Thesis and Graduation

A few snapshots of the thesis show! I had the privilege of showing in the Meyerhoff Gallery right next the the talented Dai Foldes (pictured above with part of his painting/design thesis) The shelf and frames were custom-made by Mark Oliver. I have high-res photos taken by a friend that will be posted as soon as possible. The shows all looked great and I was especially proud to be part of the Illustration senior class of '11. Whitney Sherman is an excellent instructor and I've been honored to graduate with such talented classmates. As for future plans after graduation, I will be working as a Teaching Assistant/Resident Counselor at MICA's Pre College program and then looking for work in Baltimore as I develop my freelance business. Currently I am home in Michigan for a couple weeks and working on a commissioned mural.

Artist Statement from Commencement:

I have always been drawn to the narrative potential of visual art as well as the imagery that exists within the written word. For the past semester I have been navigating this relationship between text and image by using both mediums to explore one over-arching theme. The novella “Fells” is a fictional narrative based off of the environmental disaster in Picher, Oklahoma and the surrounding areas of the Tar Creek Superfund site. It explores the ideas of responsibility, consequence, and man’s relationship with land through the eyes of three boys who witness the rapid decline of the city of Fells. The fragility of human structure, both built and inherited, is revealed in the constant push of the interior to the exterior. The imagery displayed is not meant to accompany the story in a traditional illustrated sense, but is supportive to the narrative and includes characters from the text. In the same way that the imagery was inspired by the text, some of the visual elements of the novella “Fells” existed before the parallel text. This relationship of text and image is something I plan to continue to explore through both my illustration and personal writing in the years to come.