Maura McGonagle

contributor to 1 poster

  • A person in winter clothing aims their shovel at an unseen snow pile

    Artist

    Syracuse Snowflakes

    The humor of this haiku appealed to me. It just made me laugh when I read it.

    I'm from Boston, so I'm familiar with snow. I've always weirdly enjoyed shoveling. I remember it being especially fun as a kid, when your parents send you out the door, when the snow is so high that you can barely get out. Then it's not a chore, it's just playing.

    I didn't know how I was going to do the illustration at first. I started by looking at people shoveling, and trying to find a fun, energetic way to depict that. I looked up pictures on Flicker, and I acted it out myself, and I also looked out for real people. It's hard to find energetic poses, because people hunch over. But then I found this fun sweeping motion that's very dynamic, and I really enjoyed trying to portray that with the figure.