SRU Fine Arts Major Talks Future

Common misconceptions for fine art majors include many different things. Some of these include; they sit around and draw all day or they get to take it easy and play with clay throughout the day. While fine art majors do spend their time drawing, creating ceramics and sculpting it really is a lot more complex than many think. Trevor King, 22, is a senior fine arts major at Slippery Rock University, and provides people not familiar with the major a description of what is entailed.




King began his career at Slippery Rock University as a parks and recreation major, after one day he made the change and went after his ambitions of becoming an art student. From that moment on King has been putting himself to the test not only in the classroom, but also pushing himself to succeed outside of the classroom.


According to King, SRU's fine art major has some differences from other schools. SRU's major doesn't really have an emphasis like other schools, students are able to get a well rounded approach to the arts. It is up to the student to make the time to emphasize a particular medium.

From Trevor King

This "glowing" Big Mac features King's capability to work with different mediums.

From Trevor King

These were featured at the Renegade Art Show on SRU's campus Thursday evening.

King has evolved from SRU's interpretation of the fine arts, and has came up with a style of his own. His style takes the foundations of traditional art and combines it with non-traditional ideas of his own. "It is traditional in form, but not in function," King said.

From Trevor King

This picture provides an example of how King uses traditional foundations to create non-traditional pieces. By mixing chemistry with ceramics he was able to create a realistic looking log.

The fine arts major requires a large amount of time outside of the classroom from the student. King said that typically he will go to class, then go to work, have another class and then spend his evenings in the studio working on creating different pieces. To be successful in the major it requires a lot of self discipline and time.



King's fellow classmate and graduate of the class of Fall 2009, Jackie Cypher, 23, speaks fondly of his work. She sees real potential in him and has taken notice of his motivation. Cypher also can see how King works well with different mediums.



So, now it comes down to what do you do with a degree in the fine arts? What kind of profession do you have, besides being a professional artist and selling your work? King hopes to one day be a professor. Since, there is no doctorate in the fine arts, to become a professor you just need a masters. King hopes to attend graduate school next year.



Along with becoming a professor, King hopes to one day work at an art residency. At these residencies you are given housing, money for food and a studio to work on your art in. King has shown interest to one in Montana called Archie Bray, which is dedicated to enrichment of the ceramic arts.



All in all, speaking with King changed my perspective on fine art majors. He reinforced that it's a serious major and not all fun and games, and just like many other majors requires hard work, dedication and time to really advance.