Caitlin Cass, SEM's art teacher, was named a fellow for fiction by the New York State Council for the Arts/New York Foundation for the Arts (NYSCA/NYFA).
"I am over the moon about this award and am so grateful to live in a state that has funding like this!" Caitlin said. "I've submitted for years in different categories, but this is the first time I've won."
Caitlin won for fiction for submissions of her hand-painted comics. She describes her hand-painted comics as utilizations of extended metaphor to examine everyday societal ills. “The Heap” imagines what happens when a group of people resign themselves to a life of apathy and go live in an abandoned city lot. “ Stretched ” tells the story of a woman who is abused for caring too much, but who still pays her abusers for their services. These two stories are part of an ongoing series that explores bad habits, hyperbole, and everyday crisis.
It's been a big summer for Caitlin. In June she was honored by SEM, receiving the Captain John W. Brown Award for faculty at commencement on June 12. She also sold her first two cartoons to The New Yorker.
The New York State Council for the Arts (NYSCA) supports many of the local art galleries Caitlin regularly takes SEM students to as part of her classes.
