Green River’s 2018 Espial Book Releases Promotes Student Art
By: Margo Mead
Staff Writer
Published June 6, 2018
Green River’s 2018 Espial edition will be releasing this Thursday June 7.
The Espial is Green River’s literary art journal where “student can express their art in a creative way.” Said Annamarie Graver, a student at Green River. With a goal to spotlight and preserve a sense of place for the creative culture at Green River College each year.
The book is created annually during spring quarter classes. Everything in the Espial from cover to layout is a product of the Green River students and staff in classes ART150 and ENG239. The Espial instructors are Sarah Dillon Gilmartin from the art department and Adjunct teacher Trysteen Tran from the English department.
The students begin with a blank slate and throughout the year collect art, and literature submissions from all student, staff, and alumni for selection. According to Green River’s Espial Literary Art Journal Facebook page, “This journal is not about professional art or poetry; it is about you: the weekend painter, the amateur photographer, the poet at heart. It is about highlighting our creative GR community.” This gives all students an equal opportunity to have their art and literature published each year. The extended dead line for 2018 was March 22 before students began the final layout.
Green River’s Espial journal is an award-winning journal receiving first place in 2016 in the American Scholastic Press Association magazine competition. Which commented, “Your magazine shows the superior efforts of talented and creative writers, artists, photographers layout/graphics designers, staff members, contributors and advisor.”
The 2016 Espial also received best in category as well as best of division for the 2016 Print Rocks Awards hosted by the NW Visual Communications Industries Association also known as the PPI Association out of Portland, OR. The 2016 Espial celebrated Green Rivers 50th anniversary, highlighting its growth and development.
Those who join the Espial program learn skills in book editing, book design, book publication, and teamwork. Skills that were critical for the future career of Karl Smith, a Green River alumnus who was a part of the Espial project in 2005. After Green River he acquired a job at a graphics company doing publications, then after that continued doing private commissions. In a student testimonials video from the Espial journals home page at http://espialjournal.wix.com/greenriverespial. Smith said that he now has his name in the credits of several books now doing their layout and formatting, “all due to the fact that I helped out with the layout of this book.” Alumni can submit entrees for submission, to preserve Green Rivers culture and history.
Another former Espial student Joe Caputo who is also featured in the video commented on the teamwork skills that are obtain through the Espial project stating that, “You’re forced to work together on deadlines and come together as a group to try and put the best piece of art together that you can.” Teamwork becomes an essential skill in the class as “the experience is very much team oriented,” Said Smith.
The Espial project reaches out to every corner of Green River for entrees. From the study abroad programs, to the creative writing club. Anything that shows Green River’s creative culture is excepted. The project has been a part of the college since 1960. The first Espial edition known today was published in 2002.
The 2018 Espial Book release party will be 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., Thursday June 7 in Salish Hall room 273. Treats will be provided and the event and will include a poetry reading event and exhibition. Those who would like a copy may also purchase the 2018 Espial book for $10.
Those who would like to submit art in the next following year, can find a submission form on the Green River’s Espial website at http://espialjournal.wix.com/greenriverespial.
