New York-based artist, Creighton Michael, collaborated with art students Monday, Sept. 28-Wednesday, Sept. 30 from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. at Biggin Gallery in which he continued his series of Dimensional Drawing Projects in Pattern Play II.
On Thursday, Oct. 1 from 5-7 p.m., Michael opened the art exhibition and presented a lecture.
In his lecture, he portrayed images of many pieces of his artwork, and he discussed the progression of his artwork throughout his career, which incorporated painting, sculpting and drawing.
Michael first worked with art students at the Munson Williams Proctor Institute of Art Museum in Utica, New York, in 2004.
“The response was overwhelmingly positive and the attendance for the reception and the lecture was more than they ever had before,” Michael said. “A light went off in my head; I realized this was an educational tool that I can use and develop as a way of teaching art.”
Michael said he met Jessye McDowell, assistant professor of art and exhibitions and lectures coordinator, in New York.
“We were talking about drawing, and Jessye said it was time for a drawing exhibition,” Michael said. “So I talked to her about this project I had done, and that’s when one thing led to another.”
Michael said he used a reformatted version of artwork in his collaboration with Auburn students and he really enjoyed that experience.
“I think this kind of project is a good teaching tool and for me, the pay off as a teacher has always been to see the lights go on, and I saw a lot of lights go on,” Michael said.
Alexandra Lavender, sophomore in psychology, collaborated with Michael in the workshop.
“I worked on two of the pieces, so that was really fun,” Lavender said. “He is a really nice guy and very conceptual.”
Rebekah Thompson, senior in fine arts, said she had great one-on-one, casual conversations with Michael.
“He was really helpful in giving real world artistic advice,” Thompson said. “Something I took away was that it’s really easy to make connections with people even professionals in your field because a lot of the time they just want to help, and he was giving me all kinds of advice on grad school and pursuing career paths.”
Thompson also said through working with Michael, she learned to be open to changes based on discoveries.
“His work is a lot about drawing with nontraditional drawing media, so I experienced being open to exploration and not having to conform to traditional ideas for art,” Thompson said.
Michael said he does not purposely try to portray anything in his art.
“My work is about the process; I like discovery," Michael said. "If I know what I’m going to do, I won’t go into the studio because I want to not know. I have no idea where it’s going, but I know it’s going.”
The exhibition will run through November 6.
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