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.

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 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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Alum Ryan Maguire (Class of 2012) is among forty artists selected to show their custom designed boxing gloves for Fight For What's Right, an exhibit that will run on May 4 at Toy Art Gallery in Los Angeles, and on May 9 at the Time Hotel in New York City.

Presented by Fight The City, an organization that makes gloves and gear that give fighters a way to express themselves when they step into the ring. 

All of the gloves from the NYC showcase will be auctioned on eBay, with a portion of proceeds donated to the Hoods To Woods foundation. The Foundation helps inner city kids get out to the wilderness to learn, grow, and become all they can be through snowboarding and wilderness activities.

Communication Arts' Illustration Annual 54 just arrived in our mailboxes, and we're thrilled to see David Brinley's (Class of 2010) piece Handschuhschneeballwerfer (above left) included, as well as Scott Bakal's (Class of 2007) series for the United States Air Force (two of five chosen pieces, above right).

Also selected were illustrations by guest speakers Joe Ciardiello, Rudy Guiterrez, Paul Rogers and Yuko Shimizu.

Congratulations all!

Congratulations to those selected for publication in Spectrum 20: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art! From left to right, above: Inga Poslitur (Class of 2012), Scott Murphy (Class of 2014) and Scott Bakal (Class of 2007). Guest speakers Kinuko Y. Craft and Peter de Sève are also on the list.

Inga's selected work (top left) is one of the paintings she created for her HAS MFA thesis.