There is often a divide between college faculty members and students. Whether you work beside faculty during your on-campus job or in the classroom, professors often take on the role of authoritative figures who feel immovable and masterful in the subject they teach.
It is important to recognize that professors are not just here to teach and grade projects and tests. They are here to grow their skills and knowledge as well, with a majority practicing what they teach outside of the classroom.
The Devos Art Museum located in the art and design building is presenting their Biennial Art Show for faculty members to display their work. The exhibit will be up until March 29, giving plenty of time to stop in and view all of the fantastic artworks.
Art and design faculty, from tenured professors to brand new graduate students running studios, are given the opportunity to showcase their work outside of a purely academic setting.
“I learned to do beadwork from a Native American Studies class last winter,” said Tracy Wascom, associate professor of foundations. “It’s very different from what I typically do, but once I was introduced to that process, I enjoyed it.”
Everyone comes to college to be in an environment where knowledge is nurtured. Students and staff alike are scholars and adventurers, foraging a path for themselves in their respective fields.
Artists are people who use their intrinsic skills to create pieces that store their emotions and share them with the viewer.

Associate Professor Christine Lenzen had three fantastic and heart-wrenching pieces dedicated to the loss of her mother.
A dark blue night sky speckled with stars, a trail of crystal bowls held by three generations of her maternal lineage and a wispy vision of her mother’s hair loss due to chemotherapy were among the pieces.
“’Dust to Dust‘ was created in ritual as a memorial to my mother,” Lenzen said. “Composed of layered cyanotype photograms made from the ashes of her cremated body …. Each fragment resembles a star, transforming her physical remnants into a celestial narrative and fulfilling her wish to be returned to the stars.”
The pieces on display here are unchained from the curriculum of any courses. They are the result of the experience of living. They are not here to teach, but to move you.
Every two years, the faculty on campus have the opportunity to portray themselves as artists, and not just teachers of art. The skill that faculty members wield every day in class is not removed at the end of the day like a pair of gloves.
“I’m not sure if I’ll ever get enough free time to do this sort of thing again,” Wascom said. “I spent maybe 50 to 70 hours on these beadwork pieces. It was just me at home spending all my time sewing over winter break. It was like a gift to myself, being able to do that.”
The participants are passionate about their work, spending decades harnessing their skills and growing every day to better themselves.
Dale Wedig, seasoned professor of sculpture, metalsmithing and jewelry making, experimented with the pure copper of the local mines to make a series of intricate copper urns displayed throughout the museum.

“The fitting of parts to be connected is a challenging game that continues to test my skill. The Upper Peninsula is a rich resource for copper,” Wedig said. “Perhaps I was meant to land in this place.”