This summer, while most students spent their days taking online classes or waiting tables, Jess Sprunger, a second-year art major from Goshen, was in her garage, carefully sanding the corner edges of a wooden pizza peel.
“I got the idea from my dad and brother, actually, after they made one for my mom at Christmas,” Sprunger said. With the help of her dad, the construction only took a few days. Sprunger joined multiple strips of scrap cherry wood to make a smooth, inclined surface, almost two feet in length. “I’ve already used it to make a few loaves of bread. It works great!”Another summer project for Sprunger was a decorative garland made out of fabric scraps and lace. “I learned how to quilt from my grandma,” Sprunger said. “There’s never a shortage of material scraps laying around. I figured I’d make something out of them.” The finished product now hangs in Sprunger’s dorm room.
“I tend to prefer practical art,” she said, “art that is useful in everyday life.” Sprunger cited Kristi Glick’s jewelry class last spring as a formative art class. “I ended up making six different rings,” she said. “I love doing those kinds of hands-on projects that I can actually hold when I’m done.”
