MECAmorphosis 2016
The Textile and Fashion Design Department at Maine College of Art staged their fourth fashion show last Friday, as splashy as ever. My colleague in Illustration, Department Chair Mary Anne Lloyd and I snagged seats next to Jill McGowan, who taught in TAF this year, so faculty pride was brimming! I love the diversity of models in all shapes and sizes, many of them students. The fresh looks, too, like “Gray Circles” by Jianna Bennetti ’18, modeled by Theresa Uwamahoro. Some sights begged a sketch. This is Jianna’s also, modeled by Tanner Skilten. Seated at the edge of...
Read MoreMuchos MECA!
The spring semester at Maine College of Art is nothing if not frenzied. A LOT happens, and for many reasons, this one was jam packed. My class of junior illustration majors began with a bang: a Sweet Art Shop of valentines had to be installed at the Portland Museum of Art just one week after their return from winter break. Hustle, I said, and they DID. Maxwell Erwin’s packed an eyeful of desires. Cody Gauthier’s valentine tells a short lonely story, perhaps you can relate? We moved into an editorial project, with students choosing from one of three magazine articles. A Rolling...
Read MoreSketchbook Studio @ the PMA
Before I headed into my Sketchbook Studio event at the Portland Museum of Art on Wednesday, I spun through some favorite books about drawing. They always lift my spirits. In The Undressed Art: why we draw author Peter Steinhart quotes Matisse: “Drawing is the precision of thought.” My colleague in illustration, Cat Bennett, who leads a Saturday Morning Drawing group, quotes Picasso in The Confident Creative: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” John Hendrix claims in Drawing Is Magic, “If you treat your sketchbook...
Read MoreSweet Art Pops Up @ Portland Museum of Art
I’m back in the Illustration studio at Maine College of Art this semester, after taking one semester away from that buzzing hive. The junior illustration majors are a sharp crew; I’m honored to share the classroom with such a fine bunch. They hit the deck running with their first assignment: to create valentines for the Sweet Art Pop-Up Shop at the Portland Museum of Art. This project was launched three years ago in Scott Nash’s elective Development and Finish. The success of that effort drew the attention of Sally Struever, Director of the PMA Store. Last year, the Pop-Up...
Read MoreEyes open wide
When my Illustration MECA cohort Mary Anne Lloyd asked me to drive senior students on a field trip, I didn’t even blink. Tony DiTerlizzi?!!! Mary Blair?!! Beep beep beep beep YEAH! The closer you get to Amherst, MA, the more you feel in the middle of the woods. It’s a serene feeling, honest. Meeting House roads are all over New England, as my passengers noticed. We arrived at the home of Tony and his partner, Angie, right on time, and were in for a major treat. This pretty much captures the wonder we all felt. Angie made us completely welcome as our jaws dropped at the sight of...
Read MoreWake up Alice!
I am thrilled to have this piece in the current exhibit now in the Lewis Gallery at the Portland Public Library, Wake Up Alice! I love adding collage bits, and photographed cards for inserting into my drawing done with charcoal pencil and pastel on cut paper. I’m pleased to see my fierce little Alice hanging among such esteemed company! To the right, my former MECA student, Declan McCarthy, created a corner chock full of the entire adventure told in comic vignettes he drew on the wall. Here he is before his arm fell off. To my Alice’s left is MECA faculty Judy Labrasca’s...
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