Alumni Spotlight Series: Mady Senior

RLC alumna Mady Senior poses with her coloring book "Madycat's Coloring Book Volume 1." The Sesser artist recently released a collection of her own charming character illustrations. (Click image for printable photo)

SESSER, Ill. (Aug. 3, 2021) -- Rend Lake College alumna Mady Senior has always loved making art but it was not until she showed some of her black and white drawings to some coworkers that she thought about making her own book.

“It was a silly idea at first,” Senior said. “But then it turned out to be a neat project.”

Senior recently published the first volume of “Madycat’s Coloring Book.” The 2020 RLC graduate used lessons she learned while she was a student to assemble a whimsical and charming collection of her drawings.

Senior said she has loved to draw since she was young. She started taking art classes when she was in seventh grade and continued through high school and college.

Senior said her two years of illustration courses at RLC prepared her in knowing how to sharpen her skills and market her talents.

“They helped me more than anything,” she said. “We learned about how to make things marketable. They taught me how to get my ideas together and make a project.”

“Madycat’s Coloring Book Volume 1” is a coloring book for artists of all ages. It has 32 pages of fanciful floral patterns, kooky characters and positive self-affirmation messages. Artists also have the option of coloring the front cover, which features a self-portrait of Senior herself.

Senior said she put a lot of thought into what to feature throughout the book.

“Coming up with ideas for every page was easy in the beginning,” she said. “But I had to brainstorm quite a bit as it went on.”

Senior is currently working on a second volume for her coloring book series. She said she had always turned to making art as a way to handle complicated emotions.

“I’ve always done it for a coping mechanism, whether it be stress or anxiety,” Senior said. “That feeling - the really good feeling about making art - is something I carried int adulthood. It’s nice that I could make something that I could share with other people.”

Senior encourages anyone to keep with their passions.

“I hope they just see and realize that people from small places can do something like that,” Senior said. “I am from a town of 2,000 and I have a book out there that you can buy. I am not from a big city. I did not go to some fancy art school.”

Senior is selling her coloring book independently. To purchase a copy, send an email to madysonsenior@gmail.com.

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