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Trudy Benson M.F.A. ’10, painting/drawing Artist Only a week after her Pratt master’s thesis exhibition, the Virginia Photo: René Pérez
native was given her first solo show Space Jam at Freight + Volume Gallery in Chelsea in 2010. Her largescale, electric-hued abstractions have been in multiple group exhibitions in the city and in Richmond, Virginia. Benson’s second solo show Act u a l / V i rt u a l wa s h e ld at M i k e Weiss Gallery in 2011. Modern Edition has described her work as “reveling in the possibilities of paint, fr o m h a rd - e dg e d g e o m e t r i e s to fastidious linework, drips, smears, and luscious gradient blends.”
What’s the best advice you ever received and who was it from? When I was a child, my mom saw me drawing a tree, with all its branches and tons of tiny leaves. She said, “You can’t see every single branch and every single leaf on that tree. Why don’t you try drawing what you see?” That advice works on a number of levels. When did you know you wanted to be an artist? In second grade; I even coerced my mom into helping me dye all of my clothes black, including my underwear, because I thought artists wore black all the time. How do you interpret Charles Pratt’s motto for the Institute: “Be true to your work, and your work will be true to you”? The best thing an artist can do for herself is to put her work first. It is also a reminder that money and distinction are not as important as your artistic journey.
What do you consider the key to your success? Drive, motivation, and the ability to work long hours with no sleep. No joke. I think it’s hard to establish your own company and work for yourself without those three things. How do you interpret
Carrie Bilbo
Charles Pratt’s motto for the Institute: “Be true to your work, and your work will
B.F.A. ’09, Jewelry Jewelry Designer
be true to you”? I interpret it to mean staying true to my style of work and vision. There is a lot of pressure and temptation as a jewelry designer to give in and make quick and easy unoriginal pieces because they may be sellable and fashionable at that moment in time.
Bilbo, the top prizewinner in her Jewelry graduating class, founded h e r ow n c o mpa n y s h o r t ly a f t e r graduation. Working from her studio in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, she has made a stunning entrance into the r arefie d world of fine j ewelry design both here and abroad. Bilbo’s edgy yet timeless work has r e c e i v e d e x t e n s i v e pr e ss c ov e rage in publications such as InStyle Magazine, Sublime, G e rm a n Vogue, and New York Magazine’s The Cut.
Photo: Steph Mantis
Bilbo’s jewelry has graced the runway during New York Fashion Week in Christian Siriano’s show and can be seen on celebrities like Whoopi Goldberg and Isabelle Fuhrman.
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