Mary Jane Begin at Hollins

Another treat of teaching in the MFA in Children's Book Writing and Illustrating program at Hollins University every summer is the chalk talks and gallery shows featuring our faculty and other artists. This summer, our very own Mary Jane Begin discussed her artwork before her gallery show opening. She shared her experiences teaching in China, at RISD (where she was also a student under Chris Van Allsburg), and Lesley in New York, along with the development of her work. My all-time-fave is probably the Vermeer-like 'Cat in the Hat' she did that was featured at the Society of Illustrators in New York.Although, I also loved this promotional piece of her, as creator, on a bluebird of happiness.The Eleanor D. Wilson museum did a great job putting together MJs work.They featured drawings and work-in-progress images.Two of her current dummies were on display, including this gorgeous black and white story about her grandmother's life.There was also artwork from several of her published books.MJ is always so eloquent, I loved her artist's statement (click to see it larger).Best of all is teaching next door to MJ all summer. I teach Tuesdays and Thursdays, and she teaches Mondays and Wednesdays, so I get to pop in from time to time to shadow the tutorials she does for her students.
It makes for a wonderful learning environment for our students, and for faculty as well - we all learn so much from each other!