At Southeast Community
College’s downtown Lincoln location, a student art wall is on display on the
second floor of the College’s art department.
“This is a great way to see
the range of talents of our SCC students,” said Dr. Rosemary Zumpfe, art
instructor.
In the art studio, about half
a dozen students work at their own pace on various assignments for Drawing 1
and 2. The three-hour studio class is taught by Zumpfe, who is nothing but
supportive of these students, who are all at different levels artistically.
“The most important thing I
want as a teacher is to encourage students to believe in themselves,” Zumpfe
said. “Each student has a unique creative voice.”
The students taking this
beginning-level art class are all taking it for various reasons; some want to
be an artist, others are taking it as a requirement, others are just curious.
What they all have in common is they are finding talent within themselves they
never knew existed.
Sister Joy (Kristie Le)
enrolled in the class because she needed it when she transfers into elementary
education at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. She wanted to drop the
class after the first day, but changed her mind after talking to Zumpfe.
“She’s a good teacher because
she believes in us, and is very patient,” she said. “I’m not good at art at all.
I didn’t think I could draw. I have a different view of it now. I see beauty in
things.”
Jasmyn White wants to be a
secondary art teacher, so she’s taking this class as an academic transfer
student.
“I really like how we’re
learning different techniques we’ve never learned before,” she said.
Holly Nitzel is a nursing
student at Union College. She thought this would be an easy way to get some art
credits. She found out that’s not exactly the case.
“It’s not easy, and it’s
super time-consuming,” she said. “But I like this class, it’s been very
interesting and we’re learning a lot of different techniques.”
Zumpfe
teaches art through close observation and analysis. She wants the students to
build on the critical thinking and creative abilities they already possess and
work in a supportive space to foster that potential.
“I
consider students to be artists when they walk into the classroom,” Zumpfe
said. “There are no ‘stars’, because all of them are stars in a space of
diversity and inclusion.”
Jaydon
Moody is a first-year student at SCC. He enjoyed taking art classes in high
school and hopes to use his talents to become a graphic designer.
“I
like the ideas that come to me and the feeling I get when it looks good,” he
said.
“I
like the freedom of it,” added Madison Bertie. “I like the parts where I get to
explore.”
Zumpfe
said many people don’t even know that SCC offers art classes as part of the
Academic Transfer program, and hopes more students will consider taking a
course and finding the artist from within. Studio art classes have also been
taught for many years at the Beatrice Campus.
“I
can’t talk about art without noting its vital importance in the college
curriculum and the intersection of visual art with all areas of study,” she
said. “I hope the ‘A’ will be added back into STEM.”
For
more on the College’s humanities classes, click on this link: https://www.southeast.edu/art/