INTERNSHIP STORIES

Katie Pumphrey Studio Assistant Internship Katie Pumphrey is an American interdisciplinary artist and ultramarathon open water swimmer. Pulling from her experiences in the water, her paintings, sculptures, and installations use abstraction and imagery to investigate our anxieties, fears, and how our imagination plays tricks on us. Incorporating a bit of humor, Pumphrey explores these tensions and the connectedness between human instincts and play. She has a Bachelor of Fine Art in Painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art. I have known Katie since my sophomore year when my professor invited us to his studio for a studio visit; we ended up also visiting the neighboring studios, including Katie’s. We stayed in touch over the years until I was working as an intern at the creative alliance where she helps coordinate events. When I was looking to work a studio assistant role, I reached out to her wondering if she knew anyone interested, and there was, it was her! Katie was my dire...

Live Painting Internship with Anton Merbaum My previous roommate had always mentioned being neighbors with an artist upstairs. Throughout the spring semester we would run into each other and have quick conversations about being at mica, since he was also an alumni. Until this summer while moving out we happened to cross paths again this time offered an internship and interviewed the following month about the position. Anton Merbaum is a fine art artist, who specializes in live wedding painting, bridal portraiture, c ustom commissions, and murals. Anton Merbaum was also my direct supervisor, he was in charge of mentoring me about the fine art industry, especially live wedding painting as well as foundational works in creating a painting. I’m most proud of my ability to network as well as being able to work at a venue drawing eyes for people. This opportunity gave me a chance to see how it is working at a live event. Also learning fundamentals of starting a business and growing into the...

Corradetti Glassblowing Studio & Gallery I started working with glass in my senior year of high school, when art was becoming a serious environment for me. Coming to college, I was talking to the head of sculpture and he was able to get me in contact with the Corradetti’s. During the interview, I found out that the owner and my high school mentor went to college together, my mentor vouched for me to have a spot on the team and I was granted an assistant position at the studio. I have been working as a glassblowing assistant for Corradetti's since the fall of 2023. The studio is the most amazing place to work for and to work at. They make it easy for me to pursue my work in college, while also learning the art of glassblowing through them. The team consists of a constant group of four, the owner, his son, another assistant, and me. Together we worked on gallery pieces, commission pieces, and workshop pieces. My specific role in the studio is to assist with pieces, to be a second...

Design Internship at La Loupe Design I learned about this internship program from a friend's referral. While visiting several internship sites, I selected La Loupe Design as most appropriate for my academic endeavors and personal interests. I acquired the internship by emphasizing my professional skills and design capabilities throughout the application process, ultimately getting the opportunity to work with them.  La Loupe Design is a husband-and-wife studio based in Baltimore. They produce handmade home decor and interior lighting products combining artistic craftsmanship with useful design. They're offering for customers who want personal and thoughtful home decor.  During my internship, I was primarily assigned to design the studio's brand identity. This involved updating their website design, producing a catalog book, and producing product photography and videos. These projects aimed to elevate their visual communication and strengthen their market presence. And among...

My work is done in the studio with Fahimeh Vahdat, who  is an artist, activist, feminist, professor, and mother. For my internship I handled a plethora of different tasks. I worked with archival, managing, website redesigning, and editorial matters.   To stay on track, we use a task manager and Google Drive for smooth  collaboration.  One of our early projects involved creating a plan to reorganize her workspace,  allowing us to catalog her extensive art collection. Additionally, we worked on developing a  tailored internship program specifically for her studio that would also benefit me.  The internship covers everything needed to help the artist reestablish herself in the  industry. Together, we outlined her needs to identify areas for improvement and determine the  additional support required.  I cataloged artwork that had not been documented or photographed,  as well as new and incomplete pieces. I examined each piece individual...

Last semester, I was in Tony Shore's narrative painting class. I enjoyed his class and liked him as a person and artist. In January, he offered some gig work to help him move his then-current studio into his new one. I accepted and helped him for a few days while being paid for the time and effort. After working with him, he offered me a role as his studio assistant, which is how I got the internship. Tony is a faculty member here at MICA as well as a practicing studio painter. While interning as his assistant, I worked in his studio. I made sure his studio environment ran smoothly. I continued to help him move his past studio into his current. I was organizing, inventorying, cleaning, and arranging his art supplies and objects in his studio. After the move was complete, I continued to assist with the organization and arrangement of the studio. Through this, I learned what it means to have a functional and organized studio while also being an artist who tends to take up a lot of sp...

I acquired an internship as Monique Crabb’s studio intern after approaching her at a local art gallery and asking her if she needed an intern. She was hesitant at first but eventually came around to the idea. Monique works in a variety of mediums including but not limited to natural dye, quilting, and sculpting. While working with Monique I had the chance to help lead a natural dye and eco-printing workshop, make floral arrangement sculptures, prepare natural dye vats, apply upholstery to material, sculpt with clay, and learn rug-making.  In addition to learning various practical skills during my internship, I was also exposed to the importance of networking and working collaboratively with other artists. We attended gallery events, worked with a local farm to organize a workshop, and consulted with other artists to inquire about framing. I was able to be immersed in the social network of other artists and see them talk about their practices with one another. The process of interni...

This summer I interned for a painter named Tommy Roberts located here in Baltimore at the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower.  I found out about this internship opportunity through one of my fellow peers at MICA.  This was a one on one setup so Tommy gave me instructions and directions the entire time on what was expected of me and what I was supposed to do.  As Tommy’s intern, my tasks included wiring, framing, and hanging canvases all around his studio and outside for display. I also had to create my own type of artwork everyday when I would come in. Lastly I would help Tommy with any little small favors that he may have needed. I am most proud of the works that I created while there, through Tommy's critique, feedback, and lessons. I elevated my artwork to an unbelievable level through the summer.  My biggest takeaway from this experience was that if I truly want to become a self-sufficient artist then I have to be consistent and show up everyday for my craft. I have to be...

My name is Tanvi Sharma and I am a rising Junior Painting and Humanistic Studies Major.  During the summer of 2018, I was an intern with the artist Matt Bollinger , based in Holmes,  New York. I had been interested in Matt’s process of combining digital and analog media and  creating compelling narratives since a couple of years. During the spring semester I had been  working on creating similar work of my own and decided to shoot Matt an email. He turned  out to be a friend of my professor, Sangram Majumdar and he went on to recommend me to  Matt. Matt agreed to have me work with him for the summer, which turned out to be the  most enriching experience. The experience included long conversations with Matt about his practice, the art world and  what he wants to do in the future. I think the most valuable thing I have gained from this  experience is getting to intimately know a working artist I strongly look up to. During the d...

My name is Mark Fleuridor, I am a rising Senior and a Painting major at MICA. This summer I did an internship based in Brooklyn, NY; as a studio assistant to the artist Derrick Adams . I have been in contact with Derrick since I was in high school. I did an arts competition called YoungArts where he was a panelist and took interest in my artwork. The competition would host students for one week in Miami. After YoungArts I stayed in contact with him and he offered me a position to intern for him this summer. I've always wanted to work with someone like Derrick because he is a multi-disciplinary artist, like myself. He is a jack of all trades within the art world and to see a black man be all of that and more would be such a huge inspiration to learn from. During the internship I spent a lot of time working on collage material, painting and the sculptural aspects of Derricks artwork. While being at the internship it was very helpful to see him balance over fiv...