Graduating Senior

             Courtney Moren is a graduating senior from CHFA, studying Studio Arts with a concentration in Painting. Her thesis was displayed on the main floor of the Studio Arts Building last week. It included a number of pen and ink drawings. Each of the drawings was based on people in Courtney’s life. On each picture was a Latin proverb that she felt best fit the person in the drawing.

              She explained why she chose to use Latin proverbs, “Latin culture is reflected in many other cultures—many of our languages come from Latin. If I’d just used French or English it would be restrictive. Latin is more egalitarian.” It was curious that she used pen and ink for her thesis when her concentration was in Painting. When asked why, she answered that with pen and ink it is easier to do a lot of fine detail that is difficult to do with a paint brush. She also said that there are varying pen point diameters that allow for very fine, specific lines in black and white.

              A couple of the people in Courtney’s drawings were at the thesis presentation. One could see how accurately and recognizably she portrayed them. It was also clear how much time she had spent on careful attention to detail.

              Courtney will be going on to grad school at UMass next year. She said there were a number of reasons she was choosing to stay here: “Well, I’ve only been here 2 years—I transferred here. And I’ve really built a community here—I’m in marching band, RSO’s, and I met a lot of friends here.  I want to keep what I’ve already got.” For her master’s degree, Courtney will be studying Art History.

Sierra Simmons

5/18/09

srsimmon@student.umass.edu