Visitors at the annual student scholarship fundraiser Collect, which features over 400 pieces of artwork by students, faculty, staff and alumni.
There are many ways to build a creative career, and we support our artists and designers in finding the best path for them. From your first-year engagement class to meeting local alumni, from internships to grant application consults, Artists at Work is here for you for life.
We strongly encourage you to take advantage of the personal and professional benefits of interning for academic credit. Our Artists at Work team will guide you through preparing, researching, and securing an internship that aligns with your goals.
Thanks to a generous donation from the Abbagadassett Foundation, we are able to offer a number of stipends to students doing unpaid internships.
Graphic Design students created non-partisan imagery for a class assignment to encourage voter participation. The work was projected onto Portland City Hall on Election Night in 2020.
Anysa Denby is a Textile & Fashion Design major and an Art & Entrepreneurship minor who completed a 3-credit internship with Erin Flett, a local designer who has collaborated with L.L. Bean and Anthropology. Following the internship, Anysa was hired as an employee. She then launched her product line, selling at the College’s popup space, 49 Oak. Anysa also received an alumni-funded scholarship to attend a textile workshop at Haystack Mountain School of Craft.
“Another important aspect I learned about was timesheets. Timesheets detail how work time is spent and help break down the cost per print and per good made. This is now a tool I use in my own practice that helps me price my work.”
Animation & Game Art major, Makena Schwab completed multiple internships, one of which was with the Maine Department of Education, where she created instructional videos that led to her securing freelance work. As part of her internship with Puckerbrush Animation, Makena worked on an animated history of the Bhutanese diaspora that was included in the Smithsonian Museum of American History. Makena interned for New York-based, Made Up Games in addition to designing an interactive exhibition for the Children’s Museum and Theatre of Maine during her senior year.
Makena Schwab ’24 animated the puppets featured above as a member of the student-run Story Sparrow Collaborative whose film received several accolades including being named an Official Selection for the South Georgia Film Festival, a SemiFinalist for the New York Animation Film Awards, and Honorable Mention at the Student World Impact Film Festival, all in 2023.
Nearly 50% of Maine College of Art & Design graduates remain in Portland, contributing to the local economy and vibrancy of the city. The Epic Grant, funded in collaboration with Canopy Hotel, provides $2,500 of unrestricted funds to support an alum of the College who contributes to the city’s culture.
The Belvedere Grant supports recent alumni working in crafts with professional development funds to purchase equipment, attend residencies or workshops, and access studio space.
As undergraduates, most students are ineligible to apply for grants from funding agencies, so Artists at Work created our own. The Above & Beyond grant supports students in supervised learning opportunities unavailable on campus.
• To attend the World Conference Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs (Nagasaki, Japan)
• Complete an arts administration internship (Zambia)
• Attend the Contemporary Cast Iron Conference (Germany)
• Take cadaver drawing classes (New York City, NY)
• Participate in a cob house construction workshop (Tennessee, USA)
• Exhibit at the Currents New Media Festival (Santa Fe, NM)
• Study Vietnamese language, financial planning certification, botanical illustration certification, coding class (online)
As a Wabanaki artist in Maine, Maya Tihtiyas Attean’s work focuses on the traditional practices that have existed here for thousands of years. She used the Above & Beyond Grant to learn weaving from renowned Passamaquoddy basketmaker Gabriel Frey.
Weave Experiment 2, 2022 Cyanotype print on Brown Ash strips, sweetgrass.
“I have started investigating how land holds memory and how we can honor the land through locative place names. From there, I weaved pieces of sweetgrass and rearranged the pieces of ash.”
Hope received the Above & Beyond Grant, which she used to support her visual display at craft fairs. She interned with alumni business Hugh McCormick Design Co. and muralist Ryan Adams and, upon graduation, won the Epic Grant. As part of the grant she hosted a pop-up shop with fellow alumni working in wood and ceramics. She was also commissioned to paint a site-specific mural at the Canopy Portland Waterfront hotel.
Michael used funds from the Belvedere Grant to create his luxury fashion house, COLLETTE, whose design ethos is based on the idea of local circulation.
“This award was incredibly useful for making my first major purchases as an investment into my artistic practice. I am beyond grateful that the school has put their faith in me and my work.”
Artist Stephen Pace bequeathed his summer home in Stonington, Maine, to Maine College of Art & Design for use as a residency and gallery to ensure its status as an artistic haven. In addition to residencies for alumni, The Pace House is open to our students for department field trips.
Kate interned at the Illustration Institute on Peaks Island. She continued to work for the organization after graduation, leading to connections in the publishing industry and contracts for book illustrations.
is represented by Writer’s House. She has illustrated four books since graduating, and is pictured here working on her most recent book in the
Each year, alumna Barbara Rita Jenny MFA ’02 and her family donate their summer home in New Edinburgh, Nova Scotia for an artist residency program open to alumni of the College. This rural waterfront artist residency program is inclusive of artist’s partners and families and includes a travel stipend.
In 2023, Sage and Larissa traveled to the Jenny Family Residency in Nova Scotia to conduct visual research, which they used as source material to develop a new, collaborative body of work.
The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art partners with the College to offer fully funded residencies at the museum for BIPOC alumni. In addition to studio space, housing, and meals, artists receive free classes on finances, marketing, and grant writing.
Alum and Faculty member Ben Spalding MFA ’17 participated in the MASS MoCA residency in 2023. The College partners with the museum to make the opportunity available at no cost for BIPOC alumni.
Taking inspiration from his Puerto Rican grandfather’s profession as a big band leader, Spalding’s practice is preoccupied with movement and the pageantry of the body, weaving together elements of club culture, sports, and nature with family history.
Monson Arts is situated in Western Maine and collaborates with the College to reserve an annual residency slot exclusively for our alumni. The onemonth residency includes housing, meals, studio space, and a stipend.
“My time at Monson Arts allowed me to deeply focus on my work and the direction I want to bring it. I felt productive and relaxed simultaneously in their studio space right on Lake Hebron. I’ll always cherish my time there.”
Maine College of Art & Design and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture cover all costs for any MECA&D graduate accepted to the residency within two years of graduation.
Baxter graduated from Maine College of Art & Design in 2017, attended Skowhegan that same year, the Monson Arts Residency in 2019, and received their MFA from Yale School of Art in 2024. Above is an image from their weeklong residency with Border Patrol in California. This siteresponsive work, 185 Horsepower Drive-IN Theatre, is made with found fabric, yarn, and a Ford F-150 truck.
Each year, The Nature Conservancy of Maine selects a graduating Illustration senior from Maine College of Art & Design to serve as a summer fellow in their marketing department. The fellow receives a stipend and creates editorial illustrations that support the organization’s mission.
Juniors and seniors in Illustration and Graphic Design meet with industry professionals in-person to get feedback on their work, learn about public speaking, and make career connections that can lead to internships, freelance work, and full-time jobs.
Juniors and seniors in Animation & Game Art conduct their portfolio reviews remotely to connect with professionals nationally, including Blizzard Entertainment, Netflix Games, Walt Disney Animation, Warner Brothers Animation, and Laika Studios.
Maine College of Art & Design provides you with a professional headshot and portfolio-ready images of your thesis work so you leave school prepared to embark on your new career.
In one-on-one career counseling appointments, self-doubt is often the barrier to progress. Permission slips provide the external validation for bold experimentation. Yes, you can run a design business out of a renovated ambulance while you drive across the country.
Both students and alumni can meet with the Artists at Work staff for individualized career counseling— from building your first resume with the Writing Center to preparing a grant application. You are part of a close-knit community that provides connections to industry professionals across disciplines. We know that there is no one way to be an artist. We work with students to understand their unique interests and needs in order to develop goals and strategies for success.
Jodi combines her love of printmaking and floral design in her studio Saudade, where she sells floral arrangements and patterned printed goods. With the support of Artists at Work, Jodi was able to test out her idea of having a retail space to see if it was the right next step for her business. As a result of her successful pop-up, Saudade has become a full-time job where Jodi uses her passion for printmaking and florals to connect, support, and uplift the community.
Mia connected with Artists at Work as a student to identify internships and interned at both the Portland Museum of Art and Martin’s Point Health Care. She also leveraged Artists at Work after graduation by receiving a permission slip and converting an ambulance into a mobile design studio. For a year, Mia traveled the country working remotely while managing a freelancer team. Currently, Mia is the Media Coordinator for the Indigo Arts Alliance, a nonprofit organization focused on the artistic development of people of Black and Brown descent that also hosts interns from the College.
As a flexible, experimental space, 49 Oak presents student work and hosts activities tied to classroom projects— from pop-up shops to exhibitions. Administered by Artists at Work with faculty support, you’ll learn how to curate, install, promote, document, sell, and staff exhibitions and projects that reach a public audience.
During summer, programming focuses on work created by the College’s alumni network.
At 49 Oak, students can organize pop-ups and exhibitions. Pictured is Natalie Brown ’23, at the Valentine’s Pop-Up shop that she organized in collaboration with the Illustration department and featuring the work of students and alumni. Natalie used funds from the Above & Beyond Grant to host an exhibition at the Union of Maine Visual Artists and went on to intern at the Illustrtion Institute, where she currently works.
Courses focused on career readiness are woven throughout your four years.
The required First-Year Seminar and Professional Studio Practices classes provide the foundation and the finish for building a career in the arts.
In the First-Year Seminar, you visit with local alumni in their workspaces to learn how they’ve built a life in the arts. You also hear from current students about their internship experiences and learn about the resources available to you both on and off campus.
Professional Studio Practices covers core topics such as taxes, intellectual property, contracts, pricing your work, and building your professional packet of resume, cover letter, portfolio, and digital presence. Your working artist faculty provide more in-depth insights into design, fine art, and craft.
Other classes include Money Matters, an overview of personal finance for individuals and The Business of Art, which exposes various art world models, from sole proprietors to artist collectives. Learn about the unique needs of art world marketing, legal issues, and project management.
You can also minor in Art & Entrepreneurship, which includes taking classes that walk you through the production process. In Fall 2024 , the Clay to Commerce class starts with a market analysis and ends with a popup shop in the College’s student gallery, 49 Oak. Each minor must complete a capstone project that brings their idea into production.
As a student, Ashley majored in Sculpture, minored in Public Engagement, and was awarded the Warren Public Engagement Fellowship. Tapping the resources of Artists at Work, she landed an internship at the Indigo Arts Alliance, which continued through graduation, when she was hired on staff. Ashley stays connected to the College by utilizing alumni resources such as attending funded workshops at Monson Arts. The College also nominated her for the St. Botolph Amelia Peabody Award for Sculpture, which she won. Ashley has curated ten exhibitions and exhibited at over 30 venues, including the Portland Museum of Art and The Center for Afrofuturist Studies. She has also been an artist-inresidence at Hewnoaks and The Ellis Beauregard Foundation. Coming full circle, she now oversees interns at the Indigo Arts Alliance.
Myfawnwy is the art and design studio of Maisie Broome ’08. In 2014, the College awarded Maisie a Belvedere Grant to support her production line. In 2020, she partnered with Vans on a sneaker design and in 2021, she collaborated with designer Stella McCartney on a capsule collection
James Zilian ’99 is the founder of Farmhouse Pottery, the largest “studio pottery” in America. Studio pottery is pottery that is made by hand, crafted from start to finish by a small group of artisans or craftspeople. Based in Woodstock Vermont, with over 40 employees and over 20 artists, each piece of Farmhouse Pottery is handmade by artisans using Old World techniques and simple tools. Their sales now exceed $10 million annually.
Says Zilian, “At the time I didn’t realize I’d become a pioneer in the handmade pottery business. Our slower, authentic approach to manufacturing not only honors the natural material, it provides a livelihood for the American craftsman. I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished over the last decade.”
Adam is a curator for New York State’s largest independent nonprofit, ArtsWestchester. He is also the Director of Exhibitions for the National Council for Education in the Ceramic Arts (NCECA). In 2019, he joined the International Academy of Ceramics, a UNESCO partner. Adam received the Belvedere Fund Grant in 2014 and has subsequently served on the jury for this award twice.
Dylan is a 2024 recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Award, a 2019 recipient of a Nancy Graves Fellowship for Visual Artists, and a winner of Burn Magazine’s Emerging Photographer Fund Grant. In 2022-2023, they were a Lunder Fellow at Colby College and a 2024 resident at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. They have been an artist-in-residence at the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation, the Penumbra Foundation, and Light Work. After receiving their MFA from Yale School of Art, Dylan returned to the College to teach in the photography department. Dylan attended the Jenny Family Residency and the Pace House Residency in 2019.
Meg works as the Development Coordinator at SPACE Gallery, where she began volunteering as a student. Her paintings have been included in exhibitions at Perimeter Gallery, the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Able Baker Contemporary, BUOY, Trestle Gallery, and SOIL, among others. Meg has attended residencies at the Sam and Adele Golden Foundation, the Vermont Studio Center, Hewnoaks Artist Colony, and the Monhegan Artists’ Residency. She has been a co-director at Border Patrol, a curatorial collective, since 2017 and co-curated Re-Site, a site-specific public art exhibition with SPACE, in 2020. As a student, Meg completed internships for three consecutive years at Elizabeth Dee Gallery (New York), Able Baker Contemporary (Maine), and the Chart (Maine) while also receiving an Above and Beyond Grant for students in 2017.
Lewis enrolled in the Illustration department at MECA&D at the age of 33. As a student, he set his sights on growing his social media presence to reach a wider audience with his surrealist illustrations. Lewis received an Above and Beyond Grant to support his Instagram marketing efforts. He has since sold artwork in over 100 countries, published four books, and been commissioned to create cover art for Tyler, the Creator.
Matt Moore developed a distinct style as a graphic design student that has been applied in multiple environments with high-profile collaborators. He has worked with Apple, Coca-Cola, Nike, Gravis, New Balance, RayBans, Samsonite, Instagram, and Ford. In addition to his applied graphics, he also creates murals, public art sculptures, and limited-edition prints. His work encompasses design, fine art, and illustration.
Jordan Carey and Madison Poitras-Upton started Loquat while in the Textile & Fashion Design department. Both Jordan and Maddy worked with faculty member and shirt designer Jill McGowan to learn more about operating a brick-and-mortar store. They started with a summer pop-up in the College’s storefront, which gave them the springboard to open a retail space in the Old Port. Their business grew, and they moved to a larger space directly across from the College. They employ interns and alumni and sell the work of their former classmates.
“Loquat is a fashion and apparel brand focused on empowering marginalized people through design and community engagement. Transparent manufacturing is a big priority for us. This is why we have our retail space attached to the manufacturing floor. Our manufacturing partners in India are also visible on our social media platforms and practicing sustainable dyeing and manufacturing techniques. Currently, we call Mechanics Hall on Congress Street home. There we carry works from almost 40 other marginalized artists and entrepreneurs as well as host events and teach workshops.”
-Jordan Carey, Founder
David Hutchins has served as Head of Effects, Effects
Supervisor, Effects Lead, and Effects Animator at Walt Disney Animation Studios since 2005. He has worked on major films, including Frozen, Encanto, Wreck-It Ralph, Big Hero 6, Tangled, and Moana.
August is a Senior Technical Artist, currently leading 3D character art production and rigging at Spry Fox, a Netflix Games Studio. They’ve worked on games such as Steambird’s Alliance, Cozy Grove, Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit, and Minecraft and are currently in production on a nonviolent massively multiplayer online game with the Spry Fox team.
As an organizer and former Board Member for the Seattle Indies, they helped to organize events such as the Seattle Indies Expo at PAX West, Game Showcases, Game Jams, panels, talks, and other events. In 2019, they co-founded the Diversity Collective where they work to increase diversity within their local industry by providing resources and support for underrepresented minorities throughout their career, such as by hosting an annual Pride event for LGBTQ+ developers and running an annual GDC scholarship for Seattle Indies members.
Editors Jessica Tomlinson
Jenny McGee
Leah Brooks
Alex Koch
Designer Kiana Thayer 20
Photographer Annabelle Collette 22
Unless otherwise noted.
Typefaces
David Jonathan Ross: Forma DJR
Jamra Patel: Expo Serif Pro
Wei Huang: Work Sans
Printer
Edison Press
The entirety of this publication was created by our faculty, alumni, and staff.
Maine College of Art & Design is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD). The College’s accreditation status with both agencies was renewed in 2016. MECA&D also belongs to the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), a non-profit consortium of leading art schools in the United States and Canada, plus international affiliates.
