Successful Keystonian
Love for art and comics
Keith Garubba’s love for art stems from a rather unusual passion: comic books. Since he was a boy, Keith adored all sorts of comic books and their characters, particularly super-hero comics such as Spiderman and the Flash. As his love for art blossomed, Keith began creating and drawing his own comic book characters.
“It’s just something I’ve always liked since I was a kid. I can’t really say why, but comic books have fascinated me since I can remember,” says the 2010 Keystone graduate.
“I really discovered a gem when I discovered Keystone College. This college not only met but exceeded my expectations.”
Keith’s success
Keith’s love for art and comic books have happily collided in his role as an art instructor at Baum Art School, a non-profit community art school in Allentown, Pa. Keith teaches a variety of art classes to children, teenagers, and adults. His favorite, of course, is comic book art.
“I teach a wide array of courses to a diverse group of students, but the one I enjoy the most is a course drawing comic book stories and characters,” Keith says. “It gives students a chance to be really creative and express themselves in a way they have never done before. Personally, I get to help others experience what I have loved for years. It brings me full circle to who I really am.”
Keith’s skills and abilities are far-reaching. In addition to teaching, he maintains a studio in his home where he refines his many talents, particularly printmaking. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in visual arts from Keystone and being named Outstanding Graduate, Keith went on to obtain his master’s degree in printmaking in 2014 from The Ohio State University. From there, he’s gradually been making a name for himself in the art world.
His work has been displayed at galleries throughout the East Coast, and he has received numerous awards, including recently being named as the Emerging Artist of the Year by the Allentown Arts Commission. While he has many people to thank for his success, Keith credits his former professors at Keystone, particularly Judi Keats, Sally Tosti, Cliff Prokop, and Ward Roe for both teaching and inspiring him.
“I really discovered a gem when I discovered Keystone College,” says the Moscow, Pa. native. “This college not only met but exceeded my expectations, and I’ll always be very grateful to Keystone.”