Nov.-Dec. 2011 - Maryland Institute College of Art

26 CONNECTIONS
Declarations of Independence
Alumni, Faculty Pen National Success Stories as Contributing Illustrators
illustrators leave miCa with a personal voice that resonates with contemporary culture. Some alumni choose to use their
vision and business know-how to pursue freelance work with newspapers and magazines, enabling them to participate in current
affairs through a diverse array of publications.
“Illustrators are very lucky to engage their art with events of our times. Working with publications, you have to be aware of
what’s going on in the world—not only the profound but the ridiculous. It’s all part of the mix,” said Whitney Sherman ’71,
director of MFA in Illustration Practice.
The following alumni and faculty members have celebrated great career successes as contributing illustrators for national
publications, such as The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Time magazine. Here they share their experiences, insight into
making connections, and ways MICA helped them get on their illustrating feet.
Whitney Sherman ’71
direCtor of mfa in illustration PraCtiCe
Partial Client List: the neW york times, the boston Globe,
los anGeles times, the WashinGton Post, harPer’s
maGazine, businessWeek, and time maGazine
www.whitneysherman.com
“Contributing to national publications is brilliant. The distribution is wide
and prominent; there’s nothing like it. Having a freelance career—or as some
of us like to call it, an independent illustration studio—gives you the chance
to do other things. I also teach and create limited edition housewares and
linens. The field of illustration allows for this kind of diversity. Illustrators are
not just working only for ‘the page.’
“Getting work from publications is a cumulative process. You do a project
for one publication—others see it and call. My first break came from a piece I
did for San Francisco’s Focus Magazine. Once that was published, my clientele
went from regional to national, then international. For years my bread and
butter was editorial, then it branched out to institutional, corporate (brochures
and annual reports), cultural and nonprofit (posters), and book jackets. Each
was a different market, but my editorial style worked for all of them.”
As former chair of the undergraduate Illustration Department, Sherman
grew the program into the largest at MICA and has helped many MICA
illustrators connect with key art directors. She explains, “While undergraduate
chair from 2000-2010, I developed a strong professional development
program for MICA illustrators, including the MICA Illustration Showcase
that paired student illustrators with art directors at major magazines and
design firms. Students in the MFA in Illustration Practice will be introduced
on a more ongoing basis to prominent individuals, both in the position to hire
and in a position to give insight into creating original works that expand the
practice of illustration, who will give support and criticism to the students’
growing body of experimental and well-tested work.”
Whitney Sherman, Accounting Jail, editorial illustration for The New York Times, 1990s.