Congratulations American Illustration 32 Winners!

Congratulations American Illustration 32 winners! As always, the contest is divided into two parts: Selected and Chosen. Selected illustrations recieved a majority of votes from the jury and appear in the book and on the website. This year's selected work includes (top row, from left to right): David Brinley (Class of 2010), Scott Bakal (Class of 2007) and Mario Zucca (Class of 2013). Chosen winners, who received at least two votes from the jury and appear only on the website, include (bottom row, from left to right) John S. Dykes (Class of 2013), Andrew Nilsen (Class of 2014) and Inga Poslitur (Class of 2012).

Also among the selected and chosen winners were guest speakers: Joe Ciardiello, Paul Rogers, Yuko Shimizu and Vivienne Flesher.

Scott Bakal (Class of 2007) Creates "Propulsion" for The Curve Ball

Scott Bakal (Class of 2007) was recently invited by Dave Murray, illustrator and owner of the Garrison Creek Bat Company, to create a custom bat for The Curve Ball, an upcoming charity event for the Toronto Blue Jays' Jays Care Foundation.

Fifteen artists were chosen to create custom bats to be sold at auction to help raise money for the JCF.

Scott's bat, Propulsion (in process at left), is named for a player's need for power when up to bat, and for the power and help to succeed and thrive that the foundation imbues in kids. Check out Scott's studio blog for more great process pics and info.

Guest speaker Irena Roman's Summer Course at the NRM

The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, will be host to an art intensive course for adults this summer, Painting Light: Luminous Watercolors with Irena Roman.

Guest speaker Irena Roman is an award-winning artist and Professor of Art at Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

The evocative beauty of utilitarian objects—transformed by light—will be the focus of the class, which is designed to enhance creative and technical skills.

The 5-day course runs Monday through Friday,10am-4pm, August 5-9, 2013. Pre-register at 413.931.2221 or rsvp@nrm.org.

Guest Speaker Kenton Nelson Shows in Nashville

Guest speaker Kenton Nelson's work was recently spotted on the cover of Nashville Arts magazine by Tennessee alum Sally Govan (Class of 2011).

Read the interview with Nelson in the May 2013 issue, and if you happen to be near Nashville, Nelson's work will be showing at the Cumberland Gallery during the month of May.

Thumbtack Press

Many HAS MFA students, alumni and faculty realize that selling prints of their work can be a satisfying and potentially lucrative way to give their illustrations a second life. Of the many venues offering art prints for sale, Thumbtack Press is one of the oldest, having been on the scene since 2006. Something that sets Thumbtack Press apart from other similar services is that they handle the entire process from print production through purchase and shipping. Thumbtack Press is currently host to work by David Brinley (Class of 2010), Amy DeVoogd (Class of 2012) and Chris Lyles (Class of 2014).

Check out this interview with Amy, TTP's most recent acquisition, in which she discusses style and process, and how her experience in the program influenced her work.

illustrations (above) available on Thumbtack Press, from left to right: Bicycle by Amy DeVoogd, Oriole by Chris Lyles, Wait and See by David Brinley

GUTS: Ryan Maguire's (Class of 2012) Community Art Program

Ryan Maguire's eBook, Guts, The Story of You, a story and set of illustrations he developed as part of his HAS MFA thesis, was recently utilized by teacher Robin Wildman at the Broad Rock Elementary and Middle School in an imagination exercise with students.

Wildman presented Guts to her fifth grade class then asked students draw their own feelings, followed by a discussion focused on considering how emotions impact everyone. See some of the children's interpretations (left) in this Facebook album.

Faculty Lisa Cyr on Navigating the Labyrinth in CA54

Communication Arts Illustration Annual 54 is fresh off the press, with a few HAS MFA alums and guest speakers among the winners, and an article by faculty Lisa Cyr.

Lisa's article, Navigating the Labyrinth, outlines the challenges facing illustrators today, and offers some guidance. "Illustrators need to explore untapped territory that expands past the boundaries of commercial illustration, seeking outlets in authorship, animation, film, video, TV, merchandising, gaming, design and the fine arts," she writes.

Check out Lisa's article on pgs. 210-211, and online soon.