Yearlong Audition | Brooke Marsh strives for the “impossible A”

Michael Todd
Assistant Spectrum Editor

For Art Foundations student Brooke Marsh, the first two months of the semester were as socially difficult as they were academically successful. The past few weeks, however, have brought a positive change in her social life.

“Lately I’ve been hanging out with the people on my floor more and I’m having a better time,” Marsh said. “We all work on art work together and give each other feedback.”

Because Bowe Street Parking Deck – where art foundation classes and studios are held – is such a hike from the dorms, Marsh often works in her dorm room. She discovered she was not alone when she decided to work out in the hallway one night when she first began to connect with her fellow residents of the Johnson “art colony.” The art colony is a nickname given to the third floor that is traditionally inhabited by female art students.

Working in the hallways has since become a regular occurrence for Marsh and her floormates. Besides working on projects, the group also eats meals and watches movies together.

Despite the recent increases in attention to her social life, Marsh said she is still able to maintain her academic excellence.

Though her studio classes are going well and her workload isn’t too strenuous, in the midst of midterms, Marsh finds her studio classes are becoming more demanding in terms of time commitment, constraints and project intensity. Somehow, she has to find the time to juggle other classwork.

“AFO has gotten a little more intense (recently)…but I really love that because I’m focusing most of my time on art now, more so than I was before,” she said.

Because Marsh’s Surface Research Studio class seems more design-oriented than other classes of the same subject, her projects tend to be more tedious and time consuming, taking two to three weeks to complete. Similarly, Marsh has completed about four major projects for her Time Studio class due to time and effort demands.

While Brooke enjoys each of her studios equally she said Time Studio appears to be most challenging for her. Time Studio allows her to make use of her more technological background involving cameras and computers.

“I’m trying to get the … almost impossible A in at least one of my studios,” Marsh said. “I think it may be possible.”

Her classes are currently involved in a collaborative assignment in which Time Studio students altered the function of miniature walls constructed by Space Research students by placing them around Richmond. Brooke’s group is currently adding sound to the documentary-style video taken of their set.

Though Brooke is doing well in her academic classes, she continues to push them to the back burner in favor of devoting her focus to her studio classes. The only required academic classes Brooke looks forward to are art history and math.

“I loved math in high school because it was like a puzzle to me. I’m really bummed I only placed into pre-calc here, and I just want to take Calculus again,” she said.

In addition to her schoolwork, Marsh spends her spare time exploring Richmond through bike rides and wants to join the school club lacrosse team, even though it’s about halfway through the current season. Marsh was a member of her high school team and misses the exercise, fun and sense of achievement the sport gave her.

Marsh is also involved in a number of volunteer efforts, such as cleaning up cemeteries and preparing for the InLight Festival on Nov. 2. While volunteer work is mandatory for her Focused Inquiry class, Marsh enjoys it and said she is researching the ASPiRE program with hopes to join. The program, which includes volunteer work, would permit her to participate in events geared toward her art major.

With midterms over and studio classes running smoothly, the end of the semester is in sight, and Marsh already finds herself looking forward to next semester. She said she is looking forward to her final AFO studios, Drawing and Space, with much enthusiasm.

“I think next semester will come a bit easier,” said Marsh. “I’m excited…but a little nervous. I’ve never done 3D design but I want to break out of my shell and go crazy.”