According to his bio,
Cedric Michael Cox is best known for his paintings and drawings that merge surrealism and representational abstraction. As a student at University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP), Cox was awarded a fellowship to study at the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland. After receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting in 1999, he began to exhibit regionally and nationally.
Cox is also a 1994 graduate of Indian Hill High School and a valued member of the Brave Family. He recently returned to the Indian Hill campus, to inspire young student-artists at Indian Hill Elementary School, and we caught up with him for a special Q&A.
Indian Hill School District (IHSD): Mr. Cox, thank you so much for spending time with us – especially through your volunteer work with our students. Tell us, what inspired you to return to the classroom to work with our student-artists?
Cedric Michael Cox (CMC): In addition to being an artist, I am an art educator. It was only natural that one day I would return to where it all started. I am always eager to not only share my art, but also share how art has helped shape my purpose in life. This passion gives me direction and focus. My story is everyone’s story who has a dream to become what they dream of becoming. I am not only teaching art, I am teaching art appreciation and how the activity of creating something can build character, self-respect, and confidence.
IHSD: When you were a student at Indian Hill, what served as a source of inspiration for you to aspire to create art professionally?
CMC: Encouragement. I remember my first art class at Indian Hill Primary School. I was in the first grade, and Miss McKibbin, who was also our gym teacher, had us use oil pastels to create imaginative characters. At the end of the two-day art lesson, Miss McKibbin held up my artwork and congratulated me for coloring up to the edge of the paper and for coloring my subject consistently and vividly. I was the new kid at the time, and there were barriers between me and the other students. The barriers faded away after my fellow classmates asked about how I executed the piece. I was always recognized for my creative ability, and this led to more conversations and positive responses, along with relationships that encouraged my creativity. As it was then and still is now, art is the best way for me to communicate. The work ethic, drive, and responsibility to live up to the values that were instilled by my parents is why I am here being what I was born to be. Indian Hill, like so many other positive outcomes in my life, was the catalyst for greater things to come.
IHSD: What would you tell our students to encourage them to follow their passions?
CMC: To have faith in what makes you happy and trust in yourself to know what is best for you. Once you can focus on who you are and what makes you happy or complete, then you have found your passion. Hopefully, that passion can lead to a career that you believe can benefit others as well as yourself.
IHSD: What do you feel has been the defining moment for you as an artist?
CMC: There have been so many defining moments in my life as an artist. If I had to pick my most recent moments, it would be within the last couple of years.
In 2021, a series of 64 paintings were installed for Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. In 2022, I created work in the Metro Dayton Library west branch; and this past summer, I executed four new murals for the community of Avondale that stand as monuments to the healing spirit of joy and community pride. Every day is a defining moment if you exist within your purpose.
IHSD: Is there anything additional you would like to add?
CMC: Go, Braves!
You can learn more about Mr. Cox’s creative process
here.
Photo caption: Indian Hill alum Cedric Michael Cox worked with Indian Hill Elementary School student-artists on the creative process in May.