Artist Spotlight: Grace Mae Huddleston

On the average summer day, VisArts is buzzing like a beehive. ArtVenture campers and teachers are covered in glue and pipe cleaners, independent artists are swapping ideas across the workbench, visitors are exploring art in the gallery, and staff are keeping the whole operation running smoothly. In celebration of this particularly energetic season at VisArts, one local artist created a uniquely Richmond painting to provide a peek inside our creative ecosystem here on Main Street.

Earlier this year, VisArts commissioned Grace Mae Huddleston (she/they), a longtime member of our community, to illustrate our Summer Classes catalog cover. Grace is a multimedia artist and educator who creates colorful drawings, paintings, and textiles often inspired by nature—and her painting for VisArts is no exception.

You may have spotted the digital scan of Grace’s gouache painting in your mailbox, on your Instagram feed, or in the magazine racks at local businesses around Richmond; maybe you even saw the original hanging in the True F. Luck Gallery as part of the [Work] exhibition. Her vibrant and lively painting is eye-catching, and when you look closer, you will notice more than a dozen different local animals populating VisArts’ studios.

To unpack the all the tiny yet meaningful details in the artwork, we sat down with Grace to learn more about the inspiration and process behind this particular piece.

What were some of your sources of inspiration for this work?

I was inspired by the genre of Japanese art called “ukiyo-e” which can be translated to “pictures of the floating world.” What I like about this genre is that the artworks often show perspectives that reveal more of the scene than what a normal human viewpoint would reveal.

For example, with the piece that inspired my artwork for the cover, New Year’s Day at the Ogiya Brothel, Yoshiwara by Katsushika Hokusai, the viewer would have to be floating to see that specific view of the scene. I chose this artwork because it depicted a vertical composition of a scene where people are doing different tasks in multiple spaces of a larger space. The scene in that artwork also features a staircase and a second level, and I knew I wanted to include the iconic VisArts metal staircase and bridge in the cover illustration!

Other delightful Japanese artworks, such as Cats Enjoying the Evening Cool by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, that depict animals participating in human-like actions also inspired my cover and spot illustrations for the Summer 2026 catalog.

How did you choose the animals included in the illustration, and how did you decide what they would be doing?

In my current body of work, I create illustrative artworks like linocut prints and apparel that celebrate native plants and animals, sometimes in fantastical ways.

For my VisArts catalog illustrations, I knew I wanted to feature native species — the iconic animals we Richmonders associate with our city. It was easy to pose the great blue heron working on the pottery wheel because herons make a very similar pose as they sun their wings!

Other animal/activity pairings came from the personality humans assign to individual animals, such as a cheerful cardinal, a mysterious snake, a nocturnal owl, or an excitable squirrel. I tried to match the animals’ perceived personality or true state with the role they were playing in the scene: cardinal at the front desk, snake writing in a private studio, owl in the darkroom, and squirrels doing a raku firing outside.

Other pairings were made for comedic effect, like the racoon drawing a human skull, a turtle teaching a class to an aggravated rabbit, and an opossum as a clay artist laden with its babies and a bag of Brooklyn Red clay (newly purchased from the front desk, of course).

Native plants and animals are so important to celebrate and conserve. They are crucial to the health of the natural environments we love. As Richmonders, we often see our iconic river and its surrounding lands as places of relaxation, exploration, play, and even identity. That environment enriches our community, and we should view the species that live there as members of our community that we get to know, respect, and care for.

The Visual Arts Center is also a source of relaxation, exploration, play, identity, and community. As such, it only seemed natural to depict members of the VisArts community as native species. VisArts cares for its community through partnerships, financial aid, and classes for all ages and abilities. I appreciated the opportunity to draw attention to the non-human members of our community through my illustration work for VisArts!

What were some of the challenges in creating this work?

The main challenge was trying to include every single art form that VisArts offers. It wasn’t a requirement of the illustration brief, but more of a personal challenge I set for myself. Some studio nods are subtle, like the chasing hammer and anvil for metals, the salamander carrying stained glass, the backwards “welcome” letterpress letters, and the bat carrying a screenprinting silkscreen.

I did multiple mock-ups in Procreate to get the color layouts right and then lots of mixing with gouache paint to match the colors to the digital mock-up. Painting all the tiny details by hand was tough; trying to get clean edges took hours and hours of work.

Which animals are your personal favorites, or stand out to you for other reasons?

My favorite animals right now are salamanders. I love that we have so many different species in Virginia, and visiting vernal pools in the spring to look for salamanders is a yearly tradition of mine.

I included two salamander species in the catalog: the red salamander (Pseudotriton ruber) because it’s the Virginia state salamander, and the marbled salamander (Ambystoma opacum) because its charismatic personality is a joy to witness in real life!

Another species I’d like to point out is the bat on the cover: the Rafinesque big-eared bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii). Last year, the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources spotlighted this species in an art contest called “Restore the Wild,” which raises awareness about a different species each year via an all-ages art contest. I was honored to receive an award for my piece, and wanted to draw attention to these species in my VisArts illustrations too!

I’d love to know which species in my illustrations you have a special connection with, or to see your illustrations of native nature. You can email me at [email protected] if you’d like to share!

Were there any species that you wanted to include, but for one reason or another, could not?

There are so many native species that are iconic, important, and in need of attention. For example, through some illustration work I was commissioned to do for the James River Association, I learned how important our migratory fish species are. That said, VisArts essentially gave me full creative freedom on this project, and I am honestly so grateful for that and happy with how my work came out. This illustration project was a wonderful opportunity because I got to represent my love of community-focused art spaces, like VisArts, with my love of native species through fun mixed-media artwork.

 

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Grace Mae Huddleston (she/they) is a multi-media artist and educator based in Richmond, VA. She has taught for 10 years in community centers, schools, and universities. As an educator, Grace empowers adults and teens of all skill levels to deepen their connection to art making. Her teaching emphasizes skill building and creativity, and she loves it when students put personality into their creations! Grace primarily teaches all things 2D, including drawing, painting, and mixed media. She also has experience leading workshops on textile art and creative writing.

In her own art practice, Grace creates colorful drawing, painting, and textiles. Nature is her main inspiration, but art history, film, and comics also influence her work. She has shown and published her art in contexts ranging from zines and academic journals, to punk cafes and formal concert halls, as well as galleries and museums. Grace is a recipient of the Russell Foundation Grant and the VCUarts Inclusive Grant.

Learn more about Grace + her work: gracemaehuddleston.art | IG: @by.gracemae