Grace McClellan, a senior majoring in art education, was named Blue Room Magazine’s Artist of the Year during a ceremony at Doudna Fine Arts Center April 1. McClellan was nominated for the award by the faculty and voted on by her peers.
During her time at Eastern, McClellan has been active in many aspects of the art program. She became president of the art education chapter at Eastern her senior year, and she has been responsible for organizing several different showcase events.
As the Illinois Art Education Association chapter president, McClellan is responsible for completing tasks such as scheduling meetings, sending emails regarding reminders such as Blue Room submission and the Tarble Art Center undergraduate show submissions.
A recent showcase that McClellan helped organize opened March 26 titled, Those Who Can Do, Teach. It was the art show in the Glenn Hild Student Art Gallery, and the title was chosen to oppose the saying, “those who can’t do, teach.” The particular showcase had been anticipated since McClellan’s freshman year of college.
McClellan and her friend, fellow art student Rachel Perino, were dedicated to keeping the tradition of this showcase alive to display art from all the art education majors at Eastern.
“With around 60 pieces in the show, it was our responsibility to display the work in an appealing way,” McClellan said. “I loved getting the opportunity to set up work in a gallery setting as it gives me experience and insight for when I will be setting up my future students works.”
When given the choice, McClellan prefers to use lithography for her art.
“At EIU, I have the opportunity to take printmaking classes, which allows me to work with linoleum relief printing, screen, printing and lithography,” she said. “Out of these, my favorite would be lithography, a drawing on stone style of printmaking. Outside of printmaking, my favorite medium would be chalk pastels.”
The piece that McClellan is proudest of is called “A Second at the Hearth,” a lithography print from fall of 2023.
“This piece proved my development of craft and understanding of the medium,” she said. “It incorporates my interest and brings a homey feeling that my friends tend to describe me with. The piece also includes my cat, Stan, and I love him very much.”
She is planning to graduate in the spring, and after graduation she hopes to teach middle level to elementary school because of their creativity, but also how they constantly challenge themselves, she said.
“The crazy imaginative brains of elementary schoolers keep me on my toes, and I love to see what they create,” McClellan said. “Middle school is the time right before high school where students are settling into their interests and deciding if they want to continue art or not. In my experience, we lost a lot of students in the art program from the transition of middle to high school and I want to make a change in that.”
McClellan’s favorite part about being here at EIU is the relationships that she has created along the way.
“In my art education classes, there are only six of us, and I am happy to call all of them my friends,” she said. “I know that in the future I can reach out to all of them for any help necessary. I have met an amazing group of girls through the Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority that I am part of, and I have also met my partner who supports me and encourages me to do my best every single day.”
Rylee Kurth can be reached at 581-2812 or at rbkurth@eiu.edu.
