This past summer two of our fine arts majors, Taylor McDaniel (senior) and Morgan Keefer (BFA ’15), had the privilege of serving as interns to Dallas area artist Bonny Leibowitz.
Bonny Leibowitz and Morgan Keefer are seen (far left) in this photo from The Encaustic Center.
Besides sharing her life as a professional painter and sculptor, Leibowitz had Morgan and Taylor assist in her two teaching studios: The Bonny Studio and The Encaustic Center (weblinks). See the Bonny Studio and Encaustic Center on YouTube.
The internships provided first-hand experiences with the day-to-day operations of a thriving art practice, opportunities to interact with diverse groups of adult and teen learners, and trips to local galleries where Leibowitz introduced them to other artists and art scene professionals.
You might wonder how these internship opportunities came about. Well, last year Professor Green, Director of the Fine Arts Program, set out to develop a series of annual internships with Dallas area artists. His intent for the internships was to better prepare fine art students for the transition into future careers by pairing them with mentors who’ve achieved success in the art world.
Taylor, Morgan, and Bonny each had great things to say about these first internship experiences. Morgan, who began graduate school this past week at UNT, reported that “Bonny was not only a welcoming individual to me, but she was that warm smile I grew anxious to see as the days went by. There was always something new going with her work or with her classes that I was excited to see.” Morgan eagerly added, “I’m already seeing the benefits of this internship. Days after returning home I accepted a position at a local art academy here in the Austin area where I’ll be teaching my own classes.” Taylor said she felt “very fortunate to have been given this opportunity. It was great to see how Bonny runs her studio and how she teaches!”
Both of these young women made such a strong impression on Leibowitz that she has agreed to mentor other ACU interns this next summer. So if this opportunity or one like it interests you, then contact Professor Green and watch for more information about Fine Arts Internships on the Art and Design Blog.