New Library Artwork Features Timeless Children's Tales

Oakmont artist Cy Assad says he always has been interested in art and creativity.

Assad, 76, is a retired designer—he's designed the train systems in Miami, Detroit and San Francisco; the safari area at the Pittsburgh Zoo; layouts of local shopping centers and shops; and he has taught at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.

But he created some of his best work in the last year, and it is now hanging up at the .

The artwork is a series of literature-based paintings and 3-D characters. The 7-foot by 6-foot murals depict scenes from Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, Moby Dick, Little Red Riding Hood and Lord of the Rings. Each painting also has characters that accompany them.

Those who enter the children's section now are greeted by the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.

"These things are meaningful," Assad said. "I love to paint, and all these years, I haven't had a lot of meaningful things to paint.

"I've been around for a long time, and I never get the response I think I am going to get after I finish a project. This is artwork. It affects people emotionally."

Assad got involved in the project after talking to library director Beth Mellor.

"She said she wanted to incorporate artwork, and I thought it had to work with the architecture of the building," he said. "The architecture is dominent and the windows are strong."

The project itself was underwritten by funds from the FOOLs, Oakmont Library’s award-winning Friends Group.

Assad sketched the paintings and presented them to the library board and FOOLs. Once the paintings received the approval, he got to work.

"I started working in the garage, but when it got cold I had to move the paintings inside and they barely fit," Assad said with a laugh.

The creation of the 3-D images was done using epoxy clay and a process perfected by Disney technicians. Assad had the help from friend William Farrell to design and create the 3-D clay sculptures.

"I didn't want to duplicate characters that have been done, and I wanted to stay true to the originals," he said. "The time and sweat went into getting the composition just right. The values and hues have to work together. I ended up redoing almost of of them."

The idea behind installing the illustrations is to create an atmosphere that supports learning through color and imagery.  

For young children the colors of the paintings can be used at a teaching tool. For older children the illustrations can be used to talk about the themes of the books or the characters.

"They look like they've always been here," said children's librarian Karen Crowell. "We wanted to create a conversation and inspire people to check out the classic books.

"I think children will remember these."

Assad said he sure hopes so.

"I'm so happy with the way things turned out," he said. "As time goes on, I hope the kids remember these paintings."