Story by Diego Alcaraz-Monje
Photos by Ella Oakley
According to WKU’s website, the Department of Art and Design is home to three majors, four minors and certificates, with eight different areas of study. As their time at WKU is coming to a close, seniors Danny Brooks, Zoe Eckhart and Mary Dye, sat down with Talisman for a look into the program.
Danny Brooks
Danny Brooks, a senior interdisciplinary studies major with focuses in art and visual studies from Glasgow, said that they’ve been drawing since they were little.
“I’ve known since I was a little kid that I want to be an artist,” Brooks said.
Brooks said they started their journey at WKU’s Glasgow campus pursuing art education, and eventually moved to Bowling Green to major in advertising with a certificate in graphic design.
They said that they switched to interdisciplinary studies since it opens the door to more beyond art.
As an artist, Brooks said that their main mediums include Adobe and other graphic design software, as well as charcoal, acrylic paint and found objects. They said that within their art, they try to capture messages of the “freeness” and political aspects of being raised as a woman and growing up queer and transgender.
“A lot of my pieces are dedicated to being true to who you are, regardless of how people perceive you and how people like you,” Brooks said.
Brooks said that one of their favorite pieces they’ve made is a 3D piece titled “Sounds of Laughter” and is dedicated to how people change and come to terms with themselves, as well as love, loss and abandonment.
“It was my favorite to work on and incorporate so many pieces,” Brooks said. “I’m a big fan of incorporating florals and different found objects into my pieces, and that has it all in there.”
They said that through the art department, they have found a good community of fellow artists and professors.
“I love working in the same space as them, bouncing ideas off of them, and going to them for help, not just for like art-related things, but as well as stuff in my life,” Brooks said. “We have our own little family here.”
They said that the art community at WKU has also been a big inspiration and driving force for them and their art.
“I love listening to people and their stories, and using that as fuel to sit here and make different pieces so that people can see themselves with them,” Brooks said.
Brooks said that one of their favorite moments on the Hill has been working in the studio late at night with other artists, listening to music from the television show “Phineas and Ferb.”
“It’s just like funny moments like this, where we’re all together and having a good laugh that keep me going back, even when I don’t feel the most motivated to make something,” Brooks said. “I have this great community around me of people that are always willing to sit here and pick me up and make me laugh and help me in any way possible.”
Though they are nervous and will miss the art department, Brooks said that they are excited to graduate and start experiencing professional art environments.
During their time at WKU, Brooks said that they’ve learned to not be afraid to get their hands dirty or try something new.
“Go ahead and take that chance,” Brooks said. “It’s scary, but take it. You need to.”
Zoe Eckhart
Senior Zoe Eckhart from Louisville said that they knew they wanted to be a sculptor from the moment they took their first sculpture class.
“I’ve always loved putting my hands into the material,” Eckhart said. “I can’t really connect with digital on the same level as I can with physical. Sculpture is just the most physical you can get.”
They said that in art, they are more interested in what the material can do for them.
“Because sculpture is pretty broad, I touch on everything,” Eckhart said. “I use all the materials that I possibly can get my hands on.”
They said that while at WKU, they’ve gotten to grow with their medium usage, especially growing comfortable with using plaster, before heading out into the real world.
They said that in their art, they do a lot of political works that touch on topics of gender and discrimination and gain inspiration from things happening around them.
“I really love art that accesses a conversation between the world around it,” Eckhart said.
Eckhart said that one of their proudest pieces is one entitled “American Dream,” made of fabric, plaster and paint. They said the piece is displayed on top of all of the executive orders that President Donald Trump signed in his first 100 days of his presidency.
“It’s a piece of grief for the country that I once knew and for the country and the ideals that it stands for, because it’s not that right now, and I really like to explore that with its desecration and grief,” Eckhart said.
They said that they are feeling panicked about graduation due to uncertainty about graduate school, but will continue reapplying.
“It’s just a matter of growing a body of work and gaining work experience that they’re looking for,” Eckhart said. “So I know that I’ll get there eventually.”
Mary Dye
While senior Mary Dye from Louisville said she came in as an animal science major, but she fell back into art after finding it wasn’t for her.
She said that she was part of the visual arts program at DuPont Manual High School, and art was something that came easily to her.
Dye said that during her time in the art program, she developed a concentration in painting and ceramics.
She said that much of her paintings revolve around the memories of growing up around her family’s farm, especially after her grandfather was put in hospice care due to a cancer diagnosis. She said that as she began to develop her practice, she found herself wanting to paint the environment in which she was raised.
Dye said that she gets inspiration from impressionists since their subjects revolve around nature. She said that in her sketchbooks, she’s always drawing animals and nature, especially cows.
She said that originally, ceramics were frustrating, but as she has had more experience, it has become easier.
“I always always liked working my hands, and that was just another way for me to dive more into that,” Dye said. “Once [I] actually got it, I broadened my horizon of what I can do, what I can make, and later sell in the world.”
Dye said that her experience at WKU has been “wonderful,” particularly because of her professors and fellow students.
“I truly believe I wouldn’t be as far as I am in my practice and development as an artist if it weren’t for the community I have here,” Dye said.
She said that while at WKU, she’s grown immensely as an artist.
“I came in with just the basic knowledge I had coming from high school, from what I’ve learned in that art program, and I’ve gotten to do a complete 180,” Dye said.
Dye said she feels sad to leave behind the community she’s built, but is grateful for the opportunity to be around other students and mentors.
“Knowing I have people back here I can talk to if I need help with resources, but also the memories and knowing that what I’ve learned here, I can pull forward later on in my practice,” Dye said.
