German professor teaches art workshop at FMU
Photo by: Contributing Photo
Visting professor Tina Stolt works with students Hannah Garand and Kathleen Kennebeck during a printmaking workshop held in the Hyman Fine Arts Center on Sept. 23.
Tina Stolt, an art professor from Germany, visited Florence and FMU from Sept. 20-25 to lecture about her experiences as an artist and to hold a hands-on workshop for FMU fine arts students.
Stolt is a professor at the University of Koblenz at Landau, one of FMU’s exchange schools, which is in southwest Germany.
While sharing about her experience as an artist during a lecture on Sept. 23, Stolt said that she sees art as a way to communicate.
“I do it so that [I] can say something, and others can react to it,” Stolt said.
Junior English and economics major Petra Medardt said that she thinks it is important to learn from others’ artistic perspectives.
“I think everyone has their own interpretation of things,” Medardt said. “I think we can teach each other through art.”
In addition to being a professor, Stolt tries to continue growing as an artist. While Stolt said that she enjoys a variety of art forms, she specializes in printmaking and installation art.
Printmaking involves printing the surface of an object onto another surface. The process is similar to stamping. Installation art involves reflecting the mood of a space through the artwork displayed in that space. Installation art pieces are often three-dimensional.
During the lecture Stolt shared images of her work and some of her students’ work.
Stolt said she has done installation artwork for a variety of locations. She shared images of her work in places like a church and a slaughterhouse.
She explained that the process of creating installation art is an involved and complicated process, requiring visiting a location, getting inspiration, pitching her ideas to the owners of the location and sometimes starting the cycle over again until the idea is satisfactory to both Stolt and her employers. Then, she must begin the process of creating the installation artwork.
Sometimes Stolt changes her perspective during the process of creating art. “The art is changing me, too,” Stolt said.
Stolt also said that good art requires dedication from the artist.
“You have to continuously work, and then it will be great,” Stolt said.
Medart said that she learned that being an artist is not as simple as some may think.
“Art isn’t just painting something or hanging something up,” Medart said. “It is a hard job. Making a living from it is not easy, especially since there are a lot of people who want to succeed in that area. But if [artists] work hard, they can succeed. I think you can apply that to any profession.”
Senior marketing major Lisa Fischer said that she enjoys pursuing artistic creativity such as drawing but also sees the value in being creative in other areas.
“I think marketing is a little like art because you have to be creative just like in [art],” Fischer said.
Both Madardt and Ficher attend the University of Koblenz at Landau and are at FMU as exchange students.
Stolt also taught at a workshop for art students on Sept. 22. The workshop focused on experimental printmaking and gave students the opportunity to learn in a hands-on environment. Fifteen students attended the workshop.
Hannah Garand, a junior visual communication major said that she enjoyed experimenting with different designs without having to comply with constraints that are sometimes given by professors.
“There was no right or wrong,” Garand said. “We created whatever we wanted and had total freedom to say the result was good if we liked it or bad if we didn’t.”
FMU offers study abroad programs for multiple disciplines in various countries in Europe and North America.
For more information about studying abroad, visit http://www.fmarion. edu/academics/exchange_ programs.