Madelyn Girard (‘22 Printmaking and Creative Writing)

Madelyn’s writing and printmaking is inspired by emotional intensity and vulnerability, her connections with people, and her journey of finding her voice. She typically writes poetry, and dabbles in short stories and essays, admiring the work and learning different writing techniques from her two favorite authors Rachel Cusk and Amy Hempel. 

“I think there is a real life story that I always want to tell in my writing and then I distance myself from it, recycle the language and try to make it into something that relates outside myself and is more intune to conversations I am having with other people,” she said. 

Madelyn’s love for writing and printmaking started at a young age. She grew up with a mother who is an artist and attended an Arts Magnet High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she focused on printmaking. Her journey at KCAI started in 2014, where she explored different mediums, took time away from school for self-reflection, and came back strong finishing her undergraduate degree in Printmaking and Creative Writing in December 2022. 

She is thankful for her journey and the amount of generosity that the KCAI community has for her. The mentorship she received in both the creative writing and printmaking departments has helped her blossom and use the majors together in exciting ways.

“I use a lot of text in printmaking. I carve into cardboard and use them as props for photographs that become prints. I am also getting into papermaking, which has a relationship to writing. I‘m always inspired by writing, and printmaking is a great way to expand on those ideas.”

Madelyn has exhibited nationally at the Kennedy Center (Washington D.C), the Museum of Quilt and Fiber Arts (Cedarburg, WI), Fenix Arts Center (Fayetteville, AR) and YoungArts Campus (Miami, FL) as well as the Kansas City Artist Coalition (Kansas City, MO.) Currently, she is the Library Assistant in Jannes Library at KCAI, where she is learning how to catalog and develop her research skills. 

She is also working on a large, cast paper piece, with the help of resources provided by Kelsey Pike at Sustainable Paper Craft, as part of the collective Printmaking Thesis Exhibition opening First Friday, April 7 at Golden Stag Gallery.