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OGDEN — Nature and printmaking are important to Weber State University art education student Amanda Joy, who says she wants to share these two things with others across the country by teaching free printmaking classes in multiple national parks and monuments.
“I wanted something that would be able to be obtainable to anybody,” she said.
Thanks to the Lindquist Student Fellowship, Joy is now able to do just that. She won the $2,600 John A. and Telitha E. Lindquist Scholarship for Creative/Artistic Endeavors scholarship two years in a row and used the money to buy a printing press and a button-making machine to use at her future workshops.
Last year, she used the funds to attend an art educator program in New York City and a workshop in Nebraska, with world-renowned printmaker Karen Kunc.
“The Lindquist Scholarship is intended to help highly motivated students from the Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities pursue creative and artistic efforts that will enrich their educations and careers,” a news release explained. “Students must demonstrate talent in the arts or humanities, be in good academic standing and be nominated by a faculty member.”
Over the summer, Joy was also able to teach one free class to 50 people at Redwood National Park in California. She had plans to teach more classes at more parks but the government shutdown put a dent in the planning process, she said.
Joy plans to incorporate a piece of the park the class is held in to the artwork her class creates. For example, at her Redwood class, both projects participants could choose from included unique elements found at the park.
Next summer, while on a family trip, Joy plans on teaching more classes at Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park.
Helping people realize they too can participate in this art form is one reason why Joy wants to bring art to them.
“You take that little teeny leap on something this simple and small and it doesn’t seem so overwhelming maybe the next time,” she said.
Printmaking is one art form that often times isn’t taught to children in public schools, Joy said. She noted it can be an expensive medium which could explain the lack of materials at schools.
Introducing this medium to children can help ignite an interest in the art and some may decide to pursue it further as they advance their education, Joy said.
“I want what I do to be a vehicle for people to be able to get a small taste of something that is so important and so beautiful to me,” she said.
For her classes, Joy uses sustainable materials. She uses water based products, not chemical-based — so she doesn’t leave a trace behind in the parks she visits.
Along with bringing art to national parks, she also wants to teach people about the natural beauty of the parks and the importance of preserving public lands.
She says “spreading art just wherever we can, preserving the national parks, finding opportunities to engage with other people and to share our love of all of those things,” is why she wanted to begin this project.
