Abby Zrike graduated from the University of Michigan Stamps School of Art and Design with a B.F.A. in Art and Design. She currently employed by the Michigan College Advising Corps as a college adviser at Jackson High School in Jackson, Michigan. She is passionate about encouraging creativity in the education system. Through art, she is able to connect to the younger generation, and encourage them to engage in learning about the world. Her studies are very exploratory. She experiments with drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture, 3D modeling, animation, and photography. She hopes to help others have the same opportunity to explore the world of art making through experimentation and encouragement.
Artist's Statement:
I believe that encouragement is the key to successful learning. I aim to pull this confidence out of even the shyest student. There is no right or wrong way to think about something. Yet, students are pushed through the monotonous practice of filling in bubble after bubble to express what they have learned. Because of this, they are becoming discouraged to find their own unique ways of understanding. Students, especially at a younger age, have so many ideas that need encouragement to be expressed. Just as there is no right or wrong way to learn, there is no right or wrong way to create art. Writing an academic paper , and creating a work of art have a lot of parallels. They both require a process, and both should be valued as a legitimate way to express a discovery.
Before my education allowed me to explore, there were so many methods of art making I yearned to discover. I was familiar with my notebook doodles, but it was only through my educational opportunities at the University of Michigan Stamps School of Art and Design, that was I able to take that potential and experiment with its possibilities.
I have had the privilege of filling up my tool kit with new methods, ideas, and new perspectives, but it was only because the amazing teachers that I have worked with along the way, valued my viewpoints.
I want to open up these opportunities for other students as well, which is why I aspire to teach.
I am passionate about art, education, mental health, and social justice.
I value the power and potential of a young mind. It is their ideas and excitement for learning that and inspires me, in turn.