Happy Giving With the holidays almost here, we’re
encouraging all alumni who sell on Etsy to join our RISD Etsy Team, if you haven’t already. Open to alumni and students only, it’s a great way to show the world how RISD makers really stand out. We teamed
up with Etsy last fall to launch a new RISD
Page, allowing us to better highlight your work and make it more accessible to the millions of people worldwide who shop on Etsy on a regular basis. Help make our RISD mini-marketplace even better and draw more attention to your own pages. And remember to search for “risdteam” on Etsy for great gift options as you do your own holiday shopping.
Adventure-packed Fun
far right: photos to the far right courtesy of the RISD Museum
April Kuo 04 GD + Paolo Rivera 03 IL When April Kuo 04 GD and Paolo Rivera 03 IL began planning for their September 2013 wedding, they tapped into a shared love of animation and comics. It began with a Tintin-inspired save-the-date card featuring the happy couple and the converted dairy farm in Pocantico Hills, NY where the ceremony would take place. “April grew up reading (and loving) The Adventures of Tintin and I’ve always had great respect for its creator Hergé, so we decided on that style for the invitation and save-thedate,” says Rivera, who has been illustrating for Marvel Comics since 2002 (the year before he graduated). The couple currently lives in San Francisco, where Kuo works as a graphic designer for Google. Although they “technically” met as students at RISD, Rivera and Kuo didn’t get together romantically until 2007, when they reconnected in Brooklyn at an art opening for a mutual friend. “She knew who I was and that I did comics,” says Rivera, “and we found out that we had a lot of friends in common.” Since they were both living in Brooklyn at the time, they started seeing more of each other and before long he had moved in with her. When they decided to get married and wanted a fun wedding, “April pretty much did everything,” says Rivera. “She wanted it to be nerdy but tasteful. She would tell me we need this piece of art and that piece of art and I went all in.” The nerdy but tasteful touches included a plethora of his own favorite characters, from Raphael—his preferred Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle— to Wolverine and Psylocke of The X-Men, who paired up to form the perfect cake topper. “I waited until the last minute to make the cake topper,” Rivera admits, “and ended up finishing it the day after my bachelor party. It was rough, but it all worked out.” For more on Rivera’s work, go to paolorivera.com.
Access Multiple Museums For the first time, the RISD Museum is offering free individual memberships to young alumni who have graduated within the last 10 years along with a new enticement for all alumni: a $75 enhanced membership that offers reciprocity at other in-network museums around the country. As always 20% of all alumni membership fees goes to the Phil Seibert Memorial Fund for the acquisition of alumni-created works of art. Plus, new members receive a coupon for 20% off a single item at RISD WORKS. For details about museum membership offers for alumni, go to risdmuseum.org/support/membership.
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