UMES artist’s work to grace Tubman National Historic Park
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
More than 100,000 people have passed through the visitors’ center at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in Church Creek, Md. since it opened in 2017. Future visitors will soon have the opportunity to view artwork created by University of Maryland Eastern Shore students, including Mariah Terry.
Her eye-catching and impactful portrayal of Tubman will grace the halls of the national park site dedicated to the life and memory of the abolitionist and former slave born Araminta Ross in Dorchester County.
Terry’s oil painting she calls “Peace, Freedom, and Power” emerged from the freedom the senior sequential arts major had to create a piece related to Tubman’s life story.
“I feel honored to have my painting displayed at the Harriet Tubman Center. She is a powerful figure, and her legacy is powerful,” Terry said. Terry said she wanted her artwork to show the freedom fighter in a “gentle and powerful” way.
The first-generation college student credits the university’s sequential arts program, her UMES experience and participation in the Envision Art Club in helping her overcome shyness and developing as an artist.
“At first, I felt … my art was never good enough,” she said. “I now realize that I can do this. Patience and practice propelled me to this point.”
The Clinton, Md. native looks forward to graduation in December 2019, after which she hopes to publish her own comic books and ultimately work as a story board artist at Nickelodeon.
By Tahja Cropper
