Seniors Aubrey Dettman, Samantha Norris and Braxton Smith all applied for and were awarded UA ASSURE grants to support research projects during their senior year.
Braxton Smith, a BFA studio art major in digital media and photography, used his UA ASSURE grant to research and travel to photograph important sites of the native peoples of the state for his final thesis exhibition, “Indigenous Landscapes and Structures in Alabama.” Along the way, Smith investigated his own family history, including stories passed down through generations that “my great-great-great grandmother was a Native American from the Ohio River Valley.” He writes that the complexity of American cultures within the last millennium was the most surprising thing he learned. “They had a hierarchal social structure with different classes of people much like we do today. They also navigated the same trade routes for thousands of years, traveling up and down land and waterways like a highway system in order to reach their allies across the country.” Smith’s photographs will be part of the Bachelor of Fine Arts in studio art degree group exhibition, April 30-May 4, 2024, in the Sella-Granata Art Gallery.
Aubrey Dettman, an engineering and art history major, used her UA ASSURE grant to travel to two historic archives and museum sites in New York state to research the 19th-century artist Thomas Cole. After she discovered that Cole, one of her favorite artists, dabbled in engineering, she said, “I just kept digging and found that no one has researched his inventions or engineering knowledge!” In Cole’s sketch-filled journal, Dettman found his designs for a rudimentary system for a hydraulic crane, years before a patent for such a device was published in the United States. Dettman presented her research paper at UA’s 2024 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (URCA) Conference in March. Dettman also submitted her research and was accepted to the Undergraduate Poster Presentation at the UA/UAB Annual Graduate Symposium in Art History in April.
Samantha Norris, a BFA studio art major in ceramics and sculpture, used her UA ASSURE grant to research ceramics and felting techniques for her final thesis exhibition, which she titled “Moth Holes.” Norris’ work focuses on her relationship with her younger self. “I channel [my] memories into ceramic work consisting of sculptural pieces made through an innocent lens.” Her installation consists of four large, hand-built ceramic sculptures incorporating hundreds of needle-felted “moths” made from animal fibers. The moths are meant to suggest children’s toys, conveying innocence. Norris presented her research at UA’s 2024 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (URCA) Conference in March and won the Conference Award for Excellence and Achievement. Norris was named 2024 Outstanding Undergraduate BFA Student in Studio Art by the department. “Moth Holes” will be part of the Bachelor of Fine Arts in studio art degree group exhibition, April 30-May 4, 2024, in the Sella-Granata Art Gallery.
Check out this photo gallery of their research and work.
