Norwalk Community College

Spotlight

Mauricio Higuera, Design for the Web, 2009

Man is a Bridge, Acrylic, 24" x 24", 2007

As a child in Colombia I would draw and flirt with the idea of becoming an artist. Coming to the United States took away a lot of obstacles and created new ones. I found myself with a new culture to learn, a language I did not understand and a new way of doing things I had to become proficient in. With all of that to tackle I left art behind. The summer after high school graduation, upon re-evaluating my life, I deemed it time to pursue art again. I remembered the clever compositions next to the news anchor I watched as a child, I was taken in by the way images carry messages and decided I wanted to be a graphic designer.

By the time I entered NCC I was on a mission, I took as many courses as I could to be done with the program as soon as possible. Upon meeting the faculty, their professionalism and depth of instruction convinced me that I was going to be challenged there. Taking art appreciation with Renae Edge, drawing with Chris Durante, design with Ken Lalli and having Joe as an advisor helped me construct an idea of what I wanted my life to be. I could make a living with design and support my passion for art. To this day I still reminisce with friends how we found ourselves in Chris’ drawing class while laughing, discussing current events, and growing an interest in culture. Most of us have a story about Joe’s comments and how it helped us advance our art and our lives. I still remember the passion and grace with which Renae spoke of art and how it affected my perception of it.

By the end of my first semester, NCC was more much more than a means to an end, it was a place where I worked on my dreams, made great friends and had fun learning.

Upon graduating from NCC with an A.S. degree in Design for the Web, I started my career as a designer. I took a job at a print shop, eventually becoming production manager. This helped me get a job at a fine arts publishing company in production. Shortly after, I became lead designer there and my home décor designs would print in the thousands and sell at retail stores across the country. All the while I was still practicing fine arts, I took a studio space in Norwalk where I worked diligently on my painting and drawing everyday after work and on the weekends. My art has shown at venues such as the Art of the Northeast hosted by the Silvermine Guild of Arts, local galleries, SoNo’s storefronts and NCC’s own walls! Now, after 2 and a half years after graduating from NCC, I decided to venture as an artist, taking the occasional freelance design gig here and there but doing what I always dreamed of doing, ART!