by Cade Webb
Managing Editor
cwebb26@jccc.edu
The art department here at the college is home to a large group of talented individuals, and student Megan Strohl is no exception to the rule. Strohl has been a student at the college for two years and has multiple accolades to her credit. Strohl’s art has been published in a magazine, and she has earned scholarships for her work.
Strohl was awarded the JCCC League for Innovation art scholarship last year through a competition that she ended up winning.
“I submitted five of my pieces and set them out on display, and that’s kind of it,” Strohl said.
Strohl is fairly new to the world of art and sculpture. She began sculpting only two short years ago, when she arrived at the college.
Even though she has only been sculpting for a few years, Strohl shared her story on how she was introduced to sculpture.
“A co-worker of mine was an artist, and he gave me some wax and said ‘make whatever you want to make,’ and it just kind of started there. Pretty much out of nowhere,” Strohl said.
While she is not working toward a major, she is heavily involved in the art department and has only taken art courses during her time at the college. She enjoys the professors in the art department, and said that she is often able to do whatever she wants in her projects, which has helped her creativity.
“Professor Mark Cowardin is really good about helping us decide where we want to take the project as long as you follow the guidelines of the project. You have to incorporate whatever is asked of you in the assignment, but other than that, you get free rein … Mark wants you to be passionate about what you’re doing.”
Having only been in art for a short time, Strohl has just started to find her niche, and has discovered what she loves to do.
“Stepping back and looking at all of my past pieces, I didn’t realize I was following a general theme until I looked at it. I find that some of it is whimsical, and usually on the darker, creepy side,” Strohl said.
Strohl has aspirations to have a career in art one day, and hopes that she is able to take the steps necessary in order to get her work out to the public.
“That’s something that I’ve wanted to focus on this year. I want to set up my own website. I’ve had a few conversations where people were interested in my artwork, but I didn’t have a website so I couldn’t show them my work,” Strohl said.
Strohl’s work can be seen in the ATB building near the west entrance.