Julie Benda she/hers/herjulie_benda@mcad.eduwww.jreneebenda.com online mentor BIO Julie Reneé Benda is a writer, illustrator and visual artist with a practice in print, sculpture and public art. She grew up at the end of a road, at the edge of the earth in the cartographically dismissible Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Her formative years were largely spent collecting firewood and attempting to gain a suitable audience of none amongst a lot of maples and pines. She now creates cartoons, writes and draws for humans. TEACHING PHILOSOPHY & MENTORSHIP I enjoy mentoring students who blur mediums and want to explore ways to integrate diverse background and interests. I'm interested in students who want to bring narrative into their work - either in print, public art, sculpture and social/environmental practices. I believe in being unapologetic about the complexity and contradictions we bring to our work, and am here to be a sounding board, guide, listener, questioner, cheerleader and hold space for that process. I get along well with other non-linear thinkers, emotive types, humorists and storytellers.