Em Rock is a Rochester-based artist who focuses on picture book illustration and surface design. Em is in their senior year at the Cleveland Institute of Art earning a Bachelor degree in Illustration, and has been working part time in optics manufacturing throughout university. After graduation they are looking to eventually move towards full-time freelance and engage in local art festivals. Em’s artistic style emphasizes strong linework, dynamic compositions, and moody color tones. Their illustration is primarily done digitally but they enjoy working traditionally in watercolor and often scan in textures to incorporate into their work. 

Principal themes in Em’s work include queer narratives, inclusiveness, and vintage aesthetic undertones. In their senior thesis projects they created illustrations for the short story The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and they are currently creating a merchandise collection of Queer Pin-up illustrations called Sapphic Circus. Their thesis works showcase Em’s interests in both serious narrative based subjects as well as provocative and whimsical content. However, on a different tone their first large post-graduation goal is to get a picture book of their creation published, the story is a fantasy tale of a young girl on a journey towards self-acceptance.

 Not only does Em want to keep exploring the world of feminist horror and pin-up art, but they also seek to create stories to inspire younger audiences to be unapologetically themselves. Artists that have inspired them towards this dual passion include Bill Presing, Beatrice Blue, and Jamie Hewlett. Em looks to not only create content for young adult queer folk like themselves, but Em also seeks to create stories for younger audiences that they wish they had when they were younger.