Since childhood, Maria McDonald loved painting. But it wasn鈥檛 until she got to college that she saw how painting could be a career.
McDonald came to 麻豆视频 as an art education major. But one class made a difference in her education and then her career. After taking a painting class, McDonald switched her major, and in 2023, graduated from 麻豆视频 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in studio art with a concentration in painting.
All the professors McDonald had at 麻豆视频 inspired her both academically and professionally.
鈥淚t was just really fun. And all of the professors in the art program are working artists,鈥 McDonald said. 鈥淭hey show their work and sell their work and they are professors. So, I was like, 鈥極h, okay, there're ways to make a living like as an artist.鈥欌
Her former adjunct professor Charles Basham had one of the most profound effects on her, helping McDonald explore her work and connect it to something inside of her.
鈥淗e just made me love painting,鈥 McDonald said.
As McDonald's academic journey continued, she took a four-day study away trip with Shawn Powell, associate professor and graduate coordinator of the School of Art. During the trip, they went and visited an artist鈥檚 studio, and this opened McDonald鈥檚 eyes to a new kind of painting.
鈥淲e went to see Eleanor Swordy鈥檚 studio. She makes these really big paintings, and she paints really weird-looking figures,鈥 McDonald said. 鈥淭hey're kind of abstracted and all the perspectives are just warped, but they still made sense. She talked to us about her process and just living there. It was just really cool.鈥
While McDonald was finishing up her senior thesis, she saw an opportunity to have her first solo art show in Massillon Museum鈥檚 Studio M and took it.
鈥淭hey posted on Instagram that they were looking for students and recent grads to apply for the show, so I applied for it,鈥 McDonald recalled.
McDonald鈥檚 paintings titled, 鈥淚n Another Life: A Tale of Love, Loss, and Living,鈥 are being shown in the museum until March 17. This is her first solo art show.
The paintings are inspired by events that happened during McDonald鈥檚 senior year, chronicling the relationships and friendships she was in.
鈥淭hey're all about relationships, like my relationship with others. Some of them are like my relationship to myself or my past,鈥 McDonald said. 鈥淎 lot of them are about my friendships and relationships that I was having in the moment, while I was painting them.鈥
As McDonald is looking to what鈥檚 next, she hopes to continue painting and show her work in more galleries.
鈥淚 have to make sure that I keep painting, no matter what. Hopefully, I can show my work in more galleries around Ohio,鈥 McDonald said.