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Sarah Painter Interns at Thomasville Center

Published December 4, 2018

 

from FSU Art BA ’19 Sarah Painter:

“My internship for Thomasville Center for the Arts included a variety of different responsibilities, but was spent mostly working under the Public Art & Exhibitions with Darlene Crosby Taylor and completing an Artist Residency under the direction of Becky Felts. I was in Thomasville, Georgia three days a week to complete this six-credit hour internship.

In the beginning of the semester, I worked with high school students at Brookwood to develop a public art installation that is now on display through December. Darlene and I worked alongside Robert Copper, a resident artist at Thomasville Center for the Arts, to guide the students in creating life size sculptures. They were made from casts of themselves that we then painted gold and installed in downtown Thomasville. My background in public art is focused in murals, so creating sculptural public art required me stepping out of my comfort zone. However, I was able to learn a lot about 3D artwork in a public setting, thanks to Copper who is a lifelong professional sculptor.

In addition to public art, I also worked to install and curate a solo exhibition featuring artist Caroline Harper New, that is also on display through the rest of 2018. More specifically, I assisted in choosing which pieces were to be shown, I hung the artwork for the exhibition, printed the labels, etc. Outside of the current exhibition, I had also been helping Darlene in curating a schedule for future exhibitions and public art through year 2020.

Another aspect of my internship was to complete an Artist Residency. I got a studio space alongside other resident artists like Ron Thomson, Robert Copper, Jessica Dell, and Sarah Malone Carnline. I learned so much working next to these artists, we were all different ages with different backgrounds, specializing in different medias. This diverse atmosphere is something I have really appreciated during my residency. The residency requires all artists to teach an after-school class at least once a week. This was challenging for me because I had never taught children so young (one of my classes was made up mostly of five-year-old’s). I learned a lot about how children of different ages all have different interests and different needs that require special attention.

Although I learned so much during the working part of my internship, my favorite part of the experience was definitely all of the events that have taken place during the semester. The “First Friday’s,” the concerts in the Amphitheatre that is right next to our office, the exhibition openings and artist talks, all of these were added bonuses that I got to enjoy during my time at Thomasville Center for the Arts. I recommend this internship to anyone who is pursuing Art Education, Museum Studies, or even practicing artists so they can gain a behind-the-scenes perspective.”