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Art Alumni: Prepared for Success (1/3) |
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Erin (Bennett ’00) Banks lives in Atlanta, GA, with husband Timothy and their two pugs, Fiona and Grace. By day, Banks works as the director of scholarships for the Atlanta campus of Savannah College of Art and Design; by night, she is a freelance illustrator. Shortly
before earning her master of fine arts, Banks discovered a “natural niche” for her artwork in publications such as Harvard Business Review, Atlanta Magazine and Focus on the Family periodicals like Clubhouse and Brio. Through a private agency, her art (done primarily in oils and with a “multicultural” appeal) is licensed to stores like J.C. Penney and Bed, Bath & Beyond. In addition, Banks has illustrated two award-winning children’s books—The Patchwork Path (2005) and The First Music (2006, shown above)—and has a third book in process, Hush Harbor (2008). At Houghton, Banks majored in studio art with a concentration in graphic design. She writes: I think the world of the art department at Houghton. I remember walking up the hill to the art studio and seeing my professors chatting with students in the lobby. I remember hearing opera music in Professor Ted Murphy’s office and thinking how much I admire his passion for literature and philosophy (and the seamless way he weaves it together with art). I remember studying under Professor John Rhett and appreciating the scope of his vision and his sensitivity to the world at large. I remember struggling with my own life goals and always finding a listening ear and wise advice in my professors.
Upon leaving Houghton, I began to see the difference between the artist who creates work for a market and the artist who creates work for her soul. Every day I strive to be the latter, and though I continue to stumble, I am
grateful to remember my teachers. My experience at Houghton exposed me to the artist within, shaped and inspired by artists such as Professor Rhett and Professor Murphy. Anyone who has the same privilege is lucky. If you would like to see more of Banks’ artwork, visit www.erinbanks.com. |
The art faculty
introduced me to the depth, beauty and rich complexity that
it takes to be a Christian artist. They encouraged me to
grow and think outside of my own finite boundaries, to tap
into the greater purpose that God designs for all of us.
They taught me to live with integrity, all the while
realizing that so few questions in life can be defined with
a black-and-white answer. They set an example of the kind of
artist I hope to become one day, the kind that finds more
joy and mystery in the process of creating art than in the
purpose behind it.