Ian MacDonald

As an art major working on his senior project, Ian MacDonald lived and worked like a professional artist. With 24-hour access to secure studio space in McWethy Hall, he says he spent as much as seven hours a day in the studio during open blocks, and was able to paint whenever he had a free moment while taking other courses.

"It was great to be able to just leave my work where it was and come back to it at anytime to continue," he says. "Sharing a studio space with other artists was rewarding in that we could bounce ideas off of each other and discuss philosophies of art while simultaneously creating each of our own unique works."

MacDonald feels Cornell's One-Course-At-A-Time schedule "was made for the art department."  He was able to create art all day and at all hours during studio courses, and each class made gallery visits to places like the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Des Moines Art Center.

As a co-president of the Art Interest Group, he helped organize additional gallery tours.  The group also sponsored art film showings, a rotating exhibit of student works at various Iowa colleges, and art therapy sessions on the Orange Carpet.

He also found opportunities to develop as a graphic artist.  He performed an internship with Cornell's communication office, created a visitors brochure for the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce, and did design work for a local photographer who employed him full-time after he graduated in 2007.