We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mac McGuire a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Mac, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project that I’ve worked on was a 12-page comic titled ‘A Catalog of Changes’ that I made in the months before graduating from college. This project was my first adventure in the world of comic-making, and an experiment with narrative and visual storytelling that I was enthusiastic to tackle. I had been interested in exploring storytelling through this lens before, but never had I officially tried it out. It is meaningful to me because it was my first attempt at a long-format comic, and for the content it tackles.

The purpose of the comic was to explore the ways I was changing as I got ready to graduate college and begin life as a post-grad artist. It is a reflective narrative that analyzes what I had learned up to that point in my life, as I began to go forward into the unknown. This project shaped the way I currently approach making art, forcing myself to be as sincere as possible. Every step of the way was about taking risks and trying new things while also writing about something so personal to me. I know that this work was important because of how nervous I was to share it with my audience.

Because of what this project taught me, I now approach each project I work on, thinking about how I can be as authentic and experimental as possible. I never want to make the same thing twice, and I always want to be saying something new and honest through my work.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a 23-year-old Chicago-based comic artist and freelance muralist. I find my inspiration in life experiences, the natural world, and the occasional strange dream. Above all else, I think of myself as a storyteller, communicating through color and structure.

Raised in the suburbs of Fishers, Indiana, I decided I wanted to be an illustrator while learning to read. I can’t say I knew what the word in the back of my picture book meant, but my mother explained it was someone who made art for a living. I was completely obsessed with this concept and convinced that this would be my job when I was old enough to have such a thing. I attended every career day throughout elementary school dressed as an illustrator; a costume that consisted of a pencil behind my ear and a sketchbook in my hands, and was completed by a leather jacket. The jacket, of course, was because I was sure that anyone with such a job must be incredibly badass.

As I grew up and my understanding of the term evolved, I became familiar with the wide variety of careers existing under the term ‘illustrator’. I became obsessed with telling stories and fascinated with how I could visually communicate them. This fascination led me to my current involvement in the world of comics. As a piece of my art practice, I write, illustrate, and self-publish autobiographical comics. These comics tell a range of stories, from the subject of exploring my sexuality, struggling with insomnia,  and how scary it is to grow up. I recently organized and published an anthology titled ‘In Between Things’, featuring 20 local artists, all contributing to the theme of being in your 20s. These works are available on consignment at independent comic stores throughout the Chicago area.

The other half of my art practice is the work I do as a freelance muralist. I have been working as a muralist in Chicago for nearly 2 years now. This requires client communication, design practices, and fine arts installation skills. My clients include Columbia College Chicago, the Hawthorn Mall Shopping Center, and Blue Plate Catering. My work as a muralist is deeply tied to my love of storytelling, and I strive to incorporate narrative into each design I put together for clients.

I believe that my honesty sets my art apart. In everything that I work on, I look for the lens that presents the most human, most honest story. I want everything I create to feel personal and exciting in what it says about me and the clients I am working with.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is the excitement of sharing what I’ve created with other people. When I take my comic work to local tabling events and shows, I get the opportunity to speak with people, hear their thoughts, and improve based on their feedback. It means the world to me to see an audience interact with my work, to know I am not creating inside a vacuum.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

As an artist working in Chicago, I wish that someone had told me about the Chicago Artists Coalition website sooner. This website is a Swiss Army Knife for creatives looking for opportunities. There are open calls for work for galleries, magazines, anthologies, etc. They also have a job page where gigs for artists are posted directly by businesses seeking to hire, and a spacefiner search to locate rentable studios. You can even find artist residencies and local events. This tool has been fundamental to me for finding work opportunities and I can’t recommend it enough.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.macnificentart.com
• Instagram: @mac.nificent_art
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mac-mcguire-5869bb2a3