David Johnston, co-owner of the Bellingham Herald building, invests his time and money into making downtown a place of community, efficiency, and functionality. Through revitalization of historic buildings, Johnston works to make the town’s infrastructure and community long lasting. Additionally, Johnston created a non-profit organization called the Skipping Stone Foundation in which he teams up with other nonprofits to support programs that promote and enhance growth in artistic and creative ways. In 2020, the Skipping Stone scholarship was awarded to WWU art student Nathan Wilkinson! Nathan has answered the following questions regarding his art, tips for art students, tips for scholarship applications, and ways in which the scholarship has enhanced his art and education:
More on David Johnston- https://www.evergreen.edu/magazine/2014spring-summer/built-to-last
More on Art and Art History Scholarships – https://cfpa.wwu.edu/art-art-history-scholarshipsWilkinson, Nathan, 2020 Art Department Scholarship Portfolio
First off, How did you find out about the Skipping Stone Scholarship?
I discovered the Skipping Stone Scholarship for Photography on the Western Washington University’s College of Fine and Performing Arts website, under the “Scholarships” tab. Additionally, Garth Amundson, my photography professor, brought Western’s Art Department scholarships to my attention and encouraged me to apply.
This is no small feat! What did you feel/ went through your head when you found out you would be awarded the Skipping Stone Scholarship?
I was thrilled when I found out I was awarded the Skipping Stone Scholarship. Not having access to the resources and professors at WWU would hinder the progress of my artistic practice, so I greatly appreciate the funds to help me continue my education. It was equally, if not more rewarding, to have my artwork acknowledged by Western Art faculty. I don’t approach art as a hobby, major, or job. Art and the creation process have become a way of living and an essential part of my identity. To this day, I wake up thinking about art, think about it throughout the day, and fall asleep with it. Earning the scholarship is incredibly gratifying, knowing that my dedication and work ethic is recognized.
How long have you been doing art?
I have been creating art for nearly ten years. Early on in my childhood, my father told me stories of his time serving as a Navy photographer and piqued my interest in photographs. At eleven-years-old, I started snapping pictures on my 5th generation iPod Touch without intentionality, more so documenting what caught my eyes. By thirteen, I used all my savings to purchase a Canon Rebel T5 – which is still my only DSLR to date – and began making images more consciously, while blindly learning the medium’s fundamentals. I didn’t consider myself an artist until I was sixteen-years-old.
I transferred from a dual-enrollment, agriculture, and equine high school to the Metropolitan Arts Institute during my high school junior year. During my two years at Metro, I studied black and white film photography and worked and spent hundreds of hours making silver gelatin prints in the darkroom; it was a second home. I also gained my interest in pen and ink drawing at the beginning of my senior year. By the end of my chapter at Metro, art consumed my life. I woke up thinking about creating and reflecting art, thought about it throughout the day, and fell asleep with it. For the first time, I found something that can’t leave and is equally giving. Art, specifically photography, mutually rewarded me for the amount of energy I put into creation. Image-making was the only thing that gave me a sense of purpose, and I knew it’s something I want to do for the rest of my life, so I decided to pursue a Studio Art major.
I was admitted to Western Washington University halfway through my senior year in 2017. In 2018, I moved from Phoenix, Arizona, to Bellingham and enrolled for the fall quarter. Between my acceptance to Western and the winter 2019 quarter, I created a portfolio and artist statement to apply to the BA Studio Art major. The Art Department accepted me in February 2019, and I began taking art classes in the spring quarter. Studying artists, history, ideas, mediums, and techniques over the past nearly two years made me decide to have mixed media and photography concentrations, encompassing drawing, painting, wood sculpture, and alternative process, digital, and film photography.
How have you used the money you received to pursue and enhance your art? What is the most significant contribution this money has had on your life and or your art?
How is this reflected in your life today?
The money awarded went towards paying my tuition for the 2020-2021 academic year. Being a non-resident student drastically increases tuition costs, putting an extreme financial strain on my family. I wasn’t sure if I would return to WWU this year because of the cost. This scholarship is helping me pursue my goal of being a gallery artist. Attending Western gives me access to a darkroom, a computer lab, large-scale printing, and gallery and studio space, among other resources. However, the outstanding Art Studio faculty I have worked with is the most significant reason I want to continue attending Western. As much as I need the resources to produce work, I need the professors more. Their challenges, encouragement, knowledge, technical ability, and helpfulness brought me out of my artistic comfort zone. The combination of faculty and resources at Western has positively impacted my artistic practice. I’m thankful to still be at Western, creating artwork, learning, and building relationships with other artists.
Do you currently have any projects or pieces in the making?
At the moment, I’m taking 3D Art with Ryan Kelly and will be creating three pieces throughout the quarter: a linear, planar, and hybrid structure. My first project is to create a self-supporting linear structure and is as tall or taller than me using newsprint and masking tape. As for personal work, I have a few projects in planning. I do a lot of research before and during creating a body of work, spending time reading articles, biographies, essays, previously conducted research, and accumulating notes, reference images, and quotes, among other resources. Using the information gathered, I create a mind-map to find relationships between content, mediums, and myself. I have a general idea of how I want a piece to look, but I don’t have a set plan; the artwork develops organically.
One body of work that I’m in the process of planning involves asexuality. There is an extraordinary lack of representation of asexual artists and people in the U.S. and worldwide. I want to take a Direct Independent Study course during Winter or Spring 2021 quarter to make a photographic and mixed-media series about asexuality, utilizing black and white film with a 35mm or Holga 120N camera, among other tools. Like Evan Baden, I want to use stills and titles from pornography and translate them into mixed media with an asexual lens. This project aims to communicate the experience/feelings of asexuality, its misconceptions, and the vast spectrum and comment on contemporary hyper-sexualization in American culture.
Additionally, I want to create discussion around the idea that asexuality may be one of the most radical sexualities. In terms of biology, asexuality greatly reduces an individual’s fitness (the more offspring you have, the higher the fitness). This raises the question of how asexuality could continue with evolution and the biology of asexuality. Furthermore, asexuality is the polar opposite of the current predominant culture and is seemingly never discussed. I’m going to continue researching asexuality to support concepts of the work.
How has your life changed since transitioning to online school and other changes due to COVID-19? How has this been reflected in your art?
I returned home to Phoenix, AZ, for the spring and summer 2020 quarters due to COVID-19 lockdowns. Being back in Arizona negatively impacted my mental health, which led to some artist block. Rather than intentionally making a body of work, I used the time to experiment with cyanotypes, shooting rolls 120 color film with a Holga 120N camera, staged photography, and picked up wood carving and made small abstract biomorphic sculptures. However, I found myself frequently writing notes and thinking about developing bodies of work. It was freeing not to have any goal in mind for an artwork, other than investigation. Taking online classes is difficult because of my ADHD; I focus and retain information more with face-to-face instruction. It’s also been challenging for me, and it seems like my peers find enthusiasm for online classes.
Can you give any insight, tips or advice for future art students at WWU and all over the world about life as an artist in college?
I do my best to keep my work-ethic for art classes based on the idea that every class project as if it will be displayed in an on or off-campus gallery. This approach keeps me motivated during projects and keeps me accountable for the quality of work. Do your research! I believe my artistic practice developed quicker when I started reading about art and artists that interested me, and apply what I learned to my
work. Don’t just learn the material in art and art history courses; think about how it can apply to your work. Doing that opened my eyes to more possibilities for inspiration and reinforced the information. Studying the topics I connect with is just as important – sometimes enjoyable – as physically making the artwork.
What was the scholarship application process like? Can you give some tips to future applicants?
To apply for the Skipping Stone Scholarship for Photography, applicants must be a Studio Art or Art History major with a photography concentration in photography and financial need. Submissions require an artist statement, including your academic and career goals, and portfolio consisting of 12 images, each having information about the title, date, dimension, medium, and a brief description.
I have a few tips on artist statements and portfolios for future applicants. Give yourself time! Start making your artist statement and portfolio months in advance. It will make the process less stressful. Be patient with yourself when writing an artist statement because it’s not easy. Reflect on your interest, values, subject matter, mediums used, techniques, as well as the purpose and meaning of your work and what makes it important. Understand, your artist statement will be a living document throughout your artistic journey. I created my portfolio with PowerPoint and then exported it as a PDF; this protects your slides’ formatting. Choose your best work and what represents you as an artist. When building your portfolio, ditch the frame around your images! The scholarship committee wants to see your photos, so fill the page – make the image as large as possible while leaving space for an information text box. Make your brief descriptions concise, free of artistic jargon, and include inspirations, influences. Consider discussing specific mediums or techniques you used if they are crucial to the concept of the work. Think about the order of images. Do you want your portfolio organized by ideas, subject matter, or style? Always use your strongest images on the first and last of the portfolio. Get family, friends, peers, and professors to review your artist statement and portfolio. Their input and questions can clarify or find new concepts behind the work and catch grammar and spelling errors.
Why is it important for students to be aware of and apply to scholarships such as the Skipping Stone Photography Scholarship?
In addition to helping pay for education, scholarships reinforce an artist’s “credibility” by acknowledging students’ artistic practice, potential, and talent. Earning scholarships shows a desire for your work, and people within the art world are supporting your practice. Apply for scholarships! You deserve to be recognized and rewarded for your work.
Art and Art History Scholarships – https://cfpa.wwu.edu/art-art-history-scholarshipsWilkinson, Nathan, 2020 Art Department Scholarship Portfolio