Interview with Elizabeth Mead, Assistant Professor of Sculpture

What attracted you to the College of William and Mary?

I was attracted to W&M because it is a small liberal arts college. I believe firmly in liberal arts education. If their artwork is to have any resonance, an artist must first be able to think. As an educator I am interested in teaching not just those students who wish to pursue a career in the arts but also those who will be members of the greater community.

Could you describe your current research plans?

I have been exploring the notion of spatial memory and site as a locus of memory. I am using the Stations of the Cross as a departure point. For me the Stations present a spiritual experience that makes space situational. Unlike other spiritual expressions the devotional ritual of the Stations occurs in time and space. A physical experiential relationship to the world is the crux of my work. As we move through the world our body records knowledge and memories. My work strives to anchor us here and now within the places we find ourselves. The first part (my first nine stations) of this series will be presented in an exhibition next fall. In addition I am working with student technology fellow, Paul Pelletier on another project that investigates distance. I am recording video and audio files of Williamsburg, Paul and I are then creating a montage of images and sounds that will serve as "field notes" of Williamsburg. We will be posting a pod cast of our piece that will then be downloaded by a writer in Portland, OR, who will be using our "notes" as if they were her own. She will write about Williamsburg as if she had been here. I will then in turn make work in response to her writing. This work is a continuation of my thinking about the experiential aspects of site. But I am also developing this project to be used in a course I will be teaching next spring when my students will create a similar exchange with a group of students on the west coast.

What do you do when you are not teaching or working in the studio?

Since arriving in Williamsburg I have started taking horseback riding lessons- I am learning to JUMP! And of course I take my dog, Louie, on lots of walks.

Interview with Nicole McCormick, Assistant Professor of Drawing

What attracted you to the College of William and Mary?

Originally I was attracted to the College of William and Mary for its wonderful reputation. I was also attracted to the possibility of teaching in a liberal arts setting. I must admit that the beautiful and spacious faculty studios on Lake Matoka definitely added to the appeal of the college.

Could you describe your current research plans?

My recent works are an extension of my desire to create paintings that contain layered, deliberate narratives. The stories in the latest body of work are derived from personal experiences. My objective in these works is to depict the fundamental essence of a person or situation through universally familiar stories.

Recently I was awarded a summer research grant from William and Mary. With this grant I am continuing my work on multiple figured paintings, which incorporate the layered narrative that I presently find so essential to my work. In the fall this body of work will be exhibited at the Three Graces Art Gallery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

What do you do when you are not teaching or working in the studio?

Although most of my time is spent teaching or working in the studio, I try to make time to do other creative things that may inform my work. One of these extracurricular activities is raqs sharqi (belly dancing). I began taking dance classes because I wanted to remember what it felt like to do something completely out of my comfort zone. I have discovered through this endeavor that choreographing my body through space greatly parallels composing figures within the space of a painting.