The University of Wyoming Outdoor Studio class, a summer visual arts class focusing on outdoor and natural subject matter while creating work outdoors, recently sent their work with UW painting professor, Patrick Kikut, and a couple students from the class to install the UW student work at Sheridan College’s student gallery.
“I think it’s important that students and professors from other arts programs in this state know that we’re doing something unique,” UW painting professor, Patrick Kikut, said. “I think there’s a lot of students out there that would benefit from knowing UW’s Visual Arts Department has this outlet for people who enjoy the outdoors and are willing to polish their artistic abilities in a new way.”
UW’s Outdoor Studio class is offered in the summer to a limited number of students who have completed the necessary prerequisites and wish to work on visual art both on-site in the outdoors and from references or materials gathered at various sites throughout Albany County.
The class begins meeting early in the mornings, Monday through Thursday, in middle to late May, just a couple weeks after the spring semester ends. Students are guided to and assisted at two to three sites per week and are expected to create a dynamic artistic dialogue about the subject matter they interact with while on site.
“It’s so important for other students to see this work and know that other students made this work,” Sheridan College Sculpture Professor, Jason Lanka, said. “Our students in Sheridan, students from other art programs, need to know that these opportunities exist in Wyoming.”
Two students out of the summer class were able to travel to Sheridan to help hang and discuss the work. The UW students were assisted by Sheridan’s Professional Practices in Art class in hanging and aligning the work in their student gallery.
“The most exciting thing about this class was being outdoors and the most frightening thing about this class was being outdoors,” UW Visual Arts graduate, Katy Estes, said. “I think the one thing that really blew my mind was getting to see ancient petroglyphs right outside Laramie.”
One of the more prominent mediums that UW students hung in Sheridan were wet plate collodion photography.
“The hardest part was using a medium solely dependent on light,” UW student, Alia Gonzales, said. “The morning light was usually consistent but the afternoon light was constantly changing because of storms.”
Students are given an opportunity to visit and work on their art in Teton National Park during the final week of the class. The students are invited each summer to visit UW’s AMK Research ranch just south of Yellowstone, on the shore of Jackson Lake, for a week in June as a sort of artists’ residency to culminate techniques and observation skills. The students also visit the National Wildlife Art Museum and are encouraged to find a dynamic relationship with researchers from other fields of study. Students interested in the summer class should contact their advisors as soon as possible to ensure they are or will be eligible if interested.
