Category: Student Story

Under the guidance of Assistant Professor Ilayda Altuntas Nott, Art and Visual Culture Education students immersed themselves in a computational art-making, sensory-based learning experience — emphasizing the arts in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) practices.

The fall 2024 workshop, “ArtMachines: Drawing, Feeling, and Resounding,” invited the AVCE students to explore the intersections of creativity, digital and material experimentation in ARE 431/531.

Collaborative Inquiry: The Artistic Exploration of Ziyu Feng and Lei Wang

Students Ziyu Feng and Lei Wang demonstrated the power of collaboration and experimentation in their drawing machine project. Starting with a vision to create randomness in their artwork, the duo tackled challenges like motor assembly and design stability. Through trial and error, they incorporated small motors, cups, and switches to bring their machines to life, producing abstract patterns that celebrated the unpredictable.

Their innovative use of materials, including Chinese ink and acrylic paint, highlighted the creative potential of STEAM practices in art education. By layering colors and utilizing the mechanical movements of their machines, Ziyu and Lei showcased how art and technology can merge to create dynamic and thought-provoking results. Their iterative tinkering process emphasizes the value of hands-on experimentation in fostering creativity and problem-solving, reinforcing that exploration is a critical part of learning (Justice, 2016 & Resnick, 2017).

Kasey Hilton: Art, Experimentation, and Familial Collaboration

For Kasey Hilton, the workshop became an interdisciplinary exploration that extended beyond the confines of the classroom. With household items like plastic cups, duct tape, and markers, Kasey constructed multiple drawing robots, even involving her kindergartener and spouse in the creative process. Her robots, equipped with motors and weights, operated across expansive sheets of paper, resulting in distinct and vibrant patterns.

Kasey’s methodical yet creative approach to tinkering embodied the essence of STEAM, integrating problem-solving with artistic inquiry. The interactive motion of her robots, akin to a “dance party,” exemplified how STEAM initiatives can cultivate creativity and foster meaningful connections between artistic practice and everyday life. Activities like these encourage learners to iterate, explore, and develop a deeper understanding of concepts through active engagement (Justice, 2016; Resnick, 2017).

Kiara Imblum: The Pedagogy of Tinkering and Experimentation

Kiara Imblum’s mark-making machine demonstrated a comprehensive engagement with the pedagogical process of experimentation. Initiating with a conceptual framework centered on motion-based art, Kiara developed a drawing robot that underwent numerous iterative design modifications. From extending fan blades to stabilizing markers with rubber bands, her iterative process underscored the pedagogical significance of persistence and complex problem-solving.

Kiara’s reflections highlighted the classroom as a dynamic space of collaborative inquiry, where students engaged in the exchange of ideas and collective learning. Her experience illustrated how engaging with STEAM concepts through tinkering fosters critical thinking and promotes innovative pedagogical approaches in art education. This aligns with Justice and Resnick’s assertion that tinkering allows for the development of critical thinking skills by encouraging learners to engage deeply with materials and processes (Justice, 2016; Resnick, 2017).

Anne Arvizu’s Exploration of Tinkering in Art Education

Anne Arvizu demonstrated her approach in the workshop, emphasizing the intersection of art, motion, and experimental learning, thereby facilitating participants’ engagement with hands-on pedagogical exploration. Anne’s process began with an inquiry-based mindset, fully engaging in the concept of “tinkering”—an iterative cycle of experimentation and analysis. Reflecting on her journey, she articulated her iterative approach, describing how she ‘engaged in exploratory practices and systematically documented observations,’ subsequently revising her methods when initial attempts did not yield optimal outcomes. This iterative approach underscored her capacity for adaptation and innovation, which are essential traits in both art education and broader educational practices. Her experimentation with motors and markers functioned as a practical framework for problem-solving and applied critical thinking. Starting with multiple motors and markers, Anne quickly realized the setup was too heavy, prompting adjustments. Through experimentation, she discovered that a single motor and carefully balanced marker placement allowed the machine to create captivating circular patterns. Each adjustment, from reducing weight to perfecting marker contact with the paper, demonstrated her academic resourcefulness and persistence.

Ultimately, Anne’s ArtMachine achieved a result that exceeded her expectations. “Even though it was not what I originally planned, it was still successful in many ways,” she reflected. This experience underscored the importance of resilience, creativity, and a willingness to learn from every step of the process. Anne’s narrative serves as an exemplary model for students and educators, illustrating the pedagogical power of experimentation in unveiling new dimensions of creative inquiry. Her journey emphasizes that educational success is often rooted not in the flawless execution of a plan, but in the reflective learning that occurs throughout the process.

The Role of STEAM Pedagogy in Fostering Creative Inquiry

Assistant Professor Altuntas Nott integrates these pedagogical approaches into the classroom, addressing a significant gap in contemporary art education. These practices, already explored in other states and institutions, position the arts as a critical nexus for STEAM engagement, computational art-making, and sensory integration. By facilitating students’ experimentation with motors, markers, and innovative materials, art acts as a catalyst for the intersection of creativity and technology. The success of the workshop demonstrates the efficacy of integrating theoretical frameworks with practical application in STEAM-focused art education, inspiring students to engage in critical thinking, effective collaboration, and the exploration of novel creative possibilities. Tinkering functions as an essential pedagogical strategy for enhancing student learning through meaningful, process-oriented exploration (Justice, 2016; Resnick, 2017). This experiential methodology equips future educators with the competencies needed to integrate interdisciplinary practices into their classrooms, while also fostering an appreciation for the value of experimentation and innovation. As demonstrated by the projects of Ziyu, Lei, Kasey, Kiara, and Anne, the confluence of art and technology has the potential to cultivate creative intelligence and drive innovative thought processes.

References

Justice, S. (2016). Learning to teach in the digital age: New materialities and maker paradigms in schools. Peter Lang. 

Resnick, M. (2017). Lifelong kindergarten: Cultivating creativity through projects, passion, peers, and play. MIT Press.

For future physicians Sabrina Ferrari and Thomas Brower, getting the chance to analyze paintings and sketch one with their peers helped them see the importance of observation, interpretation, communication and empathy when treating patients.

During the last four weeks of the fall 2024 semester, over 100 first-year College of Medicine students engaged with art in an innovative medical humanities workshop at the University of Arizona Museum of Art — the brainchild of School of Art graduate student Amy Hu and UAMA assistant curator and alumna Willa Ahlschwede, who’ve co-led the sessions for the last three years.

“The workshop revealed to me the significance of never overlooking even a single detail about a patient,” Ferrari said, while Brower added, “it showed me how clear and effective communication with our patients can be crucial to building trust and improving health outcomes.”

That kind of feedback brings joy to Hu, a clinical assistant professor in Psychiatry and the director of Medical Humanities for the College of Medicine, as she pursues her M.A. in Art History. She helped start the workshops to show students “there’s no single way of practicing medicine.”

“There’s been a growing trend in medical education to utilize the humanities, but it’s really been more focused on narrative medicine,” Hu said. “There hasn’t been as much focus on utilizing the cultural arts, so I thought this is something that I really would like to explore.”

Hu is a graduate of the U of A psychiatry residency program. She received her medical degree from Indiana University, and her B.A. in Art History and a B.S. in Biology from Purdue.

At a recent workshop session, Hu prepped 20 medical students in the museum’s first-floor seminar room by talking about the late French historian and philosopher Michel Foucault. He developed the concept of “the medical gaze” — the act of selecting what is relevant from a patient’s story and body and filtering out what is considered irrelevant.

“Part of the work is thinking about how we look and perceive information, and all the things that may affect that process — our biases or prior experiences,” Hu told the students. “I want to encourage you all to become a little bit more aware of your subjectivity.”

Moving to the museum’s second-floor gallery, Ahlschwede instructed the group to analyze two paintings: the surrealistic “Tenemos” (1980), an eerie, figural scene with animal imagery by Leonora Carrington; and the satirical “Beauty is Only Skin Deep” (1991), by the late Robert Colescott, a School of Art Regents professor whose garish works often referred to race and racism and pride and prejudice.

Students took a few minutes to quietly gaze at the paintings before discussing them as a group. “I appreciated having a moment of deep contemplation,” Ferrari said. “It made me realize how rare it is to replicate those moments when digesting new information from a patient. Oftentimes, there is so much background noise and other tabs open in our minds that take away from fully focusing on the person in front of us.”

In art, the meaning of a painting can be subjective, Ahlschwede told the future physicians. In medicine, she asked them, “Is there always a right answer with a patient or situation?” Most agreed every situation is different.

“Hearing my peer’s different interpretations of the two paintings was an important reminder to maintain a balanced and nuanced perspective,” Brower said. “Many of us had arrived at different conclusions when looking at the same paintings. Similarly, two physicians viewing the same patient may focus on different aspects of the disease presentation and can potentially arrive at different diagnoses.”

As Ferrari sat and scanned each inch of the paintings, she noticed each had a different color scale, cultural background, theme and medium.

“This is how each patient we will see will present. If we blink, we might miss a critical factor,” she said.

Next, students undertook a drawing exercise, in which they had to sketch a piece of artwork in the gallery — and “move outside their comfort zones,” said Ahlschwede, who received her M.A. in Art and Visual Culture Education and a certificate in Museum Studies from the U of A School of Art in 2017.

Armed with a clipboard, paper and a pencil without an eraser, students took turns with a partner being the describer and the artist — with the artist facing away from the piece. For Brower, “it was challenging both to describe the painting to my peer and to receive instructions without seeing it.”

He saw a parallel with being a physician. “At times we will be the drawer: listening to patients describe their symptoms and trying to piece that together into a collective whole,” Brower said. “At times we will be the describer: explaining a complex disease process to patients in a way they can understand.”

At first, Ferrari said her partner tried describing a painting by giving an overview of its full design and then breaking it up into smaller pieces. “The second time, her approach was to walk me through each detail of the painting, guiding the direction of my pencil. This surprisingly worked extremely well for us. It showed me … we should remain open to viewing problems from several angles.”

Ultimately, Brower said the activity “exposed some of the challenges we’ll face with our patients and the need to improve our communication.”

Communication, especially when it involves medical jargon, “can be quite tricky” for patients, Hu said. “As a doctor, you can use a word to describe something, and then you find out it may mean something different for the patient.”

In the future, Brower and Ferrari hope to draw on the workshop skills in their medical education and residencies, fellowships and careers.

“Patient education, clinical research and community outreach are all important aspects that I hope to incorporate into my practice,” Brower said, while Ferrari added: “I want to be a physician who’s not afraid to ask my colleagues or patients for insight so that I can provide the best-tailored care.”

Brower grew up in tiny Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, outside of Philadelphia, where he became interested in medicine after struggling with an immune disease that doctors helped treat and “restore my sense of self.” He did volunteer work with patients living with Alzheimer’s disease while earning his B.S. in Neuroscience and a B.A. in the History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Pittsburgh.

“One of the lessons I’ve come to appreciate is the importance of recognizing disease, injury and disability as natural parts of the human experience,” said Brower, who works in his spare time at the National Ability Center in Park City, Utah, teaching adaptive ski techniques to those with intellectual disabilities and physical or sensory impairments.

Ferrari was born in Tucson to immigrant parents from Brazil and Italy and grew up in nearby Marana, where she was “blessed to have exposure to medicine early … when my mother became a nanny for the children of a gastroenterologist and a trauma surgeon,” she said.  

“My mind is still open to the many possibilities that medicine offers, as each part of the human body is so fascinating,” Ferrari said. “I’m intrigued by psychiatry and neurology, especially the intersection between the two. The great need for an increase in mental health availability for all people, especially the underserved, remains a barrier I want to address in my practice.”

Ultimately, Hu hopes medical humanities workshops will help the physicians of tomorrow break down more barriers in patient care.

As she wrapped up the session back in the museum’s seminar room, Hu told students:

“You must try to understand from the patient what they’re trying to describe, which can make about as much sense as someone trying to describe an abstract painting.

“You must really use your imagination as a doctor and put yourself in their shoes.”

With a focus on storytelling, the University of Arizona School of Art’s Illustration, Design and Animation program is ranked 10^th in the nation in Illustration among public schools, according to the 2024 Animation Career Review.

The school ranked No. 34 overall in Illustration and No. 4 in the Southwest behind Brigham Young, Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design and the University of Colorado.

“As a newly structured program, we are very pleased with our ranking,” University of Arizona School of Art Assistant Professor Nicole Antebi said. “We emphasize storytelling, and our program uniquely blends pathways within a studio setting exposing students to experiential learning through partnerships in a diversity of borderlands projects.”

Animation Career Review ranks programs based on multiple criteria, including academic reputation, employment data, admission selectivity, depth and breadth of program, value as it relates to tuition and indebtedness, graduation rate and retention rate. The rankings selected School of Visual Arts in New York as No. 1 overall, and the Fashion Institute of Technology as the top public school in Illustration.

The University of Arizona School of Art provides multidisciplinary Studio Art BFA and MFA degrees with an IDA emphasis. Other program features include courses taught by professionals in illustration, book arts and motion graphics; workshops; visiting artists, designers and illustrators; and access to a studio spaces, labs, museums and state-of-the-art facilities production facilities. 

Examples include the digital imaging lab with large format printing; computer labs with Wacom Cintiq Touch screens and animation stations; University Libraries extensive book art collection; letterpress, binding, and photopolymer platemaking equipment; the Center for Creative Photography; and University of Arizona Museum of Art (UAMA). 

Students also benefit from team projects with local clients; participation in the Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) Student Chapter, the Book Art Collective, among others; internship opportunities; field trips; and study abroad experiences. 

“Our program welcomes diverse voices, skill sets and methodologies and seeks to create a place of belonging for all students,” Antebi said.

In addition to Antebi, the IDA faculty includes Simon Hinchliffe, assistant professor or practice; Kelly Leslie, program chair and associate professor; Jenn Liv, assistant professor; Ellen McMahon, professor and associate dean of the College of Fine Arts; Lisa Watanabe, assistant professor of practice; and Karen Zimmermann, professor.

Graduates are prepared for careers in areas such as traditional book publishing, advertising, animation, game art and design, graphic novels, comic books, children’s books, television and film, editorial, advertising, graphic design and product design. 

Armed with a sketchbook and an old laptop, Galen Dara began to do illustration work for emerging fantasy and science fiction authors after getting her undergraduate degree.

“There’s something powerful about artists and writers who explore the fantastic,” she said.

In truth, it was Dara who also was emerging as a talented illustrator back then — and now the University of Arizona School of Art graduate student is a force in the field and continues to work on book covers for major publishers and editorial artwork for magazines.

Dara learned in late March that she’s a finalist for the Hugo Award as best professional artist — for the seventh time — and she’s hoping to take home first prize when science fiction’s most prestigious awards are announced Aug. 11 in Glasgow, Scotland. In October, Dara will travel to Niagara Falls, New York, to be a Guest of Honor at the World Fantasy Awards Convention, where she won best artist in 2016.

“These are wonderful honors, but awards and conventions and ceremonies can be tricky things,” she said, “(because) after all the excitement is over, there’s still the need to create, to get back to work and make more art.”

That never-satisfied attitude has impressed Assistant Professor Jenn Liv, an adviser for Dara’s Master of Fine Arts thesis, who has watched the MFA candidate teach as a graduate assistant.

“Galen is a hard-working individual who is always eager to learn new things,” Liv said. “As an educator, she’s very kind and generous toward the students. As president of the UA Riso (printing) club, Galen is also able to create an engaging environment that makes the students feel welcome and included, and also excited about what they are learning.”

For Liv, Dara’s work “has an evocative quality to it with deep emotion and feeling,” she said. “Galen is always willing to put in the work to explore many different possibilities, with a focus on figurative illustration, metaphor, and bending reality.”

Liv, who was hired in fall 2023, said Dara “played an important role in making me feel welcome at the School of Art. She’s a talented artist who has the drive and ambition to succeed in anything she attempts. Her energy and ability to take on many tasks is something I find to be very inspiring.”

Dara talked about her own inspirations in an interview with the School of Art.

Q. Where do you get your ideas?

Dara: From everything. In my personal work, I’m inspired by artists like Chiharu Shiota, Ann Hamilton, Kiki Smith, Louise Bourgeois and Magdalena Abakanowicz. The scientific illustrations of Ernste Heckle. Medieval Christian manuscripts and ancient codices of uncertain origin that may be about alien worlds (The Voynich Manuscript). I’m inspired by comedians like Hannah Gadsby, Tig Notaro, Ali Wong, by movies from “the Daniels” and Alejandro Jodorowsky, and by critical analysis of B-Grade horror flicks.

When I’m creating an illustration for a book cover, I’m inspired by the amount of research and world building the author went through to write the book. That always leads me down my own rabbit holes of research in order to create the artwork accompanying the book.

Q. How did you get interested in science fiction/fantasy art, and how easy was it to break into the field?

Dara: Growing up my family moved around quite a bit, but both of my parents were born and raised here in Tucson, and ultimately, it’s where a good number of us landed as adults. I always loved science fiction and fantasy, and working as an illustrator in the field has been a significant honor and delight.

I got my undergraduate degree forever ago from Brigham Young University. I started in the Illustration program but by the time I graduated I was making large scale immersive installations out of string and paper. After I graduated, there were times where I only had my sketchbook and an old laptop, so I figured out how to use a free version of Photoshop to make art. That led to doing illustration work for emerging writers.

I mark 2014 as the start of my “professional” career since that is when I was first nominated for the Best Professional Artist Hugo Award.

Q. Who’s given you advice as an artist, and how rewarding has it been to teach?

Dara: I have had several pivotal mentors as I’ve honed my illustration skills. The chance to work closely with Gregory Manchess, Scott M. Fischer, Sam Weber and Sterling Hundley have had a tremendous impact on my work. Scott Bakal and Yuko Shimuzu are both friends and my inspirations. They have continually offered me encouragement and support in my career. 

Here at the University of Arizona, it’s been amazing to engage as an artist, an art student, and an art teacher in a whole new way. I love the university’s emphasis on interdisciplinary practice and research and the studio space to work on self-authored projects.

Teaching illustration to aspiring young artists has been the highlight of my time in the MFA program. I’ve taught Intro to Illustration (ART 266) and a special topics course I proposed, “Scratching the Surface” (ART 404), which had an ongoing summer exhibition space in the Lionel Rombach Gallery. This semester, I taught Art 100G Pixel, an intro to the digital art-making tools used by communications artists. I find it one of the greatest privileges to pass along what I know, and I’m glad for the chance to do it here.

Q. What projects are you working on now?

Dara: I still take on client work but have had to be careful about how I balance that with my graduate studies and teaching responsibilities. Currently I’m working on cover art projects for Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins, and an editorial illustration for Scientific American. 

This semester I’m doing UA course work with professors Paul Ivey, Jenn Liv and Lisa Watanabe, and also working closely with my thesis committee to hone ideas for my thesis exhibition. Once this semester ends, I will head to Orvieto Italy with the UA Study Abroad program where I’m looking forward to working with Professors Joseph Farbrook and Nathanial Katz and immersing myself in the unprecedented amount of art history and culture there.

With only a year left in my MFA program, I’ll be dedicating my time to my thesis exhibition and making the most out of the opportunities here at the University of Arizona. After graduation, teaching in a university setting is high on my wish list, as well as continuing my professional work and research into my personal work.

• Galen Dara’s website
• Dara’s MFA program Instagram account
• Dara’s professional Instagram account

Grayson Agrella, who spent his time at the University of Arizona breaking down barriers in the LGBTQ+ world, has been named the spring 2024 Outstanding Senior for the University of Arizona School of Art.

Agrella wrote multiple papers about LGBTQ+ rights and issues as well as political art during the AIDS epidemic. He continues this theme for his honors thesis, focusing on various types of activist engagement for transgender youths.

“Both of these were topics that felt personally relevant, and it was intellectually invigorating to incorporate the politicalized identities of queerness into my studies of visual culture,” he said.  

Triple majoring in Art history, Anthropology, and French, Agrella is a W.A. Franke Honors College student with a GPA of 3.974. He won multiple awards such as the National AP Scholar, Dean’s List with distinction, and most recently was honored with the prestigious Centennial Achievement Award. 

“My favorite part of art history is the moment when a piece snaps into the context of its use or creation, and it seems as though one work can speak volumes on otherwise invisible concepts,” Agrella said. 

Outside of the classroom Agrella was a Poetry and Prose editor for the Carnegiea Literary Magazine, a student based and run platform for the youth of Tucson and Southern Arizona. During his time at the University of Arizona, He has worked as an archival assistant for the Center for Creative Photography, and worked at the Department of State as an agent in the passport division. 

Additionally, Agrella was a camp counselor catered for families of gender-diverse kids and volunteered at many arts organizations, like the Sonoran Glass School. 

“Creating this kind of ‘gender-utopia’ was an unforgettable experience, and has guided my interactions with queer communities since, trying to recreate it in pieces,” he said.

Agrella said the best memories he’s made at the university are the people they’ve met along the way. 

“I’ve managed to find like-minded, intellectually- curious, kind-hearted, erratically intelligent partners in crime that I will cherish for the rest of my life,” he said. “They are the people that make seminars interesting, are always down to analyze an argument, and my trusty proof-readers.” 

Agrella was nominated by Dr. Paul Ivey, professor of art history, and Dr. Irene Romano, professor of art history and anthropology. They said he is the embodiment of the values associated with the Outstanding Senior. 

“He has demonstrated outstanding persistence and integrity in his unwavering pursuit of excellence in his academic work,” they said. 

After graduation, Agrella plans to gain work experience before earning a graduate degree. At the moment, they plan to work in community- supporting services tailored to the gender-expansive and the broader queer community.

Story by Arilynn Hyatt ’26, Arizona Arts

Sarah Greenwell-Scott’s favorite memory at the University of Arizona is teaching. 

“My undergraduate students have been insightful, empathetic, and kind. I feel incredibly optimistic about the future when I interact with them,” said Greenwell-Scott, who has been named the spring 2024 Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant for the School of Art. 

She entered the university with a history of teaching at the University of Nevada, Reno. Since then, she has created online classes for Glendale Community College and Chandler- Gilbert Community College, all while teaching Art History courses and attending the University of Arizona. 

Sandra Barr, her colleague and discussion section leader for her first instructional assignments, describes Scott as, “a thoughtful mentor, a thorough researcher, and an incredible colleague who not only knew the material of the courses, but could convey it to a multitude of students, with differing learning styles, needs, and attitudes.”

Scott is pursuing a PhD in Art History with an emphasis in Contemporary Art and Theory, focusing on Contemporary Indigenous Art and minoring in American Indian Studies. 

“My research focuses on contemporary Indigenous artists who confront and deconstruct visual representations of indigeneity pervasive within settler-colonial culture,” she said. 

In addition to her academic and teaching pursuits, Scott also has been involved with community outreach programs and campus organizations. She’s been the co-chair of the SOA Graduate Student Council, graduate representative for the School of Art Advisory Board, Visiting Artists and Scholars Endowment (VASE), and a member of the Art History Graduate Student Association. 

“The University of Arizona is one of the few universities with an Indigenous Studies program,” she said. “The ability to pursue an interdisciplinary focus has enriched my research and broadened my perspective, both of which will further develop me as an educator and scholar.”   

She was nominated by Stacie Widdifield, professor and graduate advisor for art history. After graduation Scott plans to obtain a tenure-track teaching position. 

Story by Arilynn Hyatt ’26, Arizona Arts