Fashioning Her Own Career

by Christy

If I had to pick a couple words to describe Mariah Graham, I think they would be energetic and disciplined. It is hard to make it in the world of free-lance work, especially in the world of free-lance illustrating. Add to that job description her specialty of fashion illustration and you’ve just eliminated a large portion of your clientele: children’s books publishers. But, because of Mariah’s energy and discipline, she has made it in the world of free-lance illustration for over 30 years. And I might add that she has not just made it, but she has enjoyed great success.

Recently, on a sunny Friday morning I sat down with my pen in hand and lots of paper to interview Mariah about her work. It’s always inspiring to talk with someone about what they love, and I had a particularly inspiring morning that day, rest assured. I called her at 8:30 and she had already been up since 6:00 hard at work in her Victorian home in Jeffersonville, NY, something she does seven days a week without fail--Mariah admits that this is where the discipline begins.

When I asked her how she got started in fashion illustration, Mariah shared her post-graduate regimen with me: she saw everybody in the business that she could. She started pounding the pavement looking for work and was very persistent. "My first job was with the New York Times. I bothered them every week for two months. I had a standing joke with the Times; they were going to have to give me a job to get rid of me." And eventually they did. Her diligence paid off and she started working for the Times doing the illustrations on their Style Page.

Mariah divulges that as long as you’re in New York City, the rest of the world will know who you are and take note of you. She worked for the New York Times for 12 years, and out of that grew a similar job with the London Times. She would go to London once a year for a month to six weeks to work on illustrations for their Style Page, and she kept that up for a few years. She remained on at the New York Times until they started using less and less illustrations on their Style Page. She also did the illustrations for the "Fashion of the Times" supplement that came out each year in September and March.

If you’re curious to know who her other clients have been, simply visit Mariah’s web site. Her clientele page reads like a who’s who of the world’s finest fashion magazines and products. Among them are Vogue, Revlon, Macy’s, Monet Jewelers, and so many others. Her illustrations have appeared in every major magazine in the country. She told me that, "remaining constantly visible" is what keeps the jobs coming in. Her web site has helped her reach several clients, people she admits she may never have found otherwise. Mariah also advertises in a couple trade books, Black Book and Showcase. "It is expensive to advertise in them, but it really gets me the cream of the crop."

All this talk about clients got me interested to know what she does after a potential client gets in touch with her. She gave me a bit of the day in the life of Mariah. She says that every job is a little different depending on the client, but the following blow-by-blow follows the flow of her last job. A major software company in New Jersey contacted her via email (they found her web site) and she called them back to talk about some of their specifications. They wanted to negotiate a price right away, which Mariah noted she didn’t particularly like to do up front without knowing what the job was going to be, but she accommodated them. She knows that although she loves illustrating, and she wouldn’t do anything else, this is also a business and that she must run it like one. They scheduled an appointment to meet and for the clients to see her portfolio. Although all clients see her portfolio, not all of them meet her; she has clients she’s had for years who she never meets face to face.

However, in this case, after they met one another they asked her to come back in a week with some "pencils," which are preliminary sketches. Mariah says they asked for one sketch, and she came back with four. Doing so ensured her the job, because "they picked aspects of each drawing that they liked and made a commitment." She knows that if she had gone back with only one sketch that they could have just told her, "Thanks, but no thanks," and moved on to the next illustrator. So in a week and a half’s time she came back with a final. She reworked that final piece a bit, and in the end they were very happy. Her illustration will be on all of their products, from software packages to mouse pads.

After looking at her striking illustrations on her web site, and also having seen several in person, I was curious to learn what she uses to produce a final piece. Mariah noted that her materials are surprisingly simple. She sketches the figure out in pencil, and then goes over that with design marker. In some cases, to give an illustration a nice final touch she adds some strokes with pastels.

I knew that she teaches as well, so we spent the next several minutes talking about what she loves about teaching and how it fulfills different needs for her. She teaches twice a week at Fordham University at Marymount Campus in New York. She jokes that she must be the longest running adjunct professor, but says that she is because the students keep asking for her to come back. She’s been teaching for 23 years, and her courses include Illustration, Fashion Drawing, and Portfolio Presentation.

"Teaching gives me a chance to be around people, to get away from my drawing board. I teach as I work, and I teach so the kids can get a job." Her students bear witness to that statement, in fact, one of her former students is now the Senior Art Director at L’Oréal. Mariah says she has always had great students who show up and do the work, they even come when she can’t make it to class, which I’m sure is a rare occasion. "I teach what I know with no pretense, and I learn as much from my students as they do from me. Their work speaks for me."

With all of my basic questions out of the way, I was ready to get past the how of her work and into the why of her work. I wanted to know what or who inspires her. She named three artists: Erté, a French artist famous for his elongated figures; Alphonse Mucha, a Belgian art deco artist; and Maxfield Parish, a fanciful illustrator and American artist. Mariah mentioned that the Vogue covers from the ’20s and ’30s have served as inspiration as well. She also says that the challenge inspires her. "It’s challenging [work] and it gives me drive. The movement of fashion, as it’s always changing, is an art form."

She speaks with such passion about her work that I was curious how long this has been a love of hers. I wanted to know when she knew that fashion illustration was what she wanted to do. Mariah says that drawing has always been something she’s done and has always been something she really liked. She knew she was going to be an illustrator since she was a small child. "It’s what I like and it’s the best thing I do. I know I’m good at it and it’s me 100%. It’s really an extension of my life... I go to bed and wake up drawing, always trying to change things--stretch myself."

So, okay, she’s known since she was a small child that drawing was "it" for her, but when did fashion enter the picture? "In seventh grade I knew it had to be fashion illustration." Knowing that she grew up in the South on a farm, I was curious what kind of exposure she had to fashion to know at thirteen that she wanted to be a fashion illustrator. "Did you buy high fashion magazines?" I asked. "No, my first exposure to fashion was probably through the Sears and Roebuck catalog!" Mariah says laughing, "I mean, we wore home-made dresses made of the seed sacks. They were nice seed sacks, but they were still seed sacks!" She said her real exposure to fashion was through the television; they got a TV in the late ’50s. She says, "A lot of people are down on the TV, but if it wasn’t for the television, I would have never known that there was another world out there aside from the farm."

We also talked about some of her favorite clients. She loved working for the Times, and admits that she wouldn’t mind working for them again. One of her dreams is to do the cover for the New York Times Book section. She also liked working for Cosmair who owns L’Oréal, Lancôme, and Redkin. One of Mariah’s illustrations appears in L’Oréal’s packaging for their Preference line. She’s also very excited about a book deal she’s working on with Fairchild publishers. They have contacted her and asked her to submit an outline for a textbook about fashion illustration. Although it’s not her traditional job, she’s really excited about that prospect and for the opportunity to share her ideas on how fashion illustration should be taught.

Being a fashion connoisseur myself, I was curious to know if she favored any designers after having worked in the fashion industry for several years. I always think that the designers someone follows speaks to the kind of person they are. "You mean if I could buy any designer who would I buy?" she asked, "I would have to say for American designers I like Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, and Donna Karen. I love Calvin Klein’s and Donna Karen’s lines and classic pieces. As far as European designers, I’d go with Giorgio Armani, Gucci, and Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel." Definitely a group of classy designers whose varied looks reflect the kind of person Mariah Graham is.

Before we concluded our conversation, I wanted to know what kind of hurdles she had faced in her 33-year career. "This business is not for the faint-of-heart," Mariah said, "Something I have to tell my students is the worst they will do to you is say no, and no never hurt anybody; don’t let others discourage you." She has learned to never take no for an answer. "When doors close, I look around for an open window… I’ve always figured something else out when someone tells me no."

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