Photo by Tess Durham
Hi there.
An impressive collection of striped socks, funky watches, bottlecaps and vintage robots are just a few things that make up the world of Maura Cluthe. This silly world was first discovered by Hallmark in 1991. Still a student, Maura first interned at Hallmark at age 19 and worked there until 2012. Blurring the lines between "fine art", illustration and design, Maura has spent much of her career blending all three disciplines. Hallmark career highlights include helping to launch the "Fresh Ink" alternative card line, the redesign of Kaleidoscope (a creative fun place for kids), the construction of an 11 foot robot named KBOT and being the art director for Shoebox Cards.
In addition, Maura has shown her personal mixed media work across the country in cities like Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, and Atlanta. These mixed media pieces integrate text, drawing, photography, painting, and other “stuff” she has collected into her art. These collected fragments take on new meaning and live on within her paintings.
Maura is currently teaching full time at the Kansas City Art Institute in the Illustration Department, teaching junior illustration courses. In 2022, Maura was named the Charlie Sosland Chair of Illustration at KCAI.
When she isn't hanging out with her husband, she might be doting on her dogs, digging in the garden, hanging out with family and friends or making stuff in her studio.