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Student Narrative
The Violet City is a handmade picture book that I both wrote and illustrated, blending Gothic aesthetics with social allegory. Set in the ancient Central European city of Quaik, the story unfolds during the violet season when a mysterious stone pillar transforms residents into animals reflecting their true nature.
Through charcoal illustrations, this book tells the story of the Steinbach family—an authoritarian father, an independent eldest daughter, and a sensitive younger daughter—as they experience awakening and tragedy through mysterious transformation. When the father becomes a raging bear and the sisters transform into a cat and hamster respectively, they begin to explore family secrets and the city's truth, ultimately discovering that the real curse is not supernatural forces but cycles of oppression passed down through generations.
Crafted on handmade paper, each page carries profound reflections on power, truth, and self-liberation, presenting readers with a beautiful yet unsettling allegorical world.
Publication Date
Spring 5-1-2025
Description
Entry for the 12th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest. Opening reception and award ceremony Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 6:30pm, Fleet Library, 1st Floor Main Reading Room. Juror: Gabrielle Reed.
Keywords
artists' books; Baker & Whitehill
Disciplines
Book and Paper
Student Status
Graduate student
Year of Graduation
2026
Major
Illustration
Faculty / Course
MFA Illustration Studio II, Kim Demarco, Calef Brown
Materials + Techniques
Artist Paper, Charcoal, Letterpress text
Photo Credit
Sabrina Love, FAV 27
Recommended Citation
Miao, Longwen; Collections, Special; and Library, Fleet, "The Violet City" (2025). 12th Baker & Whitehill Student Artists' Book Contest 2026. 37.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/bookcontest12th2026/37