CU Art Students Make an Impact

Madison Lyda
Student Life Editor
@maddilinee

On Feb. 13, two Cameron University art students took a trip to Tomlinson Middle School where they presented graphic design techniques and work to the middle school art classes.

The two Aggies, seniors Kelly Coy and Tiana Buckner, hosted their presentations for three eighth grade Tomlinson Middle School art classes.

Coy and Buckner discussed a range of topics about graphic design they learned through their degree programs, as well as techniques that are used to create various forms of art in their fields.

At Cameron, all students who are working to graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts must host two public speaking events. The events revolve around having students discuss their work with an audience; this helps the creative process.

The requirement is designed by the university art department to provide students with public speaking experience when it comes to potentially featuring their work in future gallery openings and exhibitions. It is about preparing students for successful careers after they graduate.

It also gives students the opportunity to talk about their work and publicly discuss their prospective processes, along with the personal meanings their work provides.

During the event, both Coy and Buckner had the opportunity to speak to the classes about what graphic design is, how it is different from other fields of art, what it entails to be a graphic designer and what goes into the unique creative processes to create their art.

Coy and Buckner also informed the students of different fields and job opportunities that they have the possibility of achieving with a degree in graphic design.

Both students were given equal time to present what they have learned, as well as being able to present a graphic design portfolio with several works of art they have created.

The portfolio ranged from works of art they have created for community businesses and events, Cameron University specific art and various projects they have completed in their classes over the last few years.

Coy, who will be graduating this spring, said the event meant a lot to her.

“It was important for me to come and talk to them because I feel like there a lot of students who might be serious about art but don’t know that they have an avenue they can take to make it into a profession,” she said. “I wanted to let them know that there was something out there for them.”

After the presentation ended, eighth-grade art students had the opportunity to ask Coy and Buckner some questions.

The students were able to ask specific questions about graphic design.

Buckner said that she feels it was important to speak to the younger artists of the community.

“When I started at Cameron, I didn’t even know what graphic design was,” she said. “We felt that it was important to educate students that are younger, before they even hit an age where it’s stressful and all in your face like high school. It’s like an incentive that yes, you can in fact go into art, there is lucrative business that you can do, and it is still a very, very up and coming field with tons of job opportunities for you.”

The middle school’s art class is taught by a recent 2017 graduate from the Cameron University Art department, alumni Theresa Reimer.

Reimer said she wants to spread awareness to students about this particular field of study.

“People don’t always see how much we use art and how it’s in everything,” she said. “Everything that you buy, everything that you see, you wear, an artist has touched it at some point. That’s important.”

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