Baltimore Magazine

My name is Chanel Cruz and I am a senior Fibers major and Video/Film concentration. During the Summer of 2015, I was a Style Intern for Baltimore Magazine, the first city publication in the United States. My supervisor was Lauren Bell, the Style Editor for the magazine’s style section called Charmed Life.

In the beginning of the summer I did not know of any local businesses that I wanted to intern for. One day while working my part-time job at Madewell in Harbor East I explained to my store manager how much I desired an internship that focused on Style since I was already a Stylist for the store. My manager told me that she knew the Style Editor for Baltimore Magazine and gave me her business email. This was perfect timing since I had just launched my website in order to easily display and share my work. After a few days I emailed Lauren asking if I could intern, freelance, or assist in any way with the publication and attached my resume. Lauren mentioned that she had a style internship position available and I basically started the following week.

Working at the magazine has honestly been one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I’ve met many wonderful people and have become very aquatinted with pretty much every single locally owned boutique in Baltimore. My assignments involved interviewing store owners for blog features, contacting/collecting merchandise for shoots from local stores, researching events related to style, and assisting on photoshoots for print at the magazines studio. Since completing my internship my writing and communication skills have improved greatly. This internship allowed me the opportunity to freelance for the magazine and continue interning throughout my year at MICA. When I was younger I had a faint goal of working for a magazine and steered away from it since. Being at Baltimore Magazine has created a path for me to conquer this goal. Post graduation I would like to move and work for a magazine in New York City as a style specialist and with the relations I’ve made through Baltimore Magazine that will absolutely be possible. For that I am grateful and looking forward to being further involved in the magazine during my senior year.

LanningSmith Studio

My name’s McLean Francis and I’m currently a rising Junior Interdisciplinary Sculpture major. Starting in June of 2015, I have been working with LanningSmith Studio in their studio on the east side of Baltimore Studio. I initially heard about the studio through my close friends at MICA (friends that have now graduated). The friends knew that I was looking for an internship and gave me the number of Kyle Smith (founder of LanningSmith). I texted and called and eventually we scheduled a meeting. I arrived and we talked for about an hour about everything from my history, to the history of the company. By the end of the interview he said I got the job!

From the beginning I knew it was a company I wanted to be involved with. His relaxed attitude and eagerness for a personal connection introduced me to the style of working environment I would be in. When I started, I was immediately thrown into some big projects. The first day consisted of me getting to know my way around the studio and then starting on some actual work! At first I would do small remedial jobs such as sanding and gluing but eventually became in charge of cut lists and staple gunning and even sourcing materials. Im most proud of my new found ability to create highly refined projects. Historically at MICA, my work tends to not have a very refined finish but now I’m confident in my ability to tie up loose ends.

This will go down as the first job I’ve ever had that I truly enjoyed, and I am infinitely proud that I secured a position in the company for years to come. The most important thing I learned is that no matter what field you’re in, no success will come without hard work. Im in awe of the amount of hours my boss works, and am happy that I can now say that I have a mentor figure. Additionally, its comforting to know not only that this career field exists, but that it is a field I absolutely would like to enter upon graduation. In short, working with Kyle of LanningSmith Studio was one of the most valuable experiences I’ve ever had and brightens my outlook on post graduation life.

The Walters Art Museum

My name is Aubrey Vinson and I am an Art History Senior. I’ve known for a number of years that I have wanted to work in a museum, and the Walters is one of my favorites. It has one of the largest collections of medieval art in the country, and a wide range of European, Asian, and many other kinds of historic art. I always keep my eye on area museums’ job and internship pages, just to see what’s out there and maybe find something I actually qualify for. This past spring, the “registration intern” position popped up on the Walters’s website, and it really intrigued me; I didn’t really know what a registrar did, but I knew I would be at my favorite place in Baltimore! I did a little research on museum registrars, and sent in my application through the museum’s website. (Also, a lot of museums post job openings on their social media pages, so just keep looking!)

A few weeks later, I received an email from the museum, and set up a phone interview with my future supervisor, Danielle Bennett. After that, we set up an interview, where I met her and a few other people I would be working with at the Walters, and they told me I had the internship.

I spent two and a half months over the summer of 2015 working with Danielle and her coworkers on a variety of tasks and projects. Some of the time, I was helping Danielle in her duties as the registrar – pulling art objects out of storage for curators, taking objects to or from the conservation department, and sampling the different tasks a registrar handles. Data entry is a major part of the registrar’s duties, and it helps to keep track of the museum’s collection. One of the things I tackled was measuring, photographing, and rehousing a collection of 90 Ethiopian coins that were donated to the museum - in a coin album! My work with the coins made it easier for other museum staff to work with them, and for the museum to better keep track of each individual object.

This internship was invaluable to me, and has really helped me in my museum-oriented career. Though I don’t think I want to be a registrar, I gained useful experience handling art objects, working with museum databases, and meeting different people in different roles through the museum. Even knowing this isn’t the exact job I want to pursue is incredibly helpful. I would have never known what a registrar does without this internship, and I will have a much better appreciation for museum registrars when I work with them in the future.

Kevin “Kal” Kallaugher

I’m Clint Kadera, and I’m a senior Illustration major. In the summer of 2015, I interned under Kevin “Kal” Kallaugher. Kal is a world-renowned political cartoonist. This year, he won the Herblock prize, Grand Prix Press Cartoon of the Year, and was a Pulitzer runner-up. Along with other freelance, Kal works for The Economist and The Baltimore Sun. I’ve always appreciated Kal’s cartoons, and reached out to him last year. We talked for a month or so, and Kal offered me a paid internship.

During the internship, I archived Kal’s cartoons over the past decade. These cartoons will be donated to the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum. This facility has the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of original cartoons. I was able to see a ton of Kal's original artwork in-person. As I sorted, Kal did freelance, and we’d discuss illustration, marketing, politics, and sports.

Kal also assigned me different prompts. He taught me how to incorporate brushwork into my cross-hatching. I've always had two different approaches: my gestural life drawing and my detailed illustration. With brush, I've been able to combine these two aesthetics and get the best out of both. I used to use ballpoint pen, but have since switched to fountain pen. If needed, I can paint over the top with wet acrylic, something else Kal introduced to me. Lately, Kal has pushed me into more watercolor, but that’s still a work-in-progress. I plan to use these new techniques on my thesis as well. I’ve been able to bounce thesis ideas off Kal, and I feel confident with where I’m at. He has also offered to help me throughout the year.

M+B Gallery

My name is Kaitlyn Conte and As a junior photography major, I was definitely stoked to get the chance to be an intern at one of the top photography galleries in Los Angeles, M+B Gallery, during the summer of 2015. I came across this gallery one day by searching a photographer named Whitney Hubbs, who I’ve known since high school and who is the person that made me realize a few years back that art is something that I could pursue as more than just a hobby. When I was searching her to find her most recent works, I came across M+B Gallery, the gallery that represents her. I went onto their website and was amazed at the forward-minded and diverse range of works and artists that the gallery represents, so I immediately emailed them to inquire about internship possibilities. Emily, the gallery assistant, emailed me back asking for my resume, cover letter, and to come in for an interview.

M+B Gallery is a white wall contemporary gallery. The gallery used to be solely photography but has recently shifted to a broader contemporary art gallery. The gallery has many connections all over the world and it really takes a lot to keep the gallery running. Most of my tasks that I was given while working there were assigned by my supervisor, the gallery’s assistant Emily, however everyone else in the gallery also gave me different assignments throughout my time there so I really got a taste of everything. As the lowest level there I did a lot of tasks that are boring yet necessary to keep a white wall gallery functioning, like dusting off the artwork in the show and making sure the place stays very tidy. I got to do much more exciting projects as well though like making a 3D model of the gallery so that the curators could plan the next show on a more visual / smaller scale. I also got to do a gallery run to Matthew Brandt’s studio to pick up some things, which was very cool because I got to see his studio and everything going on there. I also frequently got to format press for the gallery and spend a lot of time handling really incredible art works, which was also so much fun.

While I got to meet and befriend multiple artists that the gallery represents and make major connections for my future, this internship led me to realize that working in a gallery might not be the job for me. Working for people who are living my dream was inspiring but also very depressing and not something that I think I could do for a long period of time. The connections that I made while interning at M+B are really important and I learned so much about how high-end galleries are run, and so I don’t regret doing this internship at all. I guess as an intern I will always be working under someone living my dream, but in the long run working in a gallery like M+B isn’t something I would want to pursue as a career. 

Port Discovery Children's Museum

My name is Jia Liu and I am first year student in Illustration Practice Program. During the summer of 2015, I was an intern illustrator for Port Discovery Children’s Museum. I always identify myself as an illustrator for children’s picture book and I really like to create all kinds of work for children. I taught kids art classes for three years when I was in China and I would like to do any job related to children and my major. I was planning to do summer intern since I came to MICA so I was always aware of any opportunities.

At the end of first semester I received an email from our GTA about this intern that Port Discovery need an illustrator to create some illustration for their come exhibit which is about agriculture. I thought this was a perfect job for me because I really like to draw plants and animals and create work for kids, so I emailed their art director. They replied me soon and they gave me an interview, they thought the playfulness in my work could match their theme very well so they decide to offer me this internship.

My experience was really exciting there because it was my first time to cooperate with many people and learn how to fit my illustration in a big space and interact with children. Almost every illustration I did need to interact with children. For instance one series of three illustrations is about different festivals celebrating agriculture in different culture. At the same position of each illustration, there would be an animation in a case connect with my illustration, so it limited the possibility of the composition but I learnt a lot in that way. And they want me to illustrate the background because they tried many other ways like photo collage but it didn’t work well, at this point, illustration became a solution to resolve problems.

Though my internship here I learned how illustration works in real life and a real project, and how illustration can solve the problems that other methods can’t. And I am more clear about what I can do with my art. I think this is a wonderful experience for me right before my thesis year! I will keep on exploring how to give my illustration more practical meanings.

Baltimore Electric Vehicle Initiative

My name is Sara Klementovic and I am a rising Senior and transfer student at MICA. I completed an internship with the Baltimore Electric Vehicle Initiative in the Summer of 2015. This internship was not visual arts specific, but very much suits my aspirations of working in sustainability outreach. I found this internship listed on MICA Network and I emailed Hugh Pocock, who I was familiar with from a previous class and his connections to Students of Sustainability, the campus club I help lead. I was lucky I emailed him when I did, because Hugh asked me to come to a meeting for the already accepted interns and the BEVI supervisor the next day. I went and explained to Jill Sorensen my background, and how I could be an asset to the program. I waited to hear if Jill would be able to fund a third intern, and a week later I was accepted as a fellow paid intern. 

I was also fortunate to know 2 S.O.S. members who had previously completed the internship and I asked them about their experiences before accepting the position. I was told the internship was rather unstructured and untraditional, but I decided it would be similar to my S.O.S. campaign work and goals.

The internship consisted of 9 interns and our supervisor, Jill, meeting 4 days a week for 8 weeks. Our goals were very lofty at first and had to be constantly adapted. I think self discipline and project management skills are the strongest pieces I am taking away with me after this experience. The group dynamic was great, and I enjoyed working alongside the engineer student interns much more than I expected. I found that my visual communication skills became very valuable in most projects, from conceptual mechanical drawings to logo designs for business proposals. I retaught myself adobe illustrator skills I had forgotten and I now feel more comfortable taking on graphic design projects. I also gained experience working with an unfamiliar print shop to have large vinyl decals printed. 

Towards the middle of the internship, I found myself losing motivation as the group goals were pretty unclear. I found that immersing myself in visual projects that were useful to other professionals and other team members allowed me to have focus and purpose, even though BEVI’s purpose remained foggy. 

I worked on such a wide variety of projects, that I now feel fairly confident in many areas of basic conceptual design and even more so in speaking to clients and professionals. This  internship equipped me with media outreach skills I had never even considered before I applied. I now feel I can enter a non-profit atmosphere after graduation and juggle many tasks without becoming overwhelmed. I look forward to my last year at MICA as being a place to incorporate further marketability into my fine art illustration work, as well as bringing stronger leadership into Students of Sustainability’s campaigns.