Fine arts flourishes even during the pandemic
mikayla.makleFrom moist, cool clay to wet, drippy paint and dry, smudgy charcoal, visual art is a distinctly hands‑on, sometimes messy, field of practice and study. So, what happens when art education goes online?
“Remote teaching certainly hasn’t slowed us down. In fact, these strange times have helped us reimagine new, more expanded ways to reach out to our students while still having deep and meaningful experiences in the virtual classroom,” said Associate Professor Io Palmer.
She and many of her fine arts colleagues, including Joe Hedges, assistant professor of painting/intermedia, have created their own makeshift media studios where they shoot, produce and edit demonstrations and tutorial videos for their students to watch online anytime.
“Each of our students is really on a personal journey of creative exploration. We are not prescriptive about where that journey leads, so we use frequent one-on-one and group dialogues and critiques to help guide their learning in a highly individualized way, maintaining individual connections with each student wherever they are,” Hedges said.
