Second-year art students at Georgia Highlands College (GHC) were recently tasked with creating a piece of artwork based on specifications of a client. The goal, said Dean of Humanities Jessica Lindberg, is to provide art students with the opportunity to experience the business side of the field.
GHC held the first-ever “Moment for Art” reception to display all the pieces recently. Each artwork was created by students in GHC’s advanced painting and drawing classes while working on a design based on a client’s specifications.
GHC’s Interim President Dana Nichols participated as a client for the students, asking for a special art piece to hang in the Office of the President. President Nichols specified she wanted a piece that was reflective of the college and horses, since the mascot Bolt is also a horse.
Tessa Webb rose to the challenge, providing a sketching using pastels which depicted a horse. She finished the work during her last semester at GHC. Webb is now an art major at Kennesaw State University where she transferred after finishing at GHC.
“Creating artwork for a client is much different from making a work for yourself. Working with a client pushes you out of your creative limits,” Webb said. “I’ve never drawn a horse before so getting that done pushed me to learn a new subject that I can expand on in future.”
Webb’s piece joined others on display for the “Moment for Art” reception, and it was chosen by President Nichols to be placed in the Office of the President. In addition, Webb received a $200 prize from the School of Humanities.
“Moment for Art” was created through the shared ideas of Interim Chief Academic Officer Sarah Coakley, the President’s Office and the School of Humanities to provide students with an experiential learning opportunity while also brightening the walls of GHC’s locations with original works by students.
