Speaking at RISD!

This week, I had the honor of returning to my alma mater, Rhode Island School of Design, to speak about my work and be part of a panel with brilliant and passionate peers.  Engaging with fellow alumni, faculty, and students of the Illustration Department generated so much energy, determination, and hope!

RISD is a very special place, on a very steep hill. I could have spent a whole week revisiting the RISD Museum, galleries, the Atheneum, the Nature Lab, but I was so lucky to spend time engaging with staff, faculty, fellow alumni, and the incredible current Illustration seniors.

I spoke about exploration in my time at school and shared my 'methods of discovery' since graduating. What happens when you no longer have three project prompts each week? I shared freelance projects and the pathway to making work on my own time to further develop my long term hopes & dreams in storytelling. My peers told stories of determination, pursued practice and growth, and a shared love for the craft. The conversation was a joy with such an enthusiastic group. The questions were insightful and topical, and answers were as honest and direct as possible. We were all inspired and excited to take each other’s insight back to our own work.

Even just putting the presentation together was a great practice to reflect on how discovery, in school and after, can be such a cycle of looking within and absorbing what is around you.

Thank you Joe, Kelly, and RISD Illustration for having me! Check out fellow panelists work :

Franco Zacha @francozacha, Shafi Adams @shafiadams, Huahua Zha @deatoozhu, Andy Wang @andywang.art

{It was ever the more special to share the day with my mom. Wouldn't be chasing the dream if it wasn't for her and my dad's cheers, hard work, and support through it all! }

Thank you for reading.