Kent students and faculty returned back to campus from spring break to find the walkway gallery hung with an abundance of light and color thanks to the Winter term art survey classes.

Prior to break, each art survey student was assigned to design his or her own Tibetan style mandala. Ms. Lynch, Art Department Chair and art survey teacher, explained that “students were asked to think about such sacred images and choose geometric shapes and colors to express peace, harmony, serenity–Namaste. Each mandala is unique, because each person probed his/her own heart and tapped his/her own creativity to achieve such a visual expression. Color was essential. I think the majority of the students enjoyed this process, and each was pleased with his/her work.”

Allison Dickerman, ‘17, explained how much this project affected her. “I do feel like this project was valuable, because being young, I haven’t gotten a chance to explore art that’s unfamiliar to me. I usually spend time creating art I am comfortable with, but this project gave me a chance to view shapes and colors in a way that’s unnatural to my eye while also learning about a culture very different from my own. It was cool learning about how other places shaped the artist’s perspective that are from there. I learned the significance of colors in other cultures and mixed that with my point of view so it was cool to blend the familiar and unfamiliar to create my mandala.”

Ms. Lynch explained that each term, Art Survey students “complete collaborative and altruistic projects, and the mandalas were painted for the Yoga studio.” After the exhibit closes, Judy Apicella, the Yoga Instructor, will hang them in her studio, and, said Lynch, “yoga students will benefit from the beauty of the designs for years to come.”