Princeton Pod Life

With a pandemic raging, Princeton students aren't allowed to set foot on campus, but this doesn’t mean they can’t emulate university life. Many are forming pods of five or more students, and living together in houses across the country. Living responsibly under the same roof, they can share in their educational experiences, and form a lasting camaraderie. Thanks to art director, Marianne Nelson (at Princeton Alumni Weekly) for another fun assignment!

Below are sketches i submitted for this piece:

Thanks for visiting. Please visit my website to view more fun stuff!

Harvard Remote Learning

 

Here are some drawings for Harvard Magazine. In this age of COVID, even a school with a 40-billion dollar-endowment has struggled with the limitations of remote learning. This article is about how they’re attempting to make the virtual experience more engaging and meaningful for students. The drawing above addresses ways in which Harvard is attempting to make zoom called more interactive, and multi-dimensional (with polls, charts, breakout sessions, etc) 

A history professor is exploring the idea of 3D tours of cultural monuments and ruins.

  

Music students are collaborating remotely to compose group compositions.

Harvard has an excellent IT staff to support needs of professors.

Enormous thanks to art director, Jennifer Carling, for another super-fun assignment!

On the Road to Literacy

This piece  for American Educator accompanies a story about the magazine’s archive to supporting research-based reading instruction. It was fun to work with a very straight-forward  concept, On the Road to Literacy. This is the publication of the AFT, the largest teacher’s union in the US. I have many friends who’re public school teachers, including my girlfriend of 8 years. It is nice to know this magazine will be delivered to their mailboxes, and that I can connect with them through my artwork.

Given that we’ve been living through a pandemic, this has been a very challenging year for educators. Living with a teacher, I see firsthand how dedicated they are, and how hard they work. To all my teacher friends, I salute you, and wish you a relaxing and peaceful summer. You deserve it!

Here are sketches I submitted for this assignment:

 

Special thanks to art director, Jennifer Berney, for this super-fun assignment!

Grade Inflation

This illustration for Princeton accompanies a story about the trend of grade inflation in higher education. GPAs have shifted upwards at Princeton as well, but the ceiling varies from department to department. As an example, your chances of getting a higher grades are much better if you're an English or Slavic Language major, as opposed to an Earth Science or Chemistry major. Below are sketches submitted for this project:

Thanks to art director, Marianne Nelson, for another fascinating assignment! 

Please visit my website to see more fun projects!

American Educator

This piece for American Educator accompanies a story called Community Schools - A Promising Foundation for Progress. These schools are strategically integrated with their local communities in order to support economically-challenged families. They work with local community centers, health organizations, civic and business leaders to provide families with a safety net beyond the ABC’s of education. These institutions are super valuable in communities which are confronted with poverty. A big shout out to all my public school teacher friends. Your dedication makes this world a better place!

Various resources are available to families in need.

Families in need are the focus of community schools

Community schools are a solid foundation in economically challenged areas

A special thanks to art director, Jennifer Berney, for this fantastic project.

You can view my complete illustration portfolio here!

Princeton Eating Clubs

This piece for Princeton Alumni Weekly accompanies a story about the university’s famed eating clubs. Change is in the air as 9 of 11 of these clubs now have elected female presidents. Their goal is to make these unique meeting places more diverse, inclusive and safe. A special thanks to art director, Marianne Nelson for this tasty assignment!

Here are sketches I submitted for this assignment.

You can view my illustration portfolio here!

Riverdale Country School

Here’s a piece for my friends at Riverdale Country School in Bronx, NY. This artwork will appear on a greeting card designed for general use by the school. Scenes depicted around the Riverdale “R” show prominent locations on the upper and lower campuses of this idyllic institution.  Below is an alternate version without Riverdale's red filling the "R".

Below are sketches I submitted for this project.

Special thanks to Marie Capasso for this fun assignment.

You can view my illustration portfolio here!

Riverdale Country School

Here’s a little drawing commissioned by my friends at Riverdale Country School. It’s unique shape was designed to fit on envelopes containing promotional material about the school. I was asked to illustrate this quote by the school’s founder, Frank Sutliff Hackett:  “It is not the work done which inspires enthusiasm, but the work to be done -- the long vista and the yet unfolded close.”

A special thanks to Cicely Upham and Marie Capasso for this fun assignment.

Here are sketches submitted for this assignment

Thanks for visiting. You can view my illustration portfolio here!

Harvard Advocate

Here's a new piece for Harvard Magazine. It accompanies a story about how various clubs on campus are evolving towards more diversity and inclusiveness. The Harvard Advocate, which is a club for writers is represented in this group portrait.Thanks to art director, Jennifer Carling, for a super fun assignment! Please check out my new website here!

Illustration detail

Below are sketched I submitted for this assignment:

A Spider's Education

Here are new drawings for American Educator magazine. They accompany an article by the Vermont Writing Collaborative, about a new approach to teaching writing. It's based on the idea of gaining a deep understanding and knowledge of your subject matter. An example of this is displayed by a character in E.B. White's classic book, Charlotte's Web. The spider Charlotte has a deep understanding of (and affection for) Wilbur the pig. In order to save him from a fate at the slaughterhouse,  she spells out words in her web to describe Wilbur's terrific attributes. Spelling out the truth about Wilbur saved his life. It was fun to mimic the spirit of this beloved story in these drawings.

This is the opener art for this story.

Here's a detail to the opener art

Practice, practice, practice (makes perfect)

A special thanks to art director, Jennifer Chang, for this fantastic assignment.

You can check out my new website here!

Community School

September wouldn't feel complete without submitting an illustration to American Educator. Art director Michelle Furman asked me to create this diagram displaying the components which define a community school.

Detail of Community School illustration

Here's one of a series of sketches I developed for this piece.

" He who opens a school door, closes a prison."  ~Victor Hugo

You can check out my new illustration website here!

Collaborative Cultivation

These drawings for American Educator accompany a study advocating a more collaborative approach to education by local school districts, administrators, unions and teachers. In recent years, our federal and state governments have had great influence on public education. They stress the use of standardized testing to improve the quality of education. Many educators believe this top-down approach is ineffective; the focus is more on test scores than on students' well-being. This study showcases specific examples of local parties who came together and collaborated effectively - improving the quality of their schools.  These partnerships ultimately benefit students the most.

Apple picking teamwork...

Garden negotiating table...?

Putting students front and center...

Building bridges...

Entire community collaborates on school garden...

Thanks for viewing. 

You can view my new illustration website here!