ON THE COVER: Kai Gietzen
For the cover of Motif’s Student Guide issue, illustrator Kai Gietzen drew a “monstrous crumpled up ball of notebook paper,” which, he says, “Represents all of the trials one encounters […]
Events:
The Flower, The Labor, and The Sea
September 27, 2025 - June 28, 2026
On the Cover: Spocka Summa of Anti-Robot Club
Don’t be a robot, exhorts visual and music artist Spocka Summa of Providence, the cover artist of Motif’s Fall Guide in concert with several Anti-Robot Club members. Together, they designed […]
On the Cover: Sydney Bienstock
“I finally found my niche,” Sydney Bienstock says of her journey from doing arts and crafts as a youngster to fashioning distinctive collages, like the one gracing the cover of […]
On the Cover: Shey Rivera Ríos
For cover artist Shey Rivera Ríos, it’s all about community. “I create in all kinds of art forms; I really love performance and visual art,” they say, adding, “All of […]
On the Cover: Alejandra Spruill
In her compositions, multimedia artist Alejandra Spruill of Orange, MA, focuses on contrast. “I look for things that don’t go together, but create a whole,” she says. For example, Spruill […]
On the Cover: Esther Helas
When cover artist Esther Helas of Providence was in high school, her biology teacher caught her drawing in class. One day the teacher, Edwin Yoo, handed her a sketchbook and […]
ON THE COVER: Rex LeBeau
The cover artist for the Queer issue took their name from their favorite dinosaur, the Tyrannosaurus rex. Rex LeBeau of Newport, for as long as they can remember, loved dinosaurs. […]
On the Cover: Georgia Darley Oldham
Illustrator and animator Georgia Darley Oldham of Providence doodled her way onto the cover of Motif’s Summer Guide. When she received the assignment from art director Olivia Lunger, Oldham started […]
On the Cover: Jay Blackburn
“As an artist, you need to have an open mind to learn and grow,” says Motif cover and tattoo artist Jay Blackburn of Pawtucket, “You’re constantly learning,” he emphasizes. Speaking […]
On the Cover: Kim Arthurs
Appropriately, artist and writer Kim Arthurs of Providence created a garden dreamscape for the cover of the outdoors issue. They used a technique called cyanotype, which incorporates the elements of […]