Can you talk about what brought you to Maine College of Art & Design? Did you know what you wanted to study? If not, how did you decide?
I decided to come to MECA&D because I was really attracted to the size of the campus and the amount of equipment available. I initially came here to study something like animation or illustration. I tried to get into something I knew would guarantee a job when I left school.
But then I took one class with Josh Reiman, which completely rocked my world. Sculpture gave me the freedom to do what I wanted to do. I can do sculpture work, and I can also do stop motion animation. It was exciting to put everything I was passionate about into one place.
How has the community you've found influenced your work?
The Sculpture community really grew this year and became super community-based. We're all friends with each other, and we all motivate one another and push each other's work. And I've gotten something out of every professor I've interacted with, and I'm still able to go back to them and ask for their advice, for their critique, and for them to teach me things that I couldn't learn during class time. The professors are incredibly important to me and my work, especially since I work interdisciplinarily (in animation and mostly in sculpture). It's really nice to have a connection with those animation professors still.
Photo: Annabelle Collette '22
How does Portland and Maine influence your work?
I love Portland. It has a really nice vibe. When I moved here, I became really comfortable with my surroundings because the city was the perfect size and didn't feel overbearing and looming. Everyone was really friendly. It was easy for me to transplant myself from a small town in Massachusetts to a city that's Massachusetts-ish: Massachusetts adjacent.
What types of opportunities outside the classroom and studio have you found, and how have they impacted your practice?
Right now, I have an internship with LoveLab, and I'm making a lot of connections through it. I'm working primarily with young students, and the experience is structured like an art education system. It's been really interesting for me to have a different place in the community with that. I've looked at film festivals and seen people working in the industry. I've had a few portfolio reviews, including one with people who work at Laika, which was cool. And I only made that connection because of MECA&D.
Can you recall a standout moment encapsulating your experience at the Maine College of Art & Design?
It's hard because I feel like every year is completely different. This year, something that really summed up my experience was taking a stop-motion class with Adam Fisher, learning those basics, and then bringing them into my sculptural practice. Having the agreement between both heads of the departments — Josh Reiman and Adam Fisher — and using those two people as a resource helped me build my practice.
What opportunities have you had at the College that you believe would not have been possible elsewhere?
Having the space to do my work and access tools, machinery, and equipment is incredibly important to my artistic practice. I learned how to weld at one point. Having access to the studios and having the professors and studio techs willing to teach me and walk me through things is incredibly important because it allows me the freedom to do what I need to do to achieve the final product.
One thing I've noticed about sculpture here is there's so much happening and so much to do with it all. It's very freeing. It's the ever-changing conversation we have in the Sculpture department: how do you define sculpture? We can have that conversation for three hours. And at the end of the day, we're at the same place we started. Sculpture is everything, and it's nothing - well, to me, it's everything.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I would love to work as a fabricator for a stop-motion production company. Realistically, in five years, I see myself as an intern shadowing others and still learning. My education doesn't stop here.