Katie Harken, a senior from Waverly, Iowa, is a history major and classical humanities minor with a Greek emphasis. After graduation, Harken plans to attend Simmons University in Boston, Mass. to earn a Master’s degree in library information science with a concentration in archival management. With this degree, Harken is looking to work in a museum or academic library.

To prepare for her future career goals, Harken is the circulation student manager in Curry Library at Jewell.

“Working at Curry Library has reaffirmed my career plans because it has given me real life experience working in the field of librarianship,” Harken said.

When asked about how the pandemic affected her time at Jewell, Harken said it has been very difficult not getting to do things that are a staple of a regular school year and having to adapt to a “new normal.”

“The worst part of COVID-19 had to be having to quarantine in Browning twice, but I am immensely appreciative of the Student Life Staff, Nurses Office and Kiki in the dining hall for doing their best to make life easier for those affected by the pandemic,” said Harken.

The thing Harken appreciates most about Jewell is the close relationships she has developed with her professors because of Jewell’s small class sizes.  One of her favorite classes was Almost History: Fiction in the Ancient World with Dr. Woodruff.

“We looked at modern works of fiction about historical figures and compared it to works of fiction written in ancient times, and I found that really fascinating,” Harken said.

Harken’s favorite part of Jewell so far was getting the opportunity to study abroad in Greece with a Journey Grant. While there, she took Greek Political Economy in Historical Context at College Year in Athens. She used the class as research for her capstone paper, a requirement of her classical humanities minor.

“I researched and wrote about the economic and political roles of women in classical Athens compared to classical Sparta. This topic was interesting to me as I enjoy learning about the history of women, and ancient history is my favorite area of history to study,” Harken said.

Harken has been very involved during her time at Jewell. She is a member of Alpha Lambda Delta, Phi Sigma Iota and Phi Alpha Theta. She was also a recipient of the Ur Pugh award for achievement in the history department.

2021 is here, and with a new year comes new goals. This infographic shows the different goals of Jewell community members throughout the ages.

Emma Mayfield’s journey as an artist began as early as sixth grade, when she participated in a small private school theater production. She has been involved in theater ever since and is now a junior at William Jewell College with over 15 productions and many theater classes under her belt.

“My practice hasn’t changed too much besides gaining more knowledge on how to improve at my craft; I love theater and have worked hard to get where I am,” Mayfield said.

Mayfield has held many leading roles in her time with Jewell Theatre Company including Hero in “Much Ado About Nothing,” Grace Fryer in “Radium Girls” and Bunny in “House of Blue Leaves.” She is also taking on the female lead, Julia, in Jewell Theater Company’s latest production, “1984,” which has been adapted to film due to the current pandemic. 

“I enjoy dramatic, challenging roles within the theater; I also really enjoy cross-dressing and getting to explore gender. I like to challenge myself as an artist because that’s the only way I’m going to get better – it teaches me patience, perseverance, and confidence,” said Mayfield. 

Recently, she has branched out into some other types of art as well. This has given her a chance to create simply for the fun of it, or as gifts for those she loves, and to just relax with less pressure to be perfect.

“About a year ago, I received a water color set as a gift, got a couple canvases and sketch books, gathered all my acrylic paint supplies, and I took up painting. Quarantine also inspired me to fill my time creating things, so I took up tie-dying any white cloth I could find – including my bed cover!” Mayfield said. 

Social media has also helped Mayfield to explore what types of art she wants to create. She enjoys painting and using others’ art as inspiration, mostly doing it for recreational purposes. 

“I find a lot of inspiration on social media, so these women are both Tiktok famous artists that I follow: Savannah Saturn and Jackie Harder,” Mayfield said. “Saturn works with canvas art, jewelry and has her own paint pen line. Harder works with sculpture and airbrushing.”

Her favorite artists inspire her to be weird, be herself and always use more color. In her visual art, Mayfield loves watercolors, abstract/out of the ordinary influences and vast amounts of color. 

“I love acrylic paint on canvas; it allows me to pencil in anything I can’t do freehand, then I move on to painting over it with my colors. I love painting eyes, plants, words, and famous characters,” said Mayfield. “I’m currently working on a ‘Family Guy’ piece actually. I also love to tie-dye and bleach dye clothing items. I like looking as colorful as my canvases.”

Mayfield makes most of her art for her significant other, family and friends.

“I show people I care by creating for them something that is uniquely from me. I would say my inspiration stems from that thought process – what will they like, what are their interests, how can I capture both them and myself in this artwork?” said Mayfield.

On days when she is not working on a present for someone else, Mayfield’s inspiration really draws from her mood and where she is at mentally. 

“Sometimes my mental state affects my work; I don’t always want to make art. Sometimes I feel too exhausted, or sometimes I’m worried anything I make will turn out poorly. When those roadblocks come, I try to make something anyway; I think pushing through it makes me into a better artist and a more patient person. I find creating, practicing and rehearsing my art to be therapeutic, and I strive to be better every day,” said Mayfield.

Music is also a great influence in Mayfield’s work and she feels that it is truly another art medium that can help move an artist or influence a piece in a significant way. 

“I listen to music while I create, I use music to inspire what I might paint, and I sometimes paint music lyrics onto a canvas,” said Mayfield. “I recently created a painting with images representing Harry Styles’ new album Fine Line.”

Hilltop asked Mayfield if she had any advice for other artists – her biggest tip is to just be yourself.

“Life is too short to paint what others want to see or to perform safe, neutral shows. I say let’s push boundaries, break the status quo, and work together with your fellow artists to make art a priority again,” Mayfield said. “You don’t have to be an artist to create either; explore what you like, try something new or simply write and see what comes to mind.”

Isabel Warden began to notice the beauty of art in fourth grade at the Spencer Museum of Art. She was entranced by a display that played music and was the only piece in the exhibit that could be touched. 

“It looked weird and out of the ordinary compared to the rest of the exhibit, and I think that’s why I liked it. I would say that’s where my journey began – I’ve always strived to make things both out of the ordinary, but also relatable for people to be able to understand me,” said Warden.

Isabel enjoys making art with found objects or things that she finds humorous but also does things in an analytical and controlled way. She uses art as a distraction – like putting every star sticker she has in color order onto watercolor paper just because she feels like it.

“I love the idea of taking found materials and turning it into something that people can recognize as art, rather than just completely making art from scratch.”

She is involved in many clubs and activities on campus at William Jewell College and is currently the president of Jewell’s Art Club. She feels that any type of art, whether it is music, dance or theatre always has a natural foundation and then goes through a series of edits. Following from this, her tip for other artists is to try to relax into the surrounding beauty, rather than seeking it out. 

“What you find beautiful will eventually come to you – don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t come to you right away,” said Warden.

Warden doesn’t really follow a process when creating her art. She feels that the point of art is just to express whatever is going on in you and that there are always some forms of art in what anyone is doing, even if that wasn’t the intention of the person creating it. 

“A lot of times when I like to do art, I believe it comes from a place of genuine thoughtfulness,” Warden said. “I never force myself to do art, because that’s not the point of art.”

A genre that really sticks out to her is abstract expressionism because it’s the kind of art she would enjoy hanging in her home. One of her favorite pieces was from a recent show at the Stocksdale Gallery, called “Organelles” by Taylor Crites. She finds it hard to have a favorite artist because she loves so many different pieces from all of the artists she sees. 

“I think it’s crazy how so many individuals see the world differently and are able to create that through their art,” said Warden.

If Warden had to choose a favorite installation it would be a series of paintings called the “Midnight Paintings” by Theodore Seuss Geisel – better known as Dr. Seuss – in which he explores macabre versions of his whimsical works. 

“I think he puts in the darker elements of his works mixed with the whimsy in order to create a sense of unease towards the viewers,” Warden explained.

One of her favorite pieces she has created is a magazine cut out inspired by the work of artist Ray Johnson, the founder of an art movement in the 60s called Mail Art. Creating art is one of the many ways that Warden copes with anxiety and depression. Art both gives her an escape and is also a mechanism to express her inner emotions.

“I don’t think I would be the same person if I didn’t have art,” Warden said. “I would be a whole lot different.”