Date of Award
Spring 5-22-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
Illustration
First Advisor
Taylor Polites
Second Advisor
Leela Corman
Abstract
Illustration’s essence is using some type of media to tell a story. This could be anything from sculpture, watercolor, even just text alone. Beyond its medium, I have been thinking for a while of illustration and storytelling as a type of illusory magic. Magic, according to the Oxford language dictionary as being "The power of using supernatural or other unseen forces to apparently influence events or human behaviour." It gives us the power to reach inside the mind and heart of a person and change their emotional and mental state. It's the ability to create a world and have others experience it as if it were real.
While illustration's power to create illusions has been used for a variety of purposes—including everything from marketing to the preservation of a cultural heritage—I am most interested in its ability to transform emotions and perspectives when it comes to mental health and anxiety. Not just to spread awareness of what an anxiety disorder feels like, but to aid people struggling with anxiety through the process of creative thinking. In searching for ways to help those with anxiety, I looked to the root of why I tell stories, imaginative thinking, and the magic of creation.
Recommended Citation
Tuman, Mot, "An Anxious Artist's Guide to Magic" (2026). Masters Theses. 1693.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/1693
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.