Robert McCrary
Robert McCrary spent his career at Eastman Chemical Company as a chemical engineer, working in plastic processing. He had many roles over nearly 40 years. He’s now working on a degree in graphic design at East Tennessee State University and illustrating a children’s book.
“From a very young age, I’ve enjoyed drawing, crafting and making stuff — coupling innate talent with annoying perfectionist tendencies. I kinda dabbled in all of that into college, but never studied art, what with the engineering course load.
“As a young married father, I took a crack at drawing cartoons in the style of Gary Larson’s ‘Far Side.’ That was probably the beginning of my interest in telling stories with pictures. I also had fun doing humorous drawings for coworkers who were retiring or changing roles.
“As I neared retirement age, I started exploring what my meaningful activities could be, with an eye toward extending/deepening activities or interests already present. I decided to lean into graphic design, which would enable me to learn digital tools for art (Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, etc.); improve my artist’s eye and mind to take my art to a much higher level; give me a legitimate skill for freelance work and open the door to a second college degree path,” he says.
McCrary counts the beginning of his illustration path as the summer of 2022 when he enrolled as a 64-your-old freshman at ETSU. He is studying graphic design and studio art. He has one published illustration for a historical book written by a former co-worker. His favorite project is a children’s book he is working on with another former co-worker.
“We are both rookies — she as author, I as illustrator — but we are having a great time learning the creative and commercial aspects of children’s books. Our approach is fairly high level on the illustrations, and it’s a 32-page book, so it’s been slow and steady progress.
“Retirees are advised to retire to something, not from something. Illustration is my new objective. I am a learner and creator by nature, and I do enjoy plaudits for creative achievements, which, of course, affirms my efforts and skills and makes me want to do even more. Retirement didn’t change who I am at my core. I just had to replace the satisfying and meaningful challenges of my professional career with something new.
“Committing to this path of illustration has brought new challenges, new social interactions and new skills into my life. I’m no technology wiz, but the art classes and digital tools have kept nudging me into our ever-evolving digital world. And I get to hang with the cool kids on campus, most of whom could be my grandchildren. All in all, I think I am in one of my most satisfying phases of life.
“Mark Twain said of considering opportunities and adventures, ‘Throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover,’” he says.
He recommends that anyone who wishes to explore illustration or graphic design, take the academic route. His reasoning is that it gives you a solid foundation and forces you to explore different media, techniques and approaches to generating ideas for art.
“It can feel a bit awkward at times being as old as the oldest professor on campus, and the vocabulary of fellow students may have to be deciphered. But I have found that sincere commitment to the subject matter and projects will bring respect from both students and faculty,” he says.
Graphic design isn’t his first foray into the art world. He began to act in community theater in his mid-40s.
“That step I took into theater was absolutely and unexpectedly life changing. There is simply no other mental and emotional sensation that matches that of being in the heart of a hard-working ensemble effort to tell a story through live acting and music.
“In theater, I found that I enjoyed being able to put on a new character and have full permission to be that character in all aspects. That spilled over into my non-theater life and emboldened me in work and social interactions to be more forward and engaging. That’s useful for someone who is in the middle of the introvert-extrovert scale.
“It’s very possible that my theater experience also gave me the boldness to pursue commercial illustration, particularly via the academic route. It has certainly been a big step into another unfamiliar world, but another with which I am finding immense satisfaction,” he says.
