A Variety of Passions: An Interview with ICON11′s Education Chair, Marty Blake
The ICON11 Education Symposium Call for Papers is now open! Submit your abstract by July 15, 2019 if you’re interested in presenting. More details here.
Marty Blake, ICON11′s Education Chair, is an illustrator, designer, teacher, and writer. Her illustrations are collages (both digital and traditional), and this suggests she hoards ephemera. Yes, she does. Just a bit. She works in publishing, for arts organizations, and for fine foods and drinks. She lives with her spouse and a cat in a little house on a little body of water in the middle of New York state.
What's your favorite memory from past ICON conferences?
Eleanor Davis at ICON9 in Austin. She had us all laughing and then, by the end, we were silent with tears in our eyes. Extraordinary. Emil Ferris at ICON10 in Detroit was brilliant, eloquent, and so pertinent: "The villagers are the real monsters."
Tell me about your practice!
Illustration and design, typography, and alternate media are all passions of mine. I love the variety of clientele I get to work with: from literary to artistic to culinary. Teaching helps to keep me grounded, aware, and perpetually evolving. The live human connection is vital.
What is your studio/office space like?
It's my dream studio, 12 steps away from the house on the first floor of the garage building. The windows face the lake (seen through trees), and there's a sliding door to a deck. One wall is all bookshelves filled to overflowing, and there is a multitude of flat files (also filled!). There's a large drafting table (usually covered in bits of paper) and a separate computer workstation and desk.
What's your hometown and where do you currently live?
Born in Frankfurt, Germany, I grew up in Europe and Central America as well as Washington DC. I was what's called a "dippy brat"—my Dad worked for the State Department in the U.S. Foreign Service. All my adult life I've lived in New York state, both central New York and New York City. I love New York.
Who are some of your favorite emerging creatives?
Where to begin? Lisa Perrin, Loveis Wise, Abbey Lossing, Jialun Deng, Molly Snee... surely forgetting too many, surely influenced by my admiration of alum of Syracuse's program!
