Our Local Treasure, Tom Corbin

By Kat McDaniel, Principal at MEDiAHEAD.

Last year I was blessed to work with Tom Corbin and Julia Velasquez on Tom’s new coffee table book, Tom Corbin Continued. It had been thirteen years since the printing of his first book and his new book follows how he has continually grown and evolved over the last ten years.

The New Coffee Table Book

Tom’s wife Susie called me for advice because they were considering printing the book in Italy. After visiting the facility and seeing the quality that was possible here in Missouri, they decided to print with us.

It was a blast to see Tom working, clay flying, in his studio – it’s amazing to see how Tom moves back and forth between clay and canvas and back again.

Julia seamlessly brought everything together on the book. She flawlessly executed the production, design, color correction of all the photos and looked at every sheet during the press run. There’s an intense amount of pressure when you’re producing a 288 page perfectly bound book like this – if something is wrong, it’s going to be around for ten years plus. And I was thrilled to receive a work of art from Tom as a thank you for the work we did on his newest book!

I’ve known Tom and Susie for many years because our daughters went to school together. If you know Tom, you know that he is one of the nicest people. He doesn’t let his success make him unapproachable. They’re also huge supporters of the art community here in Kansas City.

We are truly lucky to have an artist of Tom’s caliber here in Kansas City.

Please visit his studio, in a historic old firehouse, on Southwest Boulevard – it is absolutely packed with incredible sculpture, paintings and furniture.

We need to invest in our local artists to ensure that they thrive and stay in our community.