Shaping 15 pounds of clay into a beautiful, sculpted pot is no easy task. For junior art major Jansyn Jenkins, this is her passion and her favorite art form. She works hard to create beautiful clay sculptures by molding the clay and then decorating the ceramic with clay that has dried into leather. After waiting days for them in the kiln, she can finally do the glaze firing. It’s a very hands-on, physical process, but it is ultimately worth it.
“It’s 100% labor of love,” Jenkins said. “I love ceramics because it’s an art form I really had to work for. I also love that it forces you to be patient.”
The world of graphic design is constantly evolving, and we see new graphic art appear every day. For junior fine arts major Brian Scott, AKA CosmicBrian, his art shines in several ways. His artistic mediums include website graphics, video animation, YouTube and more.
“I love all of it. Art has become kind of my whole life and I’m living it, only being enhanced by the people I work with and the places I travel to get it done,” Scott said. “I’m hoping to get an indie animation studio and a small band of musicians together to create an indie animated series called ‘Shapes.'”
Dappling in several kinds of art, senior art major Haley Wiley considers mixed media to be her favorite art medium. She prefers to use mixed materials, such as fabric, lace and found objects, to create her final piece. Wiley describes her style as creepy, cute and coquette with a sense of nostalgia and whimsy. Her pieces act as a visual narrative, conveying a unique story.
“I’m a maximalist at heart,” Wiley said. “I find that using a variety of materials allows me to create rich and layered pieces that convey the complexity of my ideas.”
Junior art major Xili Swan knows how difficult of an art medium clay can be. She puts many hours and effort into building and rebuilding her beautiful sculptures. She loves that ceramics hold so much freedom to create. Even when you must make a specific object, you can make it your own unique style.
“I enjoy it because I’m an artist who likes to build works of art from scratch, and that shines through a lot in ceramics,” Swan said. “So far I’ve made lots of works —some better than others— items like bowls, tea pots and vases. I still have lots more to come.”
