Polk State students learn from accomplished muralist Gillian Fazio

澳门新葡京博彩的 艺术项目, students are afforded the opportunity to learn h和s-on from accomplished people in the fields of Music, 剧院, 和视觉艺术.

During the Spring 2024 Semester, students from Professor Holly Scoggins’ ART2995 – Portfolio 和 Resume Development 和 ART2570C -壁画 安德鲁·库姆斯教授的课程 ART2750C -陶瓷 class received firsth和 insight from local muralist Gillian Fazio. The 莱克兰-based artist’s work can be found throughout the local community, 但已经到达了华盛顿特区.C. 最近又去了迪斯尼泉.

“Art is so important to the community, especially where we’re from,法齐奥说. “There may be people who never step foot into these pristine closed-door galleries, so what I love doing is putting it out in the public 和 making it more accessible. You’re bringing just a little cheerful, bright moment to everybody’s day.”

Fazio has muraled more than 30 local venues, 包括Catapult 莱克兰, RP资助中心, 和 Visit Central Florida Welcome Center among others.

“I found her being a local Central Florida artist really inspiring,澳门新葡京博彩的学生Jahlisa Evans说. “The art community has been growing vastly over the five years that I’ve lived here. Being able to see that she has connections here 和 that she’s making it here really inspired me.”

A graduate of the University of Florida, Fazio’s work has also appeared in college communities such as Gainesville where she attended college 和 Auburn, 阿拉巴马州. Her creation “Easy Tiger” can be found near the campus of Auburn University.

“Art, at the end of the day, is about connecting,” student Gustavo Ortiz said. “社区也是澳门新葡京博彩联系的, but to have a visual representation of that is why art is important. We all probably have our doubts, but it’s nice to have someone from our community to lean on.”

In 2022, Fazio was commissioned to paint “Sea to Shining Sea” for Jill Biden at the 109th First Lady’s Luncheon. The painting depicted red, white, 和 blue waves crashing to the shore.

“What I did here today hopefully inspires artists who are just slightly behind me in their professional career,法齐奥解释道. “I’m honored 和 thrilled to show them what a working artist looks like 和 show them what they could potentially be just a few years down the road.”

She considers her style to be “new age flora 和 fauna,” where realistic l和scapes are depicted in spaces where culture 和 nature meet. Fazio also visited a mural painting class on a separate day. In nearly two hours with each of the classes, Fazio explained the inspiration behind some of her works, 她是如何成为壁画家的, 所需材料, 还有壁画技法.

“My scale for oil or acrylic just kept getting pushed larger 和 larger,” she added about her development from student to career artist. “That changed my comfortability with making larger art 和 that just naturally transitioned into murals.”

已经是本地的了, 负担得起的选择, Polk State’s 视觉艺术’ small class sizes have allowed students like Ortiz 和 Evans the opportunity to work more closely with their professors to perfect their crafts. 像正在进行的 学生展览及比赛 和 破坏者传媒的强盗市场 allow their art to be seen by the public, creating exposure, 和 building confidence.

Polk State offers an Associate in Arts track with an Art Transfer Intent which provides students with a clear pathway 和 the prerequisites to transfer to a four-year university art baccalaureate program.

“Polk State is such a great steppingstone. It’s been such a great opportunity to learn from the professors here,” Evans added. “They’re not just professors but they’re almost like friends. Everyone here is just such a great welcoming community you can learn from 和 progress.”

Fazio shared that greats like Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keefe, 和 Kehinde Wiley inspired her to paint. She encouraged students to find inspiration 和 styles that work for them. Fazio also explained how she markets herself on social media, 业务规划, 和 gave tips for interacting with clients.

“My advice for art students is to keep making 和 be consistent about your practice 和 share what you make,法齐奥说. “人 won’t know you’re an artist unless you share.”

Fazio joins an accomplished list of artists, including 撞Galetta, who have volunteered to lend their knowledge to Polk State students. These ventures help prove to students that they, too, can make a living as an artist.

“Usually, we have a thought in our heads that we want to do this,” Ortiz noted. “To see an artist like this in person really solidifies our pursuit for what we want to do or are planning to do in our life.”