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

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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.
Shannon May, How Pleasure Works, editorial illustration for the The New York Times op-ed, 2011. Ana Benaroya, illustration for The New York Times op-ed The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno, 2010. Emily Flake, an illustration for The Globe and Mail about Jane Jacobs, 2011. Shannon May ’10 Partial Client List: the neW york times, harvard business revieW, and readymade Magazine www.shannon-may.com “Freelancing is both challenging and rewarding. I love always having new problems to solve (every assignment is different) and working with different art directors. “My first job for The New York Times came from the Illustration Department’s senior showcase, in which each senior has a Skype interview with an art director of his or her choice. I chose Nicholas Blechman of The New York Times Book Review, and he gave me my first assignment within a week of graduation. The Illustration Department helped me immensely, requiring me to have a website, business cards and promotional materials, business plan, and portfolio before releasing me into the real world. “Much of the attention I have received came from being featured in Communication Arts, American Illustration, and Design*Sponge blog. I highly recommend contacting other illustrators in the field, sending emails to companies you’d like to work for, and overall not being afraid to put yourself out there.” Ana Benaroya ’08 Partial Client List: the neW york times, the los anGeles times, bloomberG, niCkelodeon maGazine, and abC neWs www.anabenaroya.com “When I first get an assignment, I try and hold onto that initial idea/vision in my mind,” Benaroya said, explaining her design process to The Artfuls, an online platform for illustrators. “Then I start sketching out my composition and try and get an approval from my client. I then ink the approved sketch, scan it in, and color on Photoshop. Sometimes I will add painted textures; sometimes I won’t. But I believe in starting everything by hand; this makes it truly unique and human.” Benaroya told Juxtapositions, “I love freelancing because it gives me the freedom to schedule my days as I like and the ability to do what I love. Every job I do as an illustrator varies in experience. It all depends on the art director I’m working with and the deadline and subject matter, but most of the time, it’s a very enjoyable experience. I go about getting connections through research. I look at companies and publications that use illustrators and then try and get in touch with their art directors and email them a link to my portfolio website. “MICA helped me become a successful illustrator by teaching me how to incorporate artmaking into my everyday life.” Emily Flake ’99 Partial Client List: the neW yorker, niCkelodeon maGazine, mad maGazine, time maGazine, and Canadian business www.eflakeagogo.com CONNECTIONS 27 “What I like about freelancing is the fact that I get to do something I love for a living and largely do it in my pajamas. In all seriousness, I feel incredibly lucky and blessed to be doing this. “I started bringing my portfolio up to New York a few months before I graduated in ’99, and continued to do so after I moved to Chicago (I moved to Brooklyn in ’04, which made the commute shorter). I would call ahead and find out when drop-off days were. Nowadays, of course, it’s essential to just have your portfolio online, but I still think there’s a lot to be said for meeting people face to face. I’ve also been with my agent for about a year now, which has been wonderful. “MICA was an incredible environment—so many smart, hardworking, talented students and incredible faculty. I am really lucky I got to go there—the entire experience, not just of MICA, but of living in Baltimore, was crucial to my becoming who I am today.”
Page 1 and 2: NEWS, EVENTS, & EXHIBITIONS Novembe
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Page 7 and 8: Making History /Making Art: MICA wa
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Page 11 and 12: Students Design Mobile Farmers Mark
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Page 15 and 16: Richelle Vargas, Thoughts, oil past
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Page 23 and 24: View of Lux Art Institute, featurin
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Nov.-Dec. 2011 - Maryland Institute College of Art

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