Art is a visual language that enables people to communicate their personal experiences, emotions and thoughts with others. Bringing fresh perspectives into a classroom at the University of West Georgia, seasoned professionals Jim Benedict and Lily Kuonen shared their expertise with Casey McGuire’s art class as they guided the creation of large-scale, inflatable, plastic sculptures to be installed around campus. 

Having only one week to create these pieces, students developed critical thinking, collaboration and accountability skills. 

“In class, they’re doing a lot of form building on a small scale,” said McGuire. “With this project, they’ve found that they can apply those skills very directly to a bigger project.”  

One learning outcome that McGuire emphasized throughout the semester is the concept of measurement and creating pieces three dimensionally. The repetition of this type of learning has allowed students to apply their technical skills and special understanding to more complex, large-scale projects like these.  

In addition to putting their knowledge into practice, students have learned the importance of teamwork and effective communication. Benedict highlighted the transition from individual work to collaborative efforts, acknowledging that everyone sees the world differently. He challenged students to create something grand by combining their unique perspectives.  

“You’re working with 45 individuals who see the world in 45 different ways,” said Benedict. “I really like bringing a challenge to students and seeing how they absorb it.”  

The aspect of teamwork goes hand in hand with accountability as students relied on one another to ultimately achieve success. With everything interconnected, it was critical for everyone to be attentive to details, as the failure of one person could put the entire project at risk.    

“Even when making the parts they’d say things like, ‘That’s not quite correct,’ or ‘You need to fix that,’” said Kuonen. “They were helping each other and recognizing when someone needed to shift or change what they were doing.”  

With sculpture-building being additive, subtractive and fabricative, students who hadn’t quite excelled before were able to discover their strengths. This opportunity encouraged them to explore various techniques and approaches that allowed them to bring their ideas to life in new and creative ways.

Having applied what they’ve learned on a larger scale, they have developed skills that will be beneficial in their future careers and take pride in the hard work they put into creating something meaningful. 

“They really found value in their contribution to the whole, knowing they’d made a part of it,” said Kuonen. “It was fun to see.”  

Benedict and Kuonen reflected on their own experiences and encouraged students to focus on their goals, urging them to find someone they admire who has already achieved what they are striving to do. They advised that discipline, focus, and passion can help you reach your end goal.  

“There is no guarantee in life, but you have a better chance at success when you’re passionate about something,” concluded Benedict. “If you have passion and a focus on achieving that thing, you will be infinitely more successful than just having a job for security.”