Rebecca Black references aside, it really is exciting for art students to showcase their work for their peers, teachers, friends and family. As the year comes to a close, it is time to let a year’s worth of creativity shine once again.
Drew University: Sophomore Kristen Tynan, an art history and studio art double major, is an eclectic artist, with much of her work in illustration. She enjoys drawing in ink, sharpie, crayons and more.
Tynan is strongly influenced by music and books. “As cliché as that sounds, these are the two things that move me and influence me the most,” she said. “I’m also just influenced by people. They fascinate me.”
Her artwork is consistently featured in student art shows in a gallery reserved for students. There is currently a showing at the Korn Gallery, a home for visiting artists’ work, featuring a series of photographs by Barbara Beirne.
University of Maryland: Freshman aerospace engineering major Spencer Stebbins hopes to get his foot in the door at the University of Maryland after having his work displayed in his high school and even a piece shown in N.E. Washington.
Stebbins’s primary inspiration to do work is his dad, but also finds that drawing helps him relieve stress and escape. “My other inspiration to draw is that it liberates me of the present world and I can space out and enter a world where all my emotions and experiences can flow onto a piece of paper,” Stebbins said.
Vanderbilt University: Rebecca Meltzer has a lot on her plate, but thanks her father for her artistic capabilities. “He has a very strong appreciation for beauty, art, and music, and well I guess I get that from him,” Meltzer said.
Moravian College: Even as a freshman, fine arts major Emily Kneis has already won second place in a competition, “Celebrating Moravian Women.”
Kneis considers herself a traditional artist, inspired by William Kentridge and Kathe Kollwitz. “My favorite media are ebony and charcoal pencil, and I incorporate found materials into my work,” Kneis said. “My favorite thing is trying to capture candid moments that expose the personality and mood of my subjects.”
Pennsylvania State University: Katie Diorio, a junior art education major, finds her inspiration in natural forms and nature, like the beach and places in Arizona.
Diorio has had work exhibited at the Center for Arts and Crafts’ Teacher and Staff exhibit in the HUB-Robeson Center, as well as in this year’s PSU Art Crawl.
Diorio is in love with her current drawing class: “We experiment with all different types of ‘drawing’ in a variety of mediums and topics, such as drawings incorporating restraint, layering, performance, and music that really get you to think in different ways about what drawing actually is.”
