教师
校友
’16
亚历克斯·米切尔 was sculpted from the rich earthy loam of the American Midwest. He is an artist, illustrator, and educator currently living and working out of Minneapolis. 对神话的毕生爱好, 神秘, and the construction of narrative are guiding themes of his personal work.
Mitchell has a number of short-form comics as well as a self-published anthology comic of original stories called 流放之月. He wrote and illustrated a book of fantasy monster illustrations called 随机遭遇有趣的怪物. He is currently working on a Minnesota State Arts Board grant-supported comic called 茉莉花城,作者是校友埃斯玛·伊马迪(Essma Imady).
Describe what you do for work and how your experience with it has been.
我是Canvas LMS的首席管理员, 学术技术专家, 也是MCAD教师的教学顾问, 学生, 和工作人员. I see myself playing a small but important part in supporting MCAD in providing more equitable, 实质性的, and effective teaching and learning in the arts (and beyond). 我相信创意艺术和设计教育. I think it has the potential to improve us individually and as a society—to find new ideas, 教会我们新的思维方式和存在方式. 无论做什么,我都是个艺术家. 我花了很多空闲时间做艺术, 但即使我不是,这也是我的一部分, and it informs everything about the way I experience and interact with the world.
你是怎么得到这份工作的?
It's been a gradual process of working my way up over the past decade. I was a 研究生 Teaching Assistant in the Online Learning department at MCAD, and I stayed on after graduation in the role of Administrative Assistant. That position developed into the "Support Specialist" role, transitioned into the full-time Instructional Technologist position, and more recently I was made an Assistant Director of the department.
是什么激励了你/你的工作?
一切! I think this is the magic of being an artist—it's all potential inspiration. If I was to categorize themes that I gravitate towards—storytelling, 神话, 神秘, 以及人类思维的强迫性意义创造. 但说实话,我喜欢给我惊喜的东西.
你如何将自己和你的艺术联系起来?
这些天我主要为朋友和陌生人创作艺术, without a strong desire to market it beyond the places it most naturally finds itself. This is the privilege of a full-time job outside of making art—I can concentrate on making the art, and then sharing it in the ways and with the people I want to. I don't need to prioritize its feasibility as a product or service, although I often do sell work and I often do illustrations for pay. It's a relief to be able to focus on the parts of art-making that I love. 当然,代价是时间——永远都不够用!
你在双子城的生活经历如何? 任何隐藏的宝藏?
This is a larger city than the other places I've lived, and it's been great to experience the vitality and variety of an urban metro. MN is a great place for artists, and there are lots of grants here that are pretty impressive. The art scene is also kind of a good size where it's big enough to be a draw and have resources and community, 但小到足以建立联系, 找到机会, 很快就会觉得自己在其中有了一席之地.
你为什么选择MCAD作为你的MFA?
I was looking for MFAs in schools that taught illustration and comics.
Who was your mentor and what was your relationship like?
插画家兼教育家吉姆·奥布莱恩. We had a very collegial relationship, and he was very generous with his time and advice. I learned a lot about professional illustration, and what I was (and wasn't) interested in.
你最喜欢的MFA经历是什么?
The community of artists that formed while I was in the program. I still count several members of my cohort as some of my closest and most important friends and collaborators. Even people I am no longer in contact with were very influential on me as an artist and as a person. That's not something that happens naturally, but it's also not something that can be planned. It's a spontaneous thing that comes from the right concoction of ingredients. The right circumstances, the right people, the right time. I feel incredibly lucky to have been there in that primordial art soup.
What advice do you have for current MCAD 学生 and/or artists at the beginning of their creative careers?
Life outside school often means making a creative practice that can survive a day job, 或者可以承受自由职业的压力. There's no right way to do it—just the way that you can sustain and that makes you happy.
What would you tell 学生 considering pursuing an MFA degree?
Set some clear goals for yourself when you get an opportunity like grad school. 现实但有抱负,灵活但有意义. I went into an MFA with three larger aims: to make lots of great artwork, to learn more about the professional side of art/illustration, 让自己沉浸在一个创意社区中. 一路走来, 我调整了其中一些想法对我的意义, but I think starting at this point let me concentrate my efforts where it mattered most.
描述你所做的工作.
我制作漫画、插图和杂志. 最近, a lot of my work has been in the table-top roleplaying game space in one way or another. The common thread through everything is a love of storytelling.
最喜欢的MCAD设施?
I loved the eccentricities of the renovated Church space that the MFA was housed in at the end of my two years. 画廊里的一个小舞台! 太酷了.