Libby McArthur has been teaching art at Evergreen Park Community High School for 15 years but marked a first this year after one of her pieces was selected for the National Art Education Association’s juried exhibition.
“I freaked out a little bit,” she said.
She’s applied the last few years but hasn’t gotten into the show, which is exhibited online. That changed this year after she submitted her three pieces. “On a whim, I was going to try one more time, and I got picked,” she said.
The pen and ink drawing done with Prismacolor fineliners, titled “Drip,” is about 8 by 10 inches.
Her piece and 81 others were chosen from 433 submissions from 29 states, Canada, South Korea and Vietnam, according to a news release from the high school. The virtual exhibit can be viewed through April 25 at www.arteducators.org/community/articles/2003-2024-naea-member-exhibit.
“Drip” was inspired as part of McArthur’s annual “Inktober” sessions every October when she draws seven or eight hours a day, every day. “I try to do one every day. It’s perfect for my ADHD so I don’t forget about it and don’t have to get back to it,” she explained. “It’s a hyperfixation. Most years I try to have a theme because it’s an international drawing contest, so people all over the world do it.”
McArthur, who has a degree in art education as well as a master’s degree in art history and one in instructional design and technology, dedicated last year’s Inktober to improving her drawing skills. “I draw mushrooms and forestry things. How can I expand that? I thought mythical creatures would be cool. I was reading books that had a lot to do with mythology,” she shared.
“Drip” features a creature inspired by Norse mythology, Jörmungandr, the “Midgard Serpent, aka World Serpent, that circles the Earth” and is Loki’s son. “That is where he came from, this dragonlike sea serpent almost. Lots of scales.”
She created the drawing in about seven hours while camping in Wisconsin with her family and employed an unusual technique to do so.
“One of the things I used to draw him was a tattoo gun but instead of a needle, I put a ballpoint pen in it. Just something a little different,” she said.
McArthur was thrilled her piece was chosen because in the art world, abstract works seem to dominate.
“A lot of art, especially what you see in museums or a show, is very abstract or conceptual. And there’s not very many people who are pen and ink artists. We’re not your traditional style.”
The mother of three’s oldest daughter, 11-year-old Evey, was happy her mom earned a spot in the exhibit. “I was very excited because she’s an amazing artist,” she said, describing her mom’s work as “cute but sometimes spooky and mysterious.”
She also called the piece “cool,” adding that she likes the dragon. “It’s unique. I’ve never seen anyone draw a dragon like that or a sea monster.”
Her oldest daughter isn’t McArthur’s only fan. Husband Jason McArthur, who owns a land surveying company in Mokena, was thrilled on her behalf.
“I was excited for her. She puts a lot of work into her drawings and deserves the recognition,” he shared. “But that’s not why she does it. She likes seeing the joy on someone’s face when they find just the right print. She likes inspiring people to make their own art and to be proud of it.”
He’s seen her piece in the online exhibit. “I try to take in her art as much as possible. I love seeing the direction she takes the Inktober prompts,” he said, adding that he luckily has family who help at home during that month. “I am trying to find a way to display it at home, but there is so much of it now that the task is proving difficult.”
He said her style captures her personality. “It is her – it is all over the place. She doesn’t just stick to one thing. She applies her drawing style to any subject that seems appropriate and she gets it done well.”
McArthur’s preferred medium is pen and ink although she also loves oil pastels. Because of her severe ADHD, “I found when I was using oil paints or doing those things, there was a lot of cleanup. With pen and ink, I was just putting a cap on and not ruining my brushes,” she said.
“When I’m drawing I’m listening to an (audio) book at the same time. I have to be multitasking. It’s like a need to hyperfixate on something. If I’m making pen and ink for fur, lots of stippling and dots, listening lets me not think about the tedious process of making dots.”
Although she teaches photography, animation, art history, and drawing and painting, drawing is her favorite. “It lets me share what I’m really passionate about with them,” she said.
In addition to selling her work at artists’ shows, McArthur has designed beer cans for local breweries and done drawings of pets for people who have commissioned them. “Any time I can draw pets I’m happy,” she said, adding that art is a way to “connect with people.”
“For example, you can use it very powerfully. You can use it to promote change. You can use it to bring awareness, or you can use it to bring people together,” McArthur said. “Art is a way to see the world differently, through someone else’s eyes – make it a little less mean in today’s political climate.”
She’s thankful she has a family who supports her art. “If I can just motivate a few of my students to go after their passions or my kids or my Girl Scouts, then that makes it all worth it.”
View more examples of McArthur’s work at her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/LibbyMcarthurArt, or her Instagram page, www.instagram.com/libbymcarthurart.
Melinda Moore is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
