We’ve spent the past two days at Maryland Institute College of Art as guests of the graduate illustration program. If you have not been to MICA, you are missing out.

In addition to the outstanding faculty and students, the architecture is really exciting.

We ran a workshop for the first-year illustration MFA students. We spent a few hours discussing the principles of collaboration, an hour or so talking about the business aspects of running a small press, and an hour or so demonstrating various binding techniques.

The students were fantastic, full of great ideas and lots of questions.

As real live “visiting artists” we were offered actual accommodations instead of having to sleep on someone’s couch. Relishing the moment, we admired the unexpected contours of the pentagonal elevator.

And its surprisingly reflective ceiling.

My heart soared with excitement at the sight of the two beds. Two beds! Twice as good as one bed. If not more!

We continued the tour of our surroundings and continued to be bowled over by the opulence. The sink can only be described as swanky.

And an in-room, personal Keurig!

And four separate bottles of delightful personal hygiene products! Not to mention two separate soaps! If there’s one thing I detest, it’s sharing soap with Robbi.

And don’t get us started on the hand towels. They so resembled art that we were unwilling to use them.

Ditto the kleenex, fastidiously arranged so as to resemble a blooming white magnolia.

But the moment we knew we had truly crossed that line from “visiting artist” to “visiting luminary” was when we saw this.

Friends, we could have died happy at that moment.

But fortunately, we did not, or else we might have missed the chance to witness the most astonishing water in the universe.

We decided that it was enough to merely contemplate how delicious the water must have been.

Basking in the wholesome glory of our sudden luxury, it occurred to me that there were no children present. Not only could I sleep soundly throughout the night without a single interruption, but there was no reason why said activity couldn’t begin immediately.

I set my sights, took aim…

…and slipped gently into bed.

It was just as soft and lovely as you might imagine.

I was not heard from for quite some time.

Alas the morning came, and when it did, we got a good look at our surroundings.

I have driven past this building many times before, and always figured it must be home to some Duke. As it turns out, it is the Hotel Brexton, historic to boot.

We slipped downstairs for some continental breakfast. The luxury gave way to stunning technology. At the push of a button, this machine can make any one (or all) of 60 different caffeinated beverages!)

While keeping one precisely up-to-date on the progress.

The pastry tower was adorned with lovely yellow flowers.

And when we were done, my chopper was waiting outside.

Our second day at MICA opened with a few hours of critiques. The students pitched us their ideas, and we gave them feedback. I’m not sure where along the line I started developing strong opinions and the strength of conviction to voice them with confidence, but apparently, it has happened. We shared our ideas, and hopefully we helped make their projects better.

After the critiques, we headed across the street to MICA’s Main building for our talk/presentation.

It might look more at home in Athens, but it works just fine in the context of MICA’s eclectic architectural mix.

The building was gorgeous. Heavy metal doors with lions. That sort of thing.

And, to our delight, people showed up to hear us speak. Lots of people.

Suddenly, it was time to do our thing. And so we did.

Thanks to everyone at MICA (and the fabulous Hotel Brexton) for taking such good care of us. We sure had fun.