-The Evelavtor Pitch-
Alicia Kleman, 21 years old.
From Temperance, Michigan and Toledo, Ohio.
Fresh out of art school, working with frozen treats and making art constantly.
I’ve freelanced in the past for a caricature company based out of Rochester Hills, Michigan, which was a wildly enriching experience that I will never repeat.
My philosophies regarding my work are keep it simple, colorful, and shapely, and don’t be afraid of your bizarre ideas. Reflect them in your artistic choices. They are what keep you interested and interesting.
My work is shape-oriented with a ground in anatomical knowledge. It’s whimsical and ranges from being quite chromatic to very stark. I’m interested in book illustrations, typography, personal comics, and the animation industry in an oblique way. Some influences include Jeremy Sorese, Jillian Tamaki, and Craig Thompson.
I’ve been awarded scholarships to all the institutions I’ve applied to, but I chose CCAD for a few really personal and cheap reasons-- it was close to my significant other at the time of entry, and they gave me the most money. Since then, I was recognized for my efforts at the school with various fancy certificates for my g.p.a. every semester. I don’t think that’s particularly important, but I am extremely glad about my choice in college.
My work is unique because I can work quickly and efficiently, a benefit of having done caricaturing for a few years. I always have a vision-- it’s rare for me to be without a direction when presented with a project, and I work hard under deadlines. I’m good with shapes, type, and design, and have a passion for both real and pretended environments. Nothing is more important than a well-designed, well-researched environment, character, or story.
Storytelling is what I have to offer to the world, above all things.
-Condensing myself into 500 words-
(is hard)
My name’s Alicia Kleman, of Temperance, Michigan; a sleepy sleeper town full of rednecks and steadfastly normal folks. When I was a kid, I turned a rectangle on a piece of paper into a chest-of-drawers and got mad when the therapist told me I drew a nice closet. That’s when they told me I was smart. I asked them if I could draw some more.
And I did. I drew a lot. I got mad when other people drew better than I did, so I drew even more. It was never really question for me what I wanted to do when I got older. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy doing other things-- I read more books than I can remember, fervently so-- and I swam for teams and had a few friends and other normal kid stuff. But the most important, natural thing for me through it all was drawing. It was, and continues to be, a kind of pulse that I can measure my life against.
I had the luxury of living very near to one of the greatest museums in the country, The Toledo Art Museum. It’s incredible that place even exists in Toledo, and even more incredible is it’s truly comprehensive collection of works that I was able to steep myself in from a very young age. I spent my Saturdays there for a decade, and I think that’s part of the reason that history and all things with a patina appeal to me directly. Even my most contemporary interests have a feeling of nostalgia attached to them.
I can write fairly well, probably through sheer osmosis rather than any especial talent, and that’s always built in me the desire to illustrate books, or make comics, or maybe something blending the two. I’m a storyteller, and a fairly Jungian one at that, and I think that making stories is the best ways to relate to the world. I make my art varyingly, through sketchbooks, digitally, on scrap pieces of paper at my day job-- what’s important is the story.
When I was growing up, I had the privilege of being able to travel a fair bit. I think that that’s what has made me so interested in environments and the like. (That, and reading. A famous George R. R. Martin quote: “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”) I think that travel is important because without a depth of new knowledge, artwork quickly becomes rote and boring. This is why I’m especially taken with artists like Jeremy Sorese and Craig Thompson-- they have lived and worked abroad, purposefully seeking out their interests and both the good and bad of other cultures and continue using it in their stellar, stellar work.
Graduating from school is leaving me with a sense of eerie calm (probably with a mental breakdown simmering below my consciousness somewhere) because I know it’s doable, now. I always knew finding a way to make art for a living was worth it. But now I know I can do it. In the future, all I want is to work constantly, improve consistently, tell my stories and make good work that inspires.
-100? Impossible!-
My name’s Alicia Kleman, from Temperance, Michigan. I draw. A lot. I always have. While rooted in the midwest, I’ve scattered footsteps over a wide array of places, and read a lot of books, which has instilled in me a love of environment and storytelling, including writing, illustrating, comic-making, and any mixture of the three. I work hard, especially under deadlines. My work is shape-based, with an emphasis on line and rooted in anatomical knowledge. I’m an internal person, but I love people, and I like histories, oddities, Rod Serling, sychronicities, dreams, dogs, the X-Files, and beer.
-50. This is getting minimal.-
My name’s Alicia Kleman, from Temperance, Michigan. I draw and I always have. While rooted in the midwest, I’ve scattered footsteps over a wide array of places and read a lot of books, which has instilled in me a love of storytelling, including writing, illustrating, comic-making, and weird people.
-10 (or less)-
Alicia Kleman. Storyteller, illustrator, writer, and well-meaning weirdo.
