative input needed. It also shows a blend of both analog & digital media as the transition to work began at the time.”
⭐ The Art of Miyazaki’s Spirited Away
“Almost entirely shows the work of director Miyazaki’s personal vision laid out in very simple materials, pencil & watercolor, that form the charming backbone of this enthralling world. The power of simple work, clearly stated from the mind of an unwavering practiced visionary stands out as an open door for creative conversation to inspire his studio & projects into the unforgettable forms we see today.”
⭐ The Art of WolfWalkers
“See how the artists behind the unique & fresh styles of the animated film developed their use of pattern & textures as forms of expression of space, feeling, & relationships. It brings children’s books’ simple stylings into a medium too often dominated by technological trends & shows what is possible outside the major animation studios in the hands of independent artists.”
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@vcuarts@vculibraries@rainlandstudios
In May of 1971, a Commonwealth Times article reported that students were using a 3,000 year old method called fresco painting, which involves painting on wet plaster. One student in particular expressed a liking to this unfamiliar art form, they stated, “We have become product oriented and it is refreshing to satisfy one's inner aesthetic need rather than producing for someone else.”
Would you try your hand at fresco painting?
From University Archives. The Commonwealth Times. Find the file:
scholarscompass.vcu.edu/com/152
#VCU #VCULibraries
Fashion is more than just “stuff.” More than a century of cultural history is easily accessible in image and text through The Vogue Archive. The Vogue Archive gives users digital access to the entire run of the U.S. edition of Vogue (1892-present) with its photographs, articles and advertisements. Comprehensive indexing allows for searches of keywords, materials, products, garments, designers, individuals and companies.
Students from a wide range of disciplines will find this resource useful, from fashion, interior design and art history to advertising, mass communications and gender, sexuality and women's studies.
While many people think of Vogue as just a fashion magazine, in reality it presents a broad portrait of its era; Vogue documents both style and society.
From The Vogue Archive website: "The contents of Vogue are obviously of central importance to the history of fashion, from the liberating modernism of Coco Chanel to the cross-gendered experimentation of Jean-Paul Gaultier and beyond. However, it is also a rich source for other areas of modern culture, providing a record of changing social tastes, mores and aspirations in the modern world, and encompassing literary works by Kate Chopin, Evelyn Waugh, Vladimir Nabokov and Carson McCullers, articles by Winston Churchill and Bertrand Russell, wartime photojournalism by Lee Miller, features on popular cultural figures of the day from Marlene Dietrich and the Beatles to Nicole Kidman and Beyoncé, and on prominent American women from Jackie Kennedy to Michelle Obama."
Images from vintage Vogue issues (1917-1918, 1923, 1926) can be viewed in-person by appointment at Special Collections and Archives on the fourth floor of Cabell Library. Please visit www.library.vcu.edu/research-teaching/special-collections-and-archives/ or email [email protected] for more information.
Reduced intersession hours at Cabell Library begin on Saturday, May 9 and will go through Saturday, May 16. After that, summer semester hours will begin.
Sunday: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Monday-Thursday: 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Friday: 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Saturday: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
go.vcu.edu/LibHours
#VCU #VCULibraries
Congratulations to the Class of 2026!
VCU Libraries salutes you as you move on to the next steps of life and learning. Remember, as alumni, graduates retain borrowing privileges at VCU Libraries.
#VCU #VCULibraries
Props for Profs…Faculty benefit from encouragement just like students do. Our librarian faculty members would welcome thank yous or affirmations that they helped you this semester.
As the semester winds down, students are invited to share words of gratitude with VCU professors. Taking a moment to express gratitude to a professor who has positively impacted you can brighten their day, and boost your spirits. As the semester comes to a close, we invite you to share your appreciation for any professor who has made a difference in your journey-- whether this semester or in the past! (If you'd like to thank more than one professor, please fill out additional forms.)
Your message of gratitude will be shared directly with the VCU professor. A simple ‘thank you’ can go a long way in spreading positivity!
Submissions are being accepted through midnight on Saturday, May 9.
bit.ly/42NxK9E
In May of 2007, the Vine shared interviews with students who were reminiscing on their school year. Many of their joyful memories included time spent with their friends and peers or soaking up the sun in parks and outdoor spaces.
As the semester comes to an end, many of us will be reminiscing about this past school year. Whether you have just completed your first year or are graduating soon, take time to reminisce on these joyful and memorable moments.
From University Archives. The Vine. Find the file:
scholarscompass.vcu.edu/vin/76
#VCU #VCULibraries
Understanding NIH’s New Data Management and Sharing Plan Requirements
📆Thursday, May 7, 2026
⏰Noon to 1 p.m.
📍Zoom
VCU's C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research and VCU Health Sciences Library will present a lunch research seminar via Zoom. Nina Exner, Ph.D., research data librarian, will discuss how data repositories can be used to meet the National Institute of Health's data dissemination requirements.
Register: vcu.zoom.us/meeting/register/jTvw13ZFSsC2O9QqURZRvw
For more information, contact Pamela Dillon, Pharm.D., research liaison, at [email protected] or visit cctr.vcu.edu.
#VCU #VCULibraries
May the Fourth be with you, “Star Wars” fans!
Among the thousands of items in the Comic Arts Collection of VCU Libraries' Special Collections and Archives are hundreds of "Star Wars" comics, magazines, pop-up books, novelizations, fanzines, children's books and more.
#VCU #VCULibraries #MayTheFourthBeWithYou
Announcing the 2026 Cabell First Novelist Award top 10 shortlist!
We’re thrilled to show off these extraordinary debut novels that our judges loved. Titles are listed in alphabetical order by author’s last name.
📖The Edge of Water by Olufunke Grace Bankole (Tin House)
📖Homeseeking by Karissa Chen (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
📖The Devil Three Times by Rickey Fayne (Little, Brown & Company)
📖Great Black Hope by Rob Franklin (Summit Books)
📖 A Thousand Natural Shocks by Omar Hussain (Blackstone)
📖Wanting by Claire Jia (Tin House)
📖To the Moon and Back by Eliana Ramage (Avid Reader Press)
📖Endling by Maria Reva (Doubleday)
📖North Sun, or, the Voyage of the Whaleship Esther by Ethan Rutherford (A Strange Object/Deep Vellum)
📖Lonely Crowds by Stephanie Wambugu (Little, Brown & Company)
The shortlist was determined by students in the VCU MFA in Creative Writing program. Congratulations to all of these authors, and everyone who made the longlist as well!
@tin_house@putnambooks@littlebrown@summitbooks@blackstonepublishing@tin_house@avidreaderpress@doubledaybooks@deepvellum
Getting outside and exploring all that Richmond has to offer is a common summer activity, but what about the seldomly seen parts of Richmond?
In May of 1993, an article was posted in the Commonwealth Times showing the hidden, mysterious, and grungy parts of Richmond that you can explore. It specifically gives directions to an abandoned boat beached in Shockoe Bottom. Maybe it is still there but explore at your own risk!
From University Archives. The Commonwealth Times. Find the file:
scholarscompass.vcu.edu/com/744
#VCU #VCULibraries
