2008 Woodie Awards
Charting a course to personal knowledge
Laura Shatzer - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 6/25/07 Section: Metro
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Red tape arrows lead the viewer through the charcoal figures etched onto a road-map collage. There isn't one correct direction in this circuitous maze, but each path winds up in the corner, where a girl is curled up into a fetal position.
This girl is 16-year-old Alyssa Lundgren, and the red-arrow diagram of her love life is the final product of her work during last week's Visual Arts Institute, the second of two sessions offered by the UI Belin-Blank International Center for Gifted and Talent Development.
"It shows how teenage love is all confusing," Lundgren said. "I mistakenly get led to different guys, and it all seems to lead back to me being alone in the corner."
During the second session, June 18-22, Lundgren and her peers focused on making maps and incorporating text into their two-dimensional art, with each artist charting a personal journey. Emphases on self-expression and collaboration also made the institute a milestone in the artistic journeys for the 28 high-school-age participants.
"I don't think any of us have ever done anything like this," said Lundgren, who said she started drawing at the age of 3. "It's good to step outside the box."
Blossoming young artists came from all over Iowa and as far away as Colorado to attend the institute, Belin-Blank's first-ever program specifically geared toward cultivating high-school artists' talent.
"When people think of gifted kids, they think more of math and science," said Sarah Davis, the coordinator of the institute. "This is a chance for students who are artistically gifted to show their abilities."
Students nominated themselves for the program, submitting a portfolio, letters of recommendation, and a personal statement. The invited students each received a $475 scholarship covering most of the institute's costs.
Instructor Rebecca Ringquist, who teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, said the students' passion for art is what inspired her to teach.
This girl is 16-year-old Alyssa Lundgren, and the red-arrow diagram of her love life is the final product of her work during last week's Visual Arts Institute, the second of two sessions offered by the UI Belin-Blank International Center for Gifted and Talent Development.
"It shows how teenage love is all confusing," Lundgren said. "I mistakenly get led to different guys, and it all seems to lead back to me being alone in the corner."
During the second session, June 18-22, Lundgren and her peers focused on making maps and incorporating text into their two-dimensional art, with each artist charting a personal journey. Emphases on self-expression and collaboration also made the institute a milestone in the artistic journeys for the 28 high-school-age participants.
"I don't think any of us have ever done anything like this," said Lundgren, who said she started drawing at the age of 3. "It's good to step outside the box."
Blossoming young artists came from all over Iowa and as far away as Colorado to attend the institute, Belin-Blank's first-ever program specifically geared toward cultivating high-school artists' talent.
"When people think of gifted kids, they think more of math and science," said Sarah Davis, the coordinator of the institute. "This is a chance for students who are artistically gifted to show their abilities."
Students nominated themselves for the program, submitting a portfolio, letters of recommendation, and a personal statement. The invited students each received a $475 scholarship covering most of the institute's costs.
Instructor Rebecca Ringquist, who teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, said the students' passion for art is what inspired her to teach.
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