In the series “Student Voices,” current students write about the reasons they chose Hampshire and how our educational model works from their perspective.
Visual arts concentrators at Hampshire College work with a variety of tools and materials as they explore their unique styles and artistic voices. Hampshire offers classes in art history as well as studio art. Hampshire alumni who concentrate in visual arts are often accepted into top MFA programs, and end up displaying work in galleries worldwide.
I am a fourth-year student at Hampshire, and I have taken three drawing courses, one painting course, and several art history courses here. I have worked in a variety of media including pen, pencil, oil paints, acrylics, pastels, ink, and collage. All of the art classes I have taken at Hampshire have been a fun and exciting experience, in which I have learned a lot about myself as an artist. These classes have always included a diverse set of assignments—still lives, human figures, landscapes, abstract images, and illustrations based on our imaginations. My professors have always encouraged students to take risks and experiment with different styles and materials.
In every art class I’ve taken at Hampshire, we also had in-depth critiques of our work. Each student would hang art on the wall and receive detailed feedback from the professor and fellow students. This helps us realize our strengths and weaknesses as artists, and to improve over the semester. It’s inspiring to see my classmates’ unique styles and to learn from their mistakes and successes, as well as my own.
If you’re looking at visual arts colleges in Massachusetts, keep Hampshire in mind. With its variety of courses and emphasis on communication and feedback, it’s the ideal environment to realize your potential.
Here are some pieces of art by the author of this piece:
