Art School Magic
A story about the magic of Art School
In summary: I made some original art that I can’t wait to show you. A collection of 16 pieces will be exclusively available on my website March 27th!
I grew up in a house with two artist parents. My mom and dad met in Carbondale, IL studying visual arts. The basement of our house was a treasure chest of permanent markers that smelled strongly of alcohol, rainbow piles of card stock and a guillotine paper cutter with a blade bigger than my child-sized torso. Naturally, when I went to the University of Iowa, I majored in art.
Art school is a magical place.
I built an inflatable piano sculpture sealing the edges with my hair straightener. I created a papermache mold of my face that hung in a show with an anatomical drawing of my heart. I recorded myself whispering my journal entries (into a handheld recorder that used a tiny cassette tape) and it played during the intermedia show. I submitted a project in my design lab that was a series of shirts featuring a V with a halo, calling the project "Virginitees."
Like I said, a magical place.
Upon graduation I took a more traditional job route, spending 10 years working in fundraising. I still remember the day I called my dad to tell him I’d accepted a job raising money and not making art. He said “oh. are you sure?” instead of “congrats.” While working full-time I still made things regularly. I sewed tissue paper trees onto my holiday cards, ultimately destroying my grandmother’s sewing machine. I carved rubber stamps for homemade wrapping paper. I fully embraced the scrapbooking craze in 2005 and made tiny albums documenting post-college shenanigans. I opened an Etsy shop selling handmade postcards, which eventually became XO-LP. I got a few little jobs here and there, eventually meeting a printer (and now dear friend) who encouraged me to mass produce my greeting cards. I dreamt of going for it, but when I scribbled all the plans out on a napkin, as all great business stories begin, the details were a little loose and scary.
But, scared or not, I quit my job and committed to illustration full time in 2015.
There’s a longer story of 2015 to 2023, but this is about art school.
Last week I pulled out a lil basket of paints. (I moved twice last year. You tend to let go of your piles of random art supplies when you have to lug tubs up 3 flights of stairs.) After a year of big changes, I have a lot to say, so I went back into that art school magic. I taped down pieces of card stock and I made something. I swirled red wall paint with yellow acrylics. I used giant sharpies like delicate brushes and layered watercolor markers over squares of green craft paint.
This illustrator, who is admittedly more comfortable with a papermate than a paint brush, made some original art. I’m framing a collection of 16 layered pieces that are all about growth. Look for some previews on instagram (if you’re not following me, now is a great time to start.) They will be for sale on my website Monday, March 27th. Looking forward to sharing a little art school magic with all of you.
