Artist coins skills to teach drawing
Cypress artist Thomas Cleveland knows the stories behind most of the collectible coins created by the U.S. Mint.
He was there as collectible quarters and gold coins were designed, spending 10 years behind the scenes as one of a dozen artists selected for the Mint’s Artist Infusion Programin 2003.
Now he shares his skills at the drawing board with students of all ages at his art academy, The Artist Within Studio School, 12802 McSwain Road.
“I can teach anyone how to draw,” he said. “You just have to want to learn. It’s a skill everyone has, but not everyone develops.”
Cleveland, 55, has loved to draw for as long as he can remember.
“I’ve been an artist since I was in kindergarten,” he said.
He grew up in southern Oklahoma and received his degree in advertising and illustrative design, with a minor in fine art painting, from East Texas State University, which has since become Texas A&M University Commerce.
In 1984, he moved to Houston and began working as a graphic designer.
“I went freelance in 1986 and have done that ever since,” he
said.
One of Cleveland’s projects was designing the Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority token with the star cut out in the middle.
“I wanted it to be distinguishable,” he said. “If you put your hand in your pocket, you can feel the star.”
Cleveland applied for the Mint program after reading anarticle about the opportunity.
He put together a slide sheet and a résumé for the Mint and wrote an essay describing why he was qualified for the position. He explained his love for history and illustration and that he wanted to do something to leave amark.
“That’s why I’m an artist,” he said. “I wanted to do something indelible. There’s no better way to do that than to make a coin.”
Cleveland was selected from about 250 applicants. He and the other 12 designers traveled to Philadelphia where they toured the mint and visited the White House. Then they got to work. “It was hugely inspiring,” Cleveland said. “We got to be a part of history.”
After his stint at the U.S. Mint, Cleveland went to work designing coins of a radically different sort.
His next client was Provident Metals, and the assignment was designing “Zombucks: Currency of the Apocalypse.”
“I went from doing these pretty coins for the Mint to designing zombie versions,” he said.
Josh Merrick, creative director of the private mint located in Dallas, met Cleveland through another artist and picked him to do the job.
“Thomas was the right fit,” he said. “The detail he puts into his work is just insane.”
Merrick said that the coin series was inspired by “The Walking Dead.” The company wanted to create something edgy to draw a younger generation to coin collecting.
“It’s kind of a dying thing,” he said. “We wanted to make it more fun and more young. We’re making compelling designs, and people are getting into it. Thomas has been an integral part of all of that.”
Merrick said more than a million coins have sold from the series. He added that Cleveland’s contributions helped the project move forward smoothly.
“Thomas is super positive about everything he does,” Merrick said.
In the midst of his design projects, Cleveland was also developing a curriculumfor young artists.
He taught at the Houston School of Art and Design for seven years and wanted to bring a similar program to the Cypress area.
In 2004, he set up The Artist Within Studio School.
“What I tell my students is that it all starts with a pencil and some imagination,” he said. “I went to art school and learned a lot of tricks, and now I’m going to teach it to you.”
He moved the school about a year ago to McSwain Road, where it is part of the Purple Elephant Gallery and Iron Butterfly Studio complex.
Cleveland offers afterschool classes, summerart camps and painting parties for children and adults.
He hopes to offer cours- es online to reach an even wider audience and inspire even more students to pick upa pencil or paintbrush.
“Creativity is contagious,” he said. “That’s what I’m all about.”