IG: @fallingapartist

Mainely Music

As both an illustrator and a musician, I knew I had to combine these two passions for this project. I truly took thesis as an opportunity to do all the things I love: listening to music, collaging, and drawing portraits. All together, these ideas led to me making a magazine and doing editorial art about local musicians. I did a lot of the sketching reportage-style by bringing my sketchbook to live musical performances. This was my gateway to meeting many Maine musicians that I would later interview for my magazine called Mainely Music. These artists shared a similar musical foundation to me, growing up playing music with others. Personally, I was in band, chorus, and theater. All of these extracurriculars were not only therapeutic to me, but also allowed me to connect with my community. That’s what Mainely Music is all about. You don’t have to be the talented people on the stage to feel grounded to the strangers in the room. Let the music be the thread that stitches and binds together the souls in the room. Community is intensely important to the human experience and I believe this rings true in my final work.

Bio

Emmy Grace Burnham grew up in rural Maine. Inspired by the collaged scrapbooks her mom made, she’s carried a sketchbook everywhere with her. She would often sketch the people seen around her in life. From the comfort of her bedroom, she would also draw and make collages themed around the music that was constantly spilling out of her headphones. Growing up in the school band, chorus, and theater, music became one of the biggest themes in her artwork. Singing and strumming will never stop inspiring her illustrative practice.