This angler fish was created by students in an Ivy Tech fine arts class. Ivy Tech Bloomington | Courtesy photo
When Mika Liechti-Hawkins started taking classes at Ivy Tech in 2011, she thought she wanted to be a nurse. She soon realized that with her husband’s work schedule and her children’s needs, it might not be the best choice, so she changed her major to fine arts.
Liechti-Hawkins said she always liked art, but the program expanded her interests. She studied drawing, painting, 3-D art and ceramics.
“At the time that I started, fine arts was new,” she said.
The program has seen great growth since a degree in fine arts first was offered in 2012. Since the end of the 2012-13 academic year, the program has seen a 43 percent increase in students declaring for a fine arts degree, according to Paul Daily, dean of the school.
“We do have more space with the expansion, and this spring, we were able to offer two new classes,” Daily said.
In January, Ivy Tech Community College opened Cook Pavilion, an expansion of the school’s Connie and Steve Ferguson Academic Building. The pavilion included a new fine arts area with room for visual arts, dance classes and a music room.
“Even though we have new space, we actually overpacked our spaces this semester,” Daily said.
Initial plans called for the school’s sculpture classes to be kept at Liberty Crossing, but they were moved to the new space. Now, the challenge is finding room for an open studio — an area that gives students a place to work on their art.
“For this one semester, we did not give our students as much open studio hours as I would like,” Daily said.
But relief is coming. Daily said a garage space is being converted this summer to be used as a sculpture studio and for the 3-D design classes.
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