Margherita Hill: Study Abroad In Siena To BA Senior Studio

The Bachelor of Arts (BA) Senior Studio is offered each year to Stamps BA students in their final year of study. In the class, students and instructors combine individual studio work with a collaborative project: the production of a fully self-directed show from start to finish, emphasizing the skills and practices associated with producing professional exhibitions. This year, students under the direction of Professor Nick Tobier and GSI Michaela Nichelle also invested time in getting to know one another, conducting a series of peer-to-peer interviews to learn more about the process, inspirations, and practice of their classmates. Over the next few months, we’re reprinting some of these interviews, which were combined into a collection featuring studio portraits by Urvi Joshi (BA ​’25) and a cover by Riley Huhta (BA ​’26).

Margherita Hill

Interviewed by Lina Hashimoto

Hashimoto: Thank you for joining me today. To begin, could you walk me through your artist journey so far? How did you get started, what motivates you to create, and how has that shaped your identity as an artist?

Hill: I was mostly self-taught growing up. I lived in a rural area and was raised by my grandparents. My grandpa was a baker and my grandma was a cake decorator, and decorating cakes is surprisingly similar to painting. We did a lot of arts and crafts together, and that really shaped me as a kid. When I went to community college, I had a few really inspiring professors who helped me grow as an artist. I took 2D and 3D classes, ceramics, and worked in gallery spaces and photography studios. Those experiences pushed me further along my path.

Art has always been an expressive outlet for me. I doodled constantly in school, and when I didn’t have words for how I felt, I could always draw. I think that connection to emotion, to my upbringing, is still what motivates me today. I try to make work that resonates with who I am.

Was there a recent moment when you realized, ​“Yes, this is the direction I want to go?” What sparked that clarity?

This is a hard question, but studying abroad in Italy really shaped me. We painted with limited color palettes, studied medieval and Renaissance techniques, and recreated or reinterpreted historical works with all under tight deadlines. It pushed me so much technically. That experience made me want to become a fundamentally better painter. I already feel strong in meaning and narrative, but Italy made me realize I want to level up my technical skills. So this year, in my classes and personal work, I’ve been really focused on pushing myself as a painter.

Were there any particular risks or challenges you’ve taken on in your artistic journey? What did you learn from them?

Choosing oil painting for this project was a big risk. It’s a medium I love, but not the one I’m strongest in. I wanted to see what oil could do for me as a storyteller, and I definitely learned a lot. Especially from the sheer number of hours spent in the studio.

Let’s talk about your Senior Studio project. What is your project about? Can you describe the core idea, the goals, and the concept in detail?

My project is about my sister and I. Our upbringing, our relationship, and how we’ve grown together. We’re very different people: I’m more emotional, she’s quicker to anger. We went through a lot, especially after our mom passed away when I was in high school. We were two years apart and clashed for a long time. But over the years we became much closer. She lives in Atlanta now, and we talk constantly. I wanted to depict that relationship, but also the spaces we can’t return to, my grandmother’s house and my mother’s house. I haven’t been in either for years. Painting them was a way to reconnect with those memories. I talked with my sister and brother, asking things like, ​“What color was this wall?” or ​“Was this object there?” The project became a way to revisit our childhood, our nostalgia, and even some of our grief.

What initially motivated this project? What challenge, question, or problem were you responding to, and what impact did you hope your work would have?

Narrative was a big motivator, how do I depict childhood memories in a way that feels real even though I haven’t been in those spaces for years? I also wanted to challenge myself technically, especially with color. In painting classes we often use very limited palettes, but for this project I leaned into a bold, expressive one that felt nostalgic. My goal was for viewers to feel the relationship between my sister and I. The warmth, the childhood bond, and the memories that shaped us.

Can you walk me through your design process from start to finish? How you researched, prototyped, refined, and executed the piece?

I started with the concept and looked at a lot of painters. I studied in Italy a lot. But the biggest part was reconnecting with my sister. She sent me about 40 childhood photos, and I sketched them over and over, erasing, redrawing, refining.

Then I prepped my boards because I wanted the pieces to function like a family photo wall. I’d work on one painting, start another, then go back to the first, building them all together as a growing collection. I added motifs to help with narration: a green outline around my sister in every piece, and a red outline around me. I’d look at photos, sometimes edit them in Photoshop, and other times just paint from memory. I often listened to a playlist of songs connected to my mom and called my sister while I painted.

Who or what were your guiding inspirations for this project?

My sister, my brother, my grandmother. My whole family played a role. In terms of painters: Marlene Dumas for rendering faces and using color/​value to simplify forms. Emily Parrish, whose work about memory relates to what I’m doing. Mary Cassatt for her soft depictions of women and children. John Everett Millais, especially The Blind Girl, for how two siblings can feel so different yet connected. Those were all in my mind throughout the process.

What did you learn from making this project, especially from critiques, feedback, or testing?

I learned a lot about material and color, how to balance realism with expressive painting. I wasn’t using skin tones, but I still wanted the faces to feel like us. I learned about simplifying features, painting light and shadow, and using material as a storytelling tool. Critiques were huge. Suggestions like adding more objects, more texture, more color, or thinking of the paintings as a family photo wall really shaped the final pieces.

Looking back now, is there anything you would approach differently if you could redo the project?

I actually love how it turned out, but I would make the pieces bigger. Small-scale paintings require so much detail work, and my larger piece was actually the easiest because I had more control. If I did it again, I’d scale up the series or maybe continue it with paintings about my brother.

What keeps you going when a project becomes challenging or ambiguous?

Talking to my people, my sister and my grandmother. My grandma trained me artistically through cake decorating, and she gives great feedback. I also take photos of my work to see it flattened, which helps me spot problems. Talking to classmates in the studio also helped. People walked by and reacted to my work, and I’d ask them questions like, ​“Why this one?” or ​“What feels strong here?” Those conversations kept me motivated.

What does success look like to you? Both in the short term and the long term, as an artist or designer?

Success, for me, means contentment. I don’t care about fame or money, I care about finding the community of people who understand my work. If someone can look at a painting and feel what I meant them to feel, that’s success.

If you could build a dream project with unlimited resources tomorrow, what would you create?

I would still paint, but on a huge scale, really big, intricate paintings. I’d love to expand on this story or go deeper into themes like sibling caregiving. Before our mom died, my sister and I were essentially child caregivers. That would be a powerful series.

What advice would you give to design students or young creatives who want to build something meaningful?

Make a schedule. This was my third studio this semester, so things were hectic. Planning and sticking to a routine saved me. And just jump in, don’t get stuck on the details. Make mistakes; you can always fix something. But if you never start, there’s nothing to fix.

Finally, how has completing your Senior Studio project changed or influenced you as an artist?

When I walked into my figure painting class after this project, painting felt easier. I came out of Senior Studio with new skills and something meaningful to say. Every project builds my muscle memory and my confidence. I feel like I’m walking out of this class as a better painter.

Path Forward, the 2025 Stamps BA Senior Studio Exhibition, was on view at Stamps Gallery from December 3 – 13, 2025. The exhibition worked to weave meditations on nature, the inner and outer workings of our human bodies from the functional to the phenomenal, the paces of daily lives whether reading or rushing, in friendship or in family and exploring memories of real and imagined pasts as they intersect with the here and now. Featuring work in experimental video, fashion, painting, illustration and sculpture, Path Forward postulates stepping stones for near and possible futures.