Each month, an FC art major will have his or her artwork on display in the cafe. At the turn of the month, a new artist will be chosen. The featured artist will be available twice a month for a "Conversation with the Artist" event.  We hope that you will join us during these unique opportunities to learn more about the artists & their work.

MAY: Kirstyn Click

ARTIST STATEMENT

By taking materials and magnifying them beyond the capability of the human eye, I create unique, abstract compositions. Various media are arranged on a microscope slide, and placed under the microscope. Placing a glass cover over the slide creates bold air bubbles that are fragile and hard to replicate. The results are captured using a special camera attached to the eyepiece of the scope. No two slides are ever the same, even if I prepare them in the same way. Likewise, every moment is different because of how fast the bubbles burst and the paint and marker dries. Working this way is very unpredictable and unreliable, but the result—when a visually appealing composition arises from the chaos of the slide—is very rewarding.

ARTIST BIO

Growing up, I was always interested in the sciences. For years, I swung between wanting to be a paleontologist or a marine biologist. I loved home science kits and experiments, and still do. I always believed I would grow up to be a scientist of some kind. However, I was home schooled for most of my life because my parents frequently traveled on business and I just wanted to go with them. We traveled mostly within the southern United States The upside to being home schooled and being able to travel freely was that I experienced culture outside of Indiana, and I believe that was an important part of my education. The downside was that when it came to science education, we lacked funds and resources. I knew theories, but had no practical experiences in a lab, and when I enrolled in college at the age of 16 I realized that it wasn’t practical to pursue a degree in a scientific field without lab experience. Instead, I had another interest to pursue: graphic design. When I wasn’t reading about dinosaurs or prodding some poor insect I found outside, I was drawing on everything within reach or taking photos. I loved art, too, but until college I hadn’t thought of it as a viable career option.

I attended community college for two years, and was not a fantastic student. There were also doubts about how I could make a living through being an artist, and my grades didn’t boost my morale. Just a few credit hours away from receiving an Associate’s in Graphic Design, I transfered to Franklin College to learn how to be an English teacher, because my family encouraged me to do so. A year and a half later, after missing my art and design homework, I changed my major again.

Currently, I’m a senior at Franklin College, majoring in Art History and Art Studio: Design, and minoring in English. After graduation, I hope to attend graduate school to continue studying photography and get some training in imaging, where I intend to combine my interests in science and art. Abstract photography has been a wonderful outlet for me to use my design knowledge on subjects and ideas that interest me. Now, I consider myself a scientist with the camera, constantly experimenting with it to produce abstract photos. In the future, I hope to use imaging equipment more sophisticated than a light microscope to produce art.