Fun in the Dark!

You may or may not know that Collins has some amazing arts facilities for its residents, including a ceramics studio, and music and film recording studios, a photography darkroom, and quite a bit more. Another thing you may not know is that it is my job to coordinate the activities that go on in the darkroom, and luckily I can give you a little behind-the-scenes look!

Our darkroom is fully equipped with all the necessary chemicals for developing films and papers, with three enlargers--machines for making photographic prints--and various drying apparatuses. Any resident can use the darkroom, they just have to go through a little bit of training with me first. Then, I add their name to a "keylist" that is kept at the front desk of Collins. Anytime they want to use the darkroom they can go there to check out a key. I always hold a few workshops each semester to show people how to process film and prints as well as some alternative types of photography like pinhole cameras or lomography.

The darkroom is a nice way for students to learn and practice a new hobby, and it has also proven very useful and convenient for photography students who would prefer not to trek to Fine Arts in the snow.

Discovering the Artist's Book

My favorite class so far this semester is a Collins course called Discovering the Artist's Book, taught by Yara Cluver, the Associate Director of Collins. We learn how to craft and conceptualize our own books, and we also look at examples of books others have made.

As we are learning in the class, it is hard to say what defines an artist's book. For instance, a book we have seen is a snow globe with small pieces of material inside of it designated as the pages. Though they can take on many different physical shapes and forms, we have learned that form should support content, and choices about how a book is crafted should be intentional.


Recently in one of our classes we took a trip to the Fine Arts Library to look at some examples of artist's books in its collection. We were asked to handle each book as an original piece of art work, which indeed they each were. We saw traditional codex-style books, tunnel books, and everything in between. These photographs do not do justice to the experience of viewing these books; go to the Fine Arts Library and take a look for yourself! While you're at it, head on over to the Lilly Library and see what rare and amazing artist's books are in that collection as well.

Fun With Ferns

Every Valentine's Day Weekend, a formal dance is organized for Collins residents to come dress to the nines. Each year there is also a theme for the dance, and this year's theme is the 1940's, minus the war and depression. During this week there have been several events based around that theme, so I decided to check out an informational talk on 1940's Victory Gardens. People began to plant Victory Gardens during the war to supplement the national food supply. Linnea Good, from Linnea's Greenhouse in Unionville, Indiana gave us information about how to care for houseplants, and about how to plant seeds and re-pot plants. The best part was that we got to take home our own ferns!

Former Students Left a Mark

One of the many things that sets Collins apart from other dorms is its aesthetic. I'm not just referring to its collegiate gothic architecture; I'm referring to what can be found on the inside. A while back, before my time at IU, Collins students were given permission to pain murals on the walls of stairwells and hallways. I saw them nearly every day as a freshman and sophomore in my dorm building, and eventually grew to take them for granted. But, to my knowledge, no other dorms have this cool feature, a place where former students have left their mark for us.
For some reason, the painting of student murals was not allowed the past two years. A resident has recently proposed, however, a refurbishing, and maybe even re-doing, of the current murals. I really hope Collins decides to re-open that forum for student expression before I leave here; I would love to be part of a new mark left behind for future students.