Time to Explore
A recent gig as an artist in residence with the South Bend Museum of Art gave Nicole Krou ’11 the opportunity to explore her passion.
The studio art major spent last semester working in a studio space given to her by the Museum and says she did some sculpting, but naturally gravitated toward printmaking in the end.
Now, Nicole’s works—a collection of silkscreen on wood, vinyl, and cotton—are on display in the Museum’s gallery through June 2010. She says the whole experience was an exercise in experimentation. In fact, that’s been a theme throughout Nicole’s Saint Mary’s journey.
Nicole, who is well-traveled and studied abroad in Saint Mary’s Ireland and China programs, is a lover of art history.
“I really love Greek and Roman antiquity and it’s interesting to see how those classical influences are brought back throughout the decades and made more contemporary through time,” she says.
Nicole’s other favorite subjects include lithography—printmaking on metal or stone—and her fibers class where students print on fabrics.
Art conservation and restoration are on Nicole’s list of most likely career moves. So is living abroad. She studied art history during a summer trip to China between her first and sophomore years. Her group, led by art professor Marcia Rickard, arrived in the country just after disastrous earthquakes in Sichuan Province and a few months before the Beijing Olympics.
The experience was momentous for Nicole whose says the sense of nationalism and optimism among the Chinese people, and the striking landscapes rank high in her memories of the trip. She can’t wait to go back.
While she had an equally meaningful experience living in Ireland for a year, Nicole had the most fun playing for the University of Ireland, Maynooth rugby team.
“We played all over Ireland and even traveled to Scotland to play a team in Edinburgh—and we won!” she says.
Nicole plays on the Notre Dame rugby team, which takes serious dedication. Practices take place three times a week at 6 a.m. But it’s nothing Nicole can’t handle. She always makes time for the things she loves, “because there is no sense in doing something that doesn’t make you happy.”