Well, it is done! As of July I have finished the
Low Residency MFA in Illustration Program at the Hartford Art School. Although I consider myself a student for life (there's always something new to learn!) it does feel great to have this degree under my belt, and I am thankful for the wealth of knowledge and artistic leaps that I gained through the program.
My thesis show hanging in the Joseloff Gallery
The major project that I chipped away at for the entire two years of the program was the Master's Thesis. I chose to focus on Russian Fairy Tales, combining my love of fairy tales and folklore with an exploration of my Russian heritage. I spent much of the first year reading stories (and different versions of the same stories), and researching Russian history, politics, clothing, landscape, architecture, etc. I finally settled on a selection of eight stories for which I planned a series of paintings and drawings. The stories vary quite a lot in subject matter, but I generally looked for ones with strong female characters (I'm always a fan of a gal who doesn't need to wait around for a prince to save her), or plucky children who get themselves out of sticky situations.
I ultimately completed eleven paintings and about sixteen drawings. Here I have posted a few of the pieces from the project. You can find more on my
website.
The Frog Princess
Swan's Rescue - from the story The Witch
Baba Yaga - a character who appears in many stories
Prince Ivan and the Grey Wolf
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