Meet Maurice Abelman | Artist and Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maurice Abelman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maurice, what is the most important factor behind your success?
The most important factor of success starts internally with your drive. Everyone wants to be successful but not everyone has the drive to go out there and get it. If you have a strong drive and the means to do it, you can can do just about anything.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As far back as I can remember, I’ve always made art. I remember at a young age copying pages out of X-men and Youngblood comics trying to see if I can draw my favorite characters. I also remember going through the city and seeing art/graffiti walking down the streets. I would say these are important factors that inspired me to be an artist. I’ve always used my talents in art to express myself and to channel the emotions that we all have a tendency to bottle in. Its a constructive way to deal with life. It wasn’t until I started my educational career as a Art and design Instructor that I realized art can be a way to help others discover this about themselves. I worked in the advertising and design industry for 5-6 years before transitioning into teaching. In that time, I leaned alot about the role of graphic designers in business and lead teams of designers in creative advertising campaigns in SETX. That experience has been invaluable in my teaching career.

Art and design aren’t easy professions to get into. It takes hard work, a good eye, and knowledge of the tools of design to be successful. But its also about who you know. With my teaching career, I still have many challenges but I get to be super creative with my students. I get to teach them about design and also how to work as a team to achieve great things.

One of my most proudest moments in my teaching career is a class mural project I initiated with my students this year. I guided my students in the design of a 60’x12′ mural that we designed for The Art Studio Inc. in Beaumont, Texas. This non-profit art institution helps young artists in SETX to learn about art and also gives them a platform to showcase their work. My students and I painted their new mural for the 2024 Beaumont Mural Fest in three days. 18 students participated in the painting and design process and were painting along side national and inter-national artists. Providing opportunities for new artists and designers in this area to get their name out into the community is the fulfilling part of my job that I enjoy. My student’s success is my success.

One of the things that separates me for other artists in this area is my ability to use advanced design programs and technology in order to plan out my artwork before painting it. This allows me to create large scale work like murals that take up the whole sides of buildings in relatively short periods of time. This has helped my career grow because I design the art and work through the aesthetic and compositional problems digitally and then paint it after at a rapid pace. Art and design have always been connected to the advancement of technology. If you learn how to use those tools you can become a stronger artist. I make art with technology, old and new.

Along with teaching and design, I’m also a muralist. I’ve chosen to use the name “Rice” to represent myself with my mural art. “Rice” is the last four letters of my first name Maurice and acts as my brand name. I see rice as an important staple food that nourishes whole countries. Being half-Asian, rice was a staple food for me growing up. Rice nourishes people’s bodies and I want my art to nourish peoples souls.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would take my best friend on a tour of all the Murals that have been going up in SETX. over the last 3 years I’ve painted close to 20+ murals in the area. Many talented artists have been flocking to Beaumont to paint the walls of the city. I think it would be great to give a tour and introduce a friend to all the great art.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My shoutout goes to all my dedicated students at Lamar State College Port Arthur. When I transitioned into education from the advertising and design industry I never thought I would still be teaching after 5 years. Working with talented and dedicated students has given me a reason to stay in education. I like being able to share my knowledge and experience as an artist and designer and seeing how they use that knowledge to become the next generation of artists and designers in SETX and beyond.

Website: https://www.theartofrice.net/

Instagram: @mauriceart_

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mauriceabelman

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maurice.abelman/