Welcome back to school and the first Student Spotlight blog post of the 2024/2025 school year! With a new school year comes new changes and opportunities. I had the opportunity to take over as the new incoming writer for the Student Spotlight blog. My name is Conchita and I hope all goes well and classes run smoothly for everyone, but enough about school for now and let’s talk about art. More specifically, art that is made with passion by a dedicated student. This week’s artist stood out to me when I saw her work throughout my Two Dimensional Design & Color class. This artist demonstrates a wonderful understanding of pairing humanity, nature, and art. So grab a snack and enjoy Marissa’s thoughts behind her work and the beautiful outcomes!
Marissa Nowak
Major: Art Therapy
Minor: Art History
Graduation Year: 2027
Clubs: MUSATA, Marywood University Student Art Therapy Association Club
I am majoring in art because…
throughout my life it was the one constant interest that I have had. Like all kids and teenagers I bounced from hobby to hobby, but art was always the one thing that never changed for me. So when it came time to choose my major it was clear to me that it needed to be something involving art. I felt that I couldn’t go without it in my everyday life.
The kinds of things that inspire me are…
nature and people. I think that most of my inspiration for art is from both nature and people. I love seeing and being in nature and I think it is such a great source of inspiration for art because you can’t find the exact same thing twice. I like that nature is imperfect and it’s full of different shapes, colors, and textures. My second biggest source of inspiration is people themselves. The way people are by nature and how they interact with the world is very inspirational for art. I think that there are so many things that people do that can be translated into art.
My favorite art class so far was…
2D Design and Color. It was my favorite because I was able to learn new techniques and styles of art while also being able to use my own creativity and style. I feel like I got the most out of this class in terms of learning for my major, but also in personal expansion as an artist. It was amazing being able to learn about artists I most likely would not have discovered otherwise. I also think that in this class I was able to explore more mediums that I ended up really loving and continue to use now.
When I am not in class…
I’m probably working on homework, watching a movie, or hanging out with my friends. I try to find a good balance between work and relaxing so one of my favorite ways is to have girl’s nights with my friends.
The coolest thing I have done at Marywood so far was…
the Art Department trips to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I got to see so many interesting pieces of art that I had studied in class and I was also able to see things I have wanted to see since I learned about these museums. It was really fun being able to explore the museums and the big cities they are located in.
When I graduate…
I will work toward becoming a fully credentialed Art Therapist. I am hoping to one day own my own practice whether it is here or in another state. I also hope to do community based work throughout my career to help those who need therapy but do not have the resources.
I would recommend the Art program at Marywood because…
they have incredible professors with a wide range of experience. It feels that all of the professors in the art department genuinely want students to succeed and find their true calling.
What excites me most about Art is…
that I am able to create something that is unique and that people can relate to either aesthetically or emotionally. I also think it is exciting to be able to always try something new like mixing mediums and using them in new ways.
The food I would pair with my type of artwork is…
grapes! I think green grapes pair great with my artwork because they are sweet, crisp, and cool. They are the best snack to have when it comes to my artwork! (And a personal favorite of mine)
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Well I hope you all enjoyed your snack and this post! It was certainly fun for me to write and introduced me to a new approach of truly understanding art. I’m super excited to share even more artists with you in the future and wish everyone the best on this upcoming school year!
Hope to see you all in my next artist spotlight post, Adíos! ~Conchita