Local cartoonist Chalkey shares thoughts on Hopkins
Many Hopkins students are familiar with the expansive map of Baltimore displayed in the Barnes and Noble on St. Paul St. The map extends from Fell's Point and the Inner Harbor to the outer towns of Luthersville and Towson and features the names and faces of prominent Baltimore citizens, as well as landmark sites.
Baltimore natives are known for pride in all things locally produced, especially their local celebrities and talents. Not surprisingly, a piece of artwork that expresses such enthusiasm comes from a local artist. What may be news to some, however, is that the artist is Hopkins staff member Tom Chalkley, instructor of illustration.
Chalkley spoke fondly of the students he has taught in his 20 years at Hopkins, though at a school with such a reputation for science and technology, the artistic talents of the student body may come as a pleasant surprise.
"The perhaps not very dark secret is that there are a lot of people who are really studying engineering, math and medicine because their parents want them to. Is that a secret? There are these kids in the Hopkins student body who are immensely gifted artistically in painting, drawing, and music, and they're fulfilling instead an ambition that their parents have for them," he said.
"I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but a lot of these people come here and want an outlet." Many of his students have discovered their creative outlets in illustration, and some of Chalkley's students have become successful professional cartoonists.
Others, however, "may become brilliant doctors, but they may in private become illustrators. Some of them may become medical illustrators, you never know." The skills taught in Chalkley's class can be widely appealing and practical.
As an illustrator, a teacher and a reporter for the Baltimore City Paper, Chalkley has been active in the Baltimore community since he came here in 1979 to start a rock band with Hopkins painting instructor Craig Hainkin. Having left college after a difficult illness, Chalkley began an artistic career based purely on determination and skill.
Baltimore natives are known for pride in all things locally produced, especially their local celebrities and talents. Not surprisingly, a piece of artwork that expresses such enthusiasm comes from a local artist. What may be news to some, however, is that the artist is Hopkins staff member Tom Chalkley, instructor of illustration.
Chalkley spoke fondly of the students he has taught in his 20 years at Hopkins, though at a school with such a reputation for science and technology, the artistic talents of the student body may come as a pleasant surprise.
"The perhaps not very dark secret is that there are a lot of people who are really studying engineering, math and medicine because their parents want them to. Is that a secret? There are these kids in the Hopkins student body who are immensely gifted artistically in painting, drawing, and music, and they're fulfilling instead an ambition that their parents have for them," he said.
"I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but a lot of these people come here and want an outlet." Many of his students have discovered their creative outlets in illustration, and some of Chalkley's students have become successful professional cartoonists.
Others, however, "may become brilliant doctors, but they may in private become illustrators. Some of them may become medical illustrators, you never know." The skills taught in Chalkley's class can be widely appealing and practical.
As an illustrator, a teacher and a reporter for the Baltimore City Paper, Chalkley has been active in the Baltimore community since he came here in 1979 to start a rock band with Hopkins painting instructor Craig Hainkin. Having left college after a difficult illness, Chalkley began an artistic career based purely on determination and skill.
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