After visiting the School of Art & Design at IWU, I fell in love with how much freedom
I would have to do all the things I love. I was also given a lot of help financially
through scholarships from university alum and through doing a portfolio review through
the School so that helped make my choice a lot more affordable.
When I decided to be a double major in Studio Art and Psychology, I was concerned that one major would get less attention than the
other, or maybe I would be less of an outstanding student to professors in one of
the disciplines. But what I loved about IWU is that I never had that issue. I never
felt like I was less valued in one major than the other. In both majors, I was able
to excel and form close relationships with professors. Both of my advisors were lovely
and helped me graduate on time. In addition, the faculty, especially at School of
Art & Design knew me really well and were very understanding that I had two majors.
Outside of class, I spent time chatting with art professors about my work and talking
with Amy, our administrative assistant. I also had a lot of freedom within the School
to take many classes in different mediums and I never was pressured to choose a specific
path. This allowed me to explore and get to know myself as an artist and helped me
better juggle having two very different majors.
I shared a studio space in the School of Art & Design and spent many nights working
late alongside other students. I was able to work a job with the gallery crew in the
Merwin & Wakeley Galleries, which was a beneficial experience and helped me gain more skills working with other
artists. I also had the opportunity to be vice president of a club on campus, which
was a great way to get out of my dorm and make friends. My freshman-year roommate
is currently my best friend and wasn't even an art or psych major. Because it is such
a small campus, I was able to make friends not only in the art department but also
in music, theater, psychology, education, and many more majors.
For my senior exhibition, I created a body of work that reflects who I am as an artist
and my passions as a person. Growing Pains focuses on mental health in a broad sense and my own mental health journey. I received
exhibition honors for my work in the senior exhibition. One of my pieces was selected
as the Faculty Choice award. Another piece was purchased by the library and will be
on display in the Ames Library. I was also awarded the Psi Chi Senior award through
the Psychology department for my passion for mental health and psychology. With the
support I received from the university and my professors, I graduated summa cum laude in both majors.
My plan was always to combine both my majors and pursue work in art therapy. As of
today, that is still the plan. However, after working and volunteering on IWU's campus
and around the Bloomington area, I realized I also have a huge passion for social
justice and advocacy. I am currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Social Work to
become a therapist with additional licensure in art therapy. IWU was the perfect fit
for my goals and gave me the necessary tools and confidence to enter a Master's program
following graduation.
Sperry ’22 Continues Her Mother’s Research
October 27, 2021
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Inspired by her mother, Isabel Sperry ’22 used ceramic sculpting
and sociological theory to engage in her project “Challenging Narrative Form and Prescriptive
Messaging through Ceramic Storytelling.”
Sperry stated, “This research topic is close to my heart, as it is a continuation
of the research my mom did for her dissertation in grad school. Being able to apply
her area of study to my own methods — ceramics and English, primarily — and apply
it to my project's special interest in mother-daughter relationships was very meaningful.”
In the summer of 2021, Sperry was named an Eckley Scholar. Through the Robert S. and Nell B. Eckley Summer Scholars and Artists Program, Sperry was given a stipend to pursue her project under faculty mentorship from Adjunct
Assistant Professor of the School of Art Claire Hedden.
Sperry’s project is focused on ceramics as a form of storytelling in combination with
sociological research on mother-daughter relationships. Through close readings of
the Grimm’s Fairy Tales and sociological theory on literature and mother-daughter relationships, Sperry began
to create small clay “sketches” to plan her final piece. Once the piece was completed,
Sperry wrote the accompanying didactic texts.
“I finished the summer with a body of work exploring mother-daughter relationships,
narrative form, and the power of imagery in the stories we tell our children. I did
research on the sociology of motherhood, which influenced my view of autonomy in my
pieces. But the most interesting findings were much more personal — and often rooted
in my relationships with myself, my family, and the clay,” Sperry stated.
For Sperry, her project was an introspective one. “I recognized both a tension with
and an appreciation for motherhood — and by extension my relationship with my own
mother — that had been hard to physicalize before this project,” she said.
Due to this mix of emotions, Sperry noted her appreciation for the aid of her mentor
Claire Hedden.
“She provided a perspective that I could not as a mother. She was open and honest
with me about her experiences, and my work is better for her part in it,” said Sperry.
Hedden also aided Sperry in the artistic process.
Sperry said, “She provided a foundation of technical knowledge that did not hinder
my own artistic expression, but instead bolstered my ability to follow through with
my vision.”
Through her ceramic work, Sperry was able to explore new techniques: using lusters,
operating the kiln, and building large, self-supporting sculptures. She noted her
greatest challenge was the nature of clay and working with a piece of this size for
the first time.
Sperry stated, “I learned that clay has a mind of its own, which was frustrating at
first, but led to a more meaningful and grounding experience overall.”
Sperry plans to expand upon her research by pursuing honors research in literature
on the topic of autonomy, with a focus on mothers. In her Eckley project, Sperry focused
on the daughter’s perspective and, therefore, hopes to round out her work by focusing
on the literary aspects and mother’s perspective.
“My experience was above all, illuminating and affirming,” Sperry said. “As an English
major, doing an extensive ceramics project was a little unexpected. In fall 2020,
I took a class with Claire and fell deeply in love with clay as a medium of expression.
Being able to complete this project showed me that I have the drive and passion to
pursue art as a serious part of my life — whatever that ends up looking like.”
Student Designs Undergraduate Research Textbook Cover
Nov. 20, 2017
Ania Bui '18 holds Undergraduate Research and the Academic Librarian: Case Studies
and Best Practices for which she designed the cover.
BLOOMINGTON, Ill.— Charged with designing an academic textbook cover, Ania Bui ’18
found inspiration beneath a soaring net hoisted in the air and illuminated by vibrant
lights at the 2016 Adobe MAX Conference in San Diego, California.
Upon first seeing the massive sculpture created by conference speaker Janet Echelman, Bui and the three other Illinois Wesleyan students she was with took out their cell
phones and cameras.
“We just started taking pictures,” Bui said. “You rarely get to see a sculpture so
close. Plus, it was at night, so we saw the perfect contrast of the changing light
projected on the net against the pitch black sky.”
I'm Here -- Tracing Myself Back into Existence (2017)
My recent works examine the state of living in the information age. Inspired by synchronous
exchanges of information on social media and live stream apps, my sculpture Help Yourselves (painted papier-mâché pizza slice and mirrors) intends to capture a sense of co-existence
in different physical spaces of contact. By borrowing the mirrors from Robert Smithson,
I revisit the perception of the boundaries between fiction and reality and inspect
its form of existence in the digital age. The mirror here also represents a reversibility of the gaze under ubiquitous online
surveillance, while the piece of pizza embodies the sharing of the most banal things
through social media. A virtual reality course here at IWU also inspired me to think
about the perception of one’s self in the information age. Tilt Brush, a VR software
we used in class, has a mirror tool that could show reflections, while it would never
show one’s own image in the mirror, which departs from the common sense of a mirror.
I attempted to trace myself back into the space to alleviate the absence of Self in
a virtual reality environment.
For my design works, I spend time approaching feasible solutions without dismissing
the tangible aspects of human perceptions. There always remains an emphasis on dynamic
human actions even in the absence of the human image. I hope to evoke the memory or
imagination of oneself doing specific things, so you can trace the evidences to a
sense of intimacy. My photographs also reflect similar thinking processes. My favorite
subjects are old places that still keep the traces of living and illuminate the flow
of memories coming from our collective experiences.
CovidRunaway Fashion Show
Sep. 29, 2020 -- Students in Foundation Art and Beginning 3D Design displayed their
cardboard wearable designs to the tune of BeeGee's "Stayin Alive."
IWU's COVIDRunaway Fashion Show makes social distancing an art form as students show off their
designs (Read full article).
Julie Johnson - Director of the Ames School of Art and Design
I shared a studio space in the School of Art & Design and spent many nights working
late alongside other students. I was able to work a job with the gallery crew in the
For my senior exhibition, I created a body of work that reflects who I am as an artist
and my passions as a person. Growing Pains focuses on mental health in a broad sense and my own mental health journey. I received
exhibition honors for my work in the senior exhibition. One of my pieces was selected
as the Faculty Choice award. Another piece was purchased by the library and will be
on display in the Ames Library. I was also awarded the Psi Chi Senior award through
the Psychology department for my passion for mental health and psychology. With the
support I received from the university and my professors, I graduated summa cum laude in both majors. 
My plan was always to combine both my majors and pursue work in art therapy. As of
today, that is still the plan. However, after working and volunteering on IWU's campus
and around the Bloomington area, I realized I also have a huge passion for social
justice and advocacy. I am currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Social Work to
become a therapist with additional licensure in art therapy. IWU was the perfect fit
for my goals and gave me the necessary tools and confidence to enter a Master's program
following graduation.
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Inspired by her mother, Isabel Sperry ’22 used ceramic sculpting
and sociological theory to engage in her project “Challenging Narrative Form and Prescriptive
Messaging through Ceramic Storytelling.”
For Sperry, her project was an introspective one. “I recognized both a tension with
and an appreciation for motherhood — and by extension my relationship with my own
mother — that had been hard to physicalize before this project,” she said.
The mirror here also represents a reversibility of the gaze under ubiquitous online
surveillance, while the piece of pizza embodies the sharing of the most banal things
through social media. A virtual reality course here at IWU also inspired me to think
about the perception of one’s self in the information age. Tilt Brush, a VR software
we used in class, has a mirror tool that could show reflections, while it would never
show one’s own image in the mirror, which departs from the common sense of a mirror.
I attempted to trace myself back into the space to alleviate the absence of Self in
a virtual reality environment.
