Proudly displayed on your refrigerator is a frame of gold noodles containing a picture of your child, made for you for Mother’s Day. Your child was beaming with pride to give it to you. What you didn’t see were the tears of frustration as they tried their best to follow the step-by-step instructions. The noodles…
Anyone can pick up a brush and paint. To keep going—and to eventually make a profit from your work—is a little more complicated. Most of it will have to be overcome by trial and error, but Andy Overn and Charis Carmichael Braun were glad to share their advice to smooth the journey somewhat. Andrew Overn…
As the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod continues its 100 Missions in 10 Years initiative, that’s a lot of churches that will need to ask themselves the tough questions about what they value and what they can afford as far as artwork. After all, as long as the gospel is being preached that’s the one thing…
Whether you’re a seasoned educator or a new graduate, teaching an art class for the first time can be daunting. Maybe you’ve always been interested in art but you haven’t had the chance to really hone your skills, so you’re not sure what is most important to teach. Or maybe you’re a general education grade…
The greatest tragedy, in my opinion, is losing memories. The poet Dylan Thomas’ father was a Shakespeare-loving teacher who was an aspiring poet himself. As Thomas watched his elderly father degrade peacefully in his last days, he shouted at him in verse to “Rage, rage, against the dying of the light.” But when you’ve forgotten…
Reflecting on an Asynchronous College Course In the spring of 2023, Bethany alumnus and artist Charis Carmichael Braun was recruited to teach the Art History III: Modernism course at Bethany Lutheran College–from all the way in New York. Professor Braun used a wide variety of resources to give students a rich learning environment without a…
Taking the Training Wheels Off a College-Level Course The first day of Art History II: Renaissance to Realism at Bethany Lutheran College, I and the other students were greeted not with a syllabus and a 7-pound Janson’s A History of Art, but with a letter. Dear Art History student, Writing a syllabus makes me grumpy…
The Original Memes Modern-day people love to bash the art of the Middle Ages for its awkward poses, inaccurate animal depictions, and strangely mature babies. This makes it great fodder for the Internet meme. But if you look closer at Medieval art, they also enjoyed a good joke. Medieval humor tended to be about ridicule…