After coming back from SST in China last spring, Yadira Figueroa, an elementary education major, decided that she needed to pursue her real passion — art — even if that meant changing her major senior year. “[I was] always scared to take the risk,” Figueroa said, recalling how nerve-wracking it was to make such a drastic switch so close to her last year at Goshen. She said the societal expectations of selecting a career with a set path and guaranteed security “held me back from what I really wanted to do, which was creating and designing.” Figueroa’s interest in art...

By Amanda Guzman • October 24, 2018 • Arts

Seated at the help desk in Wyse 3, Dona Park graded history homework as she answered questions. A woman of many disciplines, Park is a senior Art and History double-major with an English minor. Beyond that, she is involved in leadership for the International Student Club, Social Reform Club, Student Senate, Art Club and Campus Ministries. For Park, there is a direct correlation between her varied interests and artistic inspiration. “I’m inspired by so many things,” she said. “There is a new bee species that have beautiful nests with all of the colors… they use flower petals to create their...

By Sadie Gustafson-Zook • October 6, 2016 • Arts

Describe yourself as an artist… what’s your background? I joined choir on a whim in middle school and just kind of went along with things. I definitely enjoyed it, but I didn’t think of pursuing a profession or anything like that. Then in high school I kept with it and found that I had a little talent for it. Through that, I realized some of the beauty that music could bring to the world, and I was inspired to try and pursue a future in it. Recently, what specific aspects of music have gotten you the most excited? What are...

By Sadie Gustafson-Zook • September 15, 2016 • Arts

  Photo taken by Mark Kreider in Colorado. An aspiring conservation photographer, second-year environmental science major Mark Kreider came to science in what he describes as an unusual way: through the arts. “Photography is what led me to environmental science,” he said. Kreider has always had artistic instincts, learning to play piano from the age of 5 and picking up photography and oboe during middle and high school. In addition, his parents had always encouraged him to spend time singing and enjoying the beauty of nature. Kreider’s father, a designer, has encouraged his son’s interest in graphic arts as well....

By Jenae Longenecker • January 21, 2016 • Arts

Music floods junior music education major Miranda Earnhart’s world as she participates in orchestra, women’s choir, chamber choir and the worship ensemble, Parables. Earnhart has performed as a soprano in the musical “Urinetown,” the opera “The Marriage of Figaro,” and most recently in this year’s Concerto Aria competition. Earnhart also plays the violin, ukelele and bowed psaltery. When asked which of these activities she enjoyed the most, Earnhart could not make a decision. However, she did note that due to a busy year, “Vocal things have become my primary focus.” Earnhart’s interest in music began around age three. Since then,...

By Jenae Longenecker • April 16, 2015 • Arts

For those who saw the Winter One Acts, you’ll remember senior Kate Yoder as the writer of “Reality TV Island.” If you read the Funnies page, you’ve seen how proficiently this English writing and art double-major exhibits her love of humor. “I really like wordplay and making puns,” said Yoder. You may be less familiar with the other realms into which Yoder’s creativity extends. On March 17, Yoder will publish a collection of her poetry and creative non-fiction titled “Bonehouse.” Yoder describes her writing style as “sarcastic and a little ridiculous.” When asked the theme of her book, she says...

By Jenae Longenecker • March 5, 2015 • Arts

Typing at the keyboard, Shina Park, a senior art major with a minor in journalism, works away at another graphic design project. “Just one second,” she says and I peer over her shoulder to view her online artwork. Park’s hands are always busy, whether it is doodling with a pen or clicking the mouse on a new creation. “I’ve always loved to create, and art is something that I am confident about,” says Park, fingers stained with ink as she fiddles around with a Micron 5mm pen. “Two big important things that have inspired me personally are music and art....

By Dona Park • February 19, 2015 • Arts

Instead of sleeping in and having some good old college free time this past Saturday, Paul Zehr spent the morning calling cues as head stage manager for the Winter One Acts, and then, following a short afternoon break, performed that evening as one of seven soloists for the 55th Annual Concerto-Aria Concert. Like many theater and music performance majors on campus, Zehr finds himself committed to hours of rehearsal every day, in addition to other outside responsibilities. Already this semester, Zehr represented Goshen College at the American Collegiate Theater Festival in Milwaukee as a scene partner for the Irene-Ryan Acting...

By Christina Hofer • February 12, 2015 • Arts

When people take in art at a museum or a show, the accolades go to the artist behind the painting or drawing or sculpture. Not often does the viewer think about the design of the exhibit—how someone intentionally planned the flow and displayed the art within the exhibit. This design, however, is art—art in function and interaction. Natalie Hubby, a junior, has found a way to combine two of her passions to form art that is intensely unique and highly personal. As a history major and art minor, Hubby has always loved museums, but realized that she was attracted to...

By Hayley Mann • February 5, 2015 • Arts

Jama Yoder loves the art building. “Right when I walked in, I got the feeling that I belonged there,” said Yoder, reflecting on the first time she saw it during a campus visit. At that time, Yoder already knew that she wanted to study graphic design. During her high school years at Bethany Christian, a private high school here in Goshen, Yoder was the yearbook editor. She studied art under Hannah Gerig Meyer, then an art teacher at Bethany who is now a graphic designer for Goshen College’s Communications and Marketing department. At Bethany, Yoder learned to use programs like...

By Jenae Longenecker • January 15, 2015 • Arts

Seth Krabill, a senior art and  education major, always knew he wanted to pursue a career in elementary education. It wasn’t until he was doodling in class one day that he realized he wanted to incorporate his passion for art into his career in education. Kathy Meyer Reimer, professor of education and director of elementary education, is Krabill’s advisor. When he went to ask her whether she thought art education would be a good fit for him, she sent him straight to the registrar’s office to switch majors. “She took [my asking] as me telling her, in a very passive...

By Briana Schrock • November 13, 2014 • Arts

Ellen Schlabach, a junior, believes that art is important for self-reflection and self-expression, and that there is value in teaching those skills to kids. Because of these beliefs, Schlabach is pursuing two areas of study: art and education. Through her art and teaching, Schlabach hopes to bring light to issues in the world today, particularly the issue of inequality. Schlabach was encouraged by her parents to pursue art from an early age, and began to appreciate it as a means of communication. “I wasn’t much of a writer,” she said. “But creating art is another way of saying something about...

By Katie Hurst • October 30, 2014 • Arts

Kristi Glick graduated from Goshen College in 1997 with an interdisciplinary degree in art, communication and peace studies. After graduation, Glick took some time off to explore a service opportunity with Mennonite Central Committee. Six years after receiving her undergraduate degree, she decided to go back to school at East Carolina University, graduating in four years with an M.F.A. in metals. In 2009, Glick returned to Goshen College to teach in the art department. Glick enjoys being engaged with students at the college and appreciates the chance to work one-on-one with students in smaller classroom settings. “Being Mennonite, I really...

By Katie Hurst • October 22, 2014 • Arts

Art provides joy and clarity for Ardys Woodward, a sophomore art and social work double major. Yet for Woodward, art has also become an avenue for personal expression and far-reaching change. “I love that anyone can make any type of art; that it’s valid and it’s unique,” Woodward said. “I find myself most attracted to artwork that changes my perception or opinion about something, or makes me feel something in a new way.” Her majors may seem disconnected at first, but art and social work can be combined in innovative ways. For example, Woodward sees art as a form of...

By Hayley Mann • October 8, 2014 • Arts

With her quintessential Farrow-esque haircut, Ida Short, senior art major and piano pedagogy minor, sat down in the lounge to share her insight about the artistic world. Instead of following the often-repeated dogma ‘’l’art pour l’art (art for art’s sake),” she strives to use art as a medium for change. For Short, art is not just about pretty colors on a piece of paper, it is a channel for relationships. “Through art, I definitely like to keep in mind how we perceive each other and want to show our humanity in everyone,” Short said. Short began making art at an...

By Dona Park • September 10, 2014 • Arts