By Jana Wiersema, Features Editor
It’s one thing to hear about other students’ experiences, but what if you could actually step into their footsteps and walk the path they’ve traveled for the past three years?
That is the goal of senior Christine Ward’s new printmaking exhibit, “Footprints,” which is one of four student art exhibits now displayed on campus. “Footprints” is located in the Red Gallery next to the Bistro and will be on display until March 1.
Ward is double-majoring in media communication and art & design with a graphic design emphasis in each subject. She said that the themes of the exhibit are “connectivity and traveling” and that each woodblock print depicts a location she’s traveled to in the past three years. She added that while each art major is required to display their work as a graduation requirement, “that doesn’t diminish the work.”
“I believe I worked about 200 hours on the show collectively,” Ward said. “Carving the blocks took the most time, especially the cityscapes. Nineteen pieces were printed in total — three prints of six different blocks plus a tapestry with all the blocks printed in one image.”
Ward said that she’s been working in this medium for two years and credited her interest to a printmaking class she took with professor Josh Smith.
“I fell in love from the first print,” she said. “Peeling the paper away with a perfect print on it is the most satisfying experience ever. About halfway through the class, I knew I wanted printmaking as part of my show.”
She added that while she loves art, she didn’t always plan to major in the subject.
“Going into high school, there was a computer graphics class that sounded really interesting to me,” she explained. “Having always been in art, I was excited to learn a new medium and decided to further pursue it in college, despite not wanting to major in art initially. I didn’t think I needed a piece of paper to claim I was an artist, … and I couldn’t run fast enough from the formal art world. It caught up with me, resulting in my double major of the same art form in two different industries. What I learned is that you can try running from your calling, but eventually, you’ll end up doing it anyway.”
