Artist:
Mayling Mack Holm
(American, born in the Phillipines, 1940 - 2023)
Ayaa
Medium: Ballpoint pen on paper
Date: ca. 1978
Dimensions:
19 × 15 in. (48.3 × 38.1 cm)
Accession number: 2021.11.1
Copyright: © Mayling Mack Holm
Curatorial RemarksMayling Mack Holm was born in Manila, the Philippines, to an American mother and a Chinese father. She grew up in Canton, China, and Hong Kong before moving to the United States permanently at age 16. She studied at Indiana University and DePauw University. She is a Chinese American self-taught artist who worked mainly in illustration. She did not begin making art until she was in her mid-30s when she had young children. Ayaa, was intended as the frontispiece for her second children’s book with Harper & Row, which was never published. The story, written and illustrated by Holm, focuses on Ayaa, a fairy princess with a crown of light who draws power from her natural surroundings. Holm remarked that the story would be highly autobiographical in nature. The drawing is notable for its highly detailed and ornate border filled with animals and fairies.