![‘Contented,’ says the cellist, rehearsing for his Bates senior recital](https://www.bates.edu/news/files/2021/11/211027_-Arie-Van-Vuuren_Cello_Rehearsal_0299A-200x133.webp)
Ryan Dean
Dean’s mixed-media illustrations accompany an unpublished children’s narrative by Matthew Heffernan of the Bates class of 2005. “Little Man and the Four Elements” depicts a young boy who explores the presence of hip hop in his community. Dean’s illustrations incorporate specific allusions to his own life. “I was captivated as a child by books because of the details of the illustrations,” Dean says.