Maddy Masie is a Senior at Kent State University studying neuroscience and she plans on graduating this spring. Maddy, just like other students here have hobbies. But for Maddy, it’s so much more meaningful.

“Art for me is escaping the real world. I can take like three hours drawing and it wouldn’t feel like any time passed.”

Maddy masie

Maddy has been doing art for a while now, she says maybe around four or five years old but she started taking it seriously when she was 12, which was seventh grade for her.

She started with phases of Pac-Man from the game “Pac-Man World 2” and then to cartoon characters like SpongeBob SquarePants.

“After that I tried to draw other peoples’ art by just seeing it and trying to draw it.” Maddy said. Maddy added that her friend was drawing so much more than her, so she started to draw more for competition. Maddy had this slight competitive edge when it came to art, which understandably so.

When Maddy was in seventh grade, she made these collections of Wolves that would be soon described to me as characters she made up. She didn’t like to show them off to just anybody. She was private about them. But when asked, she loved showing people her art.

Maddy said one piece was based off a three word prompt, that being raven, galaxy and eye. There was no reason behind drawing her, she just likes to draw girls. She added that this was one of her favorite drawings.

Maddy said that it has always been a confidence issue to her, and also not wanting people to think the she was full of herself. “I just didn’t think I was good as any other artists,” Maddy said.

“I was very humble back then, and I still am now. I still have to be asked. Like I never want to show it off.”

Maddy masie

When I asked her if she learned from anyone or had a mentor, Maddy said that she just learned from what her eyes gave her.

Maddy has continued to draw into her college years but when the Coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, she found it hard to draw at that time. “I mostly focused on school and found it very hard to draw.” Maddy said. “I kind of lost all motivation to draw during that time, I’m sure I’m not the only one who lost motivation in something during that particular time.”

Maddy has found an interest in drawing Spider-Man. She did it mostly to help with drawing with anatomy and movement.

Being set to graduate just this semester, Maddy said that she misses drawing because she hasn’t gotten to do it in quite a while due to her program.

“It’s hard to stay motivated, I wanted to keep up with making TikToks with my art but work and life get in the way.” Maddy said.

As she goes into neuroscience, Maddy wants to be a Physician Assistant. Maddy said that when she gets her own office, she would like to make art of the human brain, and hang it up in the office.

Maddy’s drawings often got placed into competition. She made it clear that she didn’t enter it herself, but the school did.

“The first time I, or I guess one of my drawing was placed in a competition was maybe kindergarten or first grade.” Maddy said. “Then in fourth grade my drawings were in the school magazine, I drew the yearbook cover in sixth grade and my junior year of high school, my art won awards but it wasn’t anything like best in show.”

Maddy said that she still wanted to pursue drawing in character design and get more into it because she always wanted to be a visual development artist.