Art professor Julie Tourtillotte values personal interaction with her Saint Mary’s students.

“I teach drawing, fiber, and video here at Saint Mary’s,” says Professor of Art Julie Tourtillotte. The luxury of small classes and instructing only 12 to 15 students in the studio makes teaching more rewarding for her.

She says, “Over a two-and-a-half- to three-hour studio lab course, I get plenty of time to interact with students and can present materials in a variety of ways. There’s time for PowerPoint presentations, physical demonstrations, and time to sit down and talk with students about their ideas as they first conceptualize the project and also later as they’re working on it.

“We always meet as a group for a class critique when projects are due. That allows everyone time to analyze and evaluate their work and share their observations with one another.”

In the summer of 2006, Professor Tourtillotte collaborated with art student Kristin Stransky in the studio, preparing for an exhibition made possible through Saint Mary’s Student Independent Study and Research (SISTAR) grant program.

“A nice thing for me—observing Kristin working over the course of the summer and then installing the exhibition—was to see her reach the point where we truly became equals in the studio, discussing her ideas and sharing the process. Each of us could see how the other visualized and then created the work. It was nice to share and have the joy of a partner in the studio,” says Professor Tourtillotte.