The Collegian

Issue date: 4/17/08 Section: Arts

Senior Margaret Jago has been creating art practically from birth, she says.

Her elementary school did not offer a strong art program, so when she reached high school, she took the initiative to find her own art teacher nearby and take studio classes from him.

Now Jago, 21, has already produced commission work for some family friends. She is also editor-in-chief of Hillsdale College's yearbook, founder of a photography club, has held an internship at a prestigious magazine and is now bracing herself for the last few weeks of preparation for the opening of her senior art show, held in conjunction with seniors Kate Reiner and Vicci Yau.

"It's going to contain a lifetime of work," she said of her show. "In that sense it's not going to be the peak, but it is going to be the culmination."

She said she'll exhibit about 25 pieces in the show, including paintings, drawings, graphic design and photographs (and she originally planned to include even a sculpture, before it broke last week) - reflect Jago's interest in various artistic media.

Primarily an oil painter interested in portraiture, but a budding artist in many media, Jago loosely defines her artistic style as "late 19th Century Realistic, Semi-Impressionistic."

"I haven't experimented much with my painting," she said.

Rather, she has concentrated on redefining her technique for the genre she enjoys.

But that is not to say she has not tried other genres. The most avant-garde piece Jago has created, she says, is a mixed media collage of all her art since coming to Hillsdale.

"I did one abstract painting," she said. "I probably did it in five minutes."

Jago appreciates the painting styles of John Singer Sargent, James McNeill Whistler, Richard Schmid and Chuch Cecil, and she said her style contains elements that resemble each of theirs.

She focuses largely on oil painting, especially portraits, although she also draws, takes photos and does graphic design.

Angela Lashaway, art director for External Affairs, hired Jago last fall to help with graphic design on the college's publications.

"Margaret's done a little of everything," Lashaway said.

Jago said she inquired into a graphic design position with External Affairs after an internship with Veranda magazine last summer.

"[The Veranda internship] was my first real application of art in the work world," she said.

Now she hopes for a magazine graphic design job in Chicago after her graduation and imminent marriage, though she said she worries she will not be able to compete against students graduating from four-year arts colleges.

Continued...

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