For those of us here at UCLA with an artistic bent, finding a way to express our creative sides can prove more difficult than walking up Bruinwalk without taking a flyer.
When the craving to paint, draw, sculpt or perhaps even fuse glass suddenly takes over, we often find that these desires remain unfulfilled. Unlike Frisbee or football, where you’re ready to go with just a single piece of equipment, arts and crafts often require a dedicated space and specific supplies.
UCLA Recreation has classes covering subjects like digital photography and crocheting, so why not turn there for an outlet? Unfortunately this isn’t as simple as you might originally expect. UCLA Recreation, which provides a multitude of sports programs, fitness courses and activities, offers just a handful of arts and crafts classes each quarter. UCLA Recreation should work to expand the number and variety of these creative courses in order to cater to those students who wish to express themselves artistically but don’t have the means or materials to do so.
Perhaps UCLA should take a cue from UC Davis’ extensive art program. Their Craft Center is designed to provide an avenue for artistic expression to students and the surrounding community and offers courses in a wide variety of mediums including ceramics, woodworking and screenprinting. In its mission statement, the UC Davis Craft Center pledges to provide “the means to achieve a balance between the rigors of the academic and work environments and the need for creative expression.” This balance is precisely what UCLA Recreation should be able to provide.
Yet I must admit, there are challenges here that UC Davis does not have to deal with, most notably the issue of space.
Wendy Motch, Associate Director of Program Operations with UCLA Recreation, emphasized that compared to other universities, UCLA has the least amount of recreational space per student in the country. “All the spaces we manage are multi-use,” said Motch. “There are almost no spaces dedicated to only one activity or purpose.”
And therein lies the problem. A dedicated art studio would have to serve only one purpose, arts and crafts. But within this field, a studio space would actually be very multi-use. A studio could support art classes in a variety of mediums that would allow UCLA Recreation to greatly expand the courses it offers to interested students. A studio could translate into a range of new opportunities.
However, Motch also mentioned that UCLA Recreation was not the only resource for finding art classes on campus. “Many of the introductory level classes in the art department are open to all students,” stated Motch, “and we encourage students to explore those opportunities.”
But for many students, taking a studio art class through the art department is too great a commitment. When students are struggling to fit courses into their schedules already, a non-essential class is often not an option. Not to mention that it’s almost impossible to get into an introductory studio art class.
Professor Barbara Drucker, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture, wants all students to be able to take an art class but emphasized the difficulty the school is having coping with demand just among art students. “Non-art majors technically can take studio classes, but it’s really difficult to get into those classes because they’re so small,” said Drucker. “And now with the budget cuts there are even fewer of those classes, so there won’t even be enough space for the majors. There just aren’t enough classes to deal with the demand of the non-majors as well.”
This unfortunate reality shows why the recreation department can’t merely pawn off creatively deprived students to the art department. So how about converting a couple of those upstairs racquetball courts into an art studio?
With studio art classes filled to capacity in the art department, UCLA Recreation needs to take the initiative and provide a creative outlet for students craving to express themselves through a variety of artistic mediums. Investing in a dedicated studio space would allow UCLA Recreation to meet demand for courses in fields outside of drawing and photography.
If you’re ready to express your artistic side in a real studio, then e-mail Fitzpatrick at cfitzpatrick@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.