UF engineering students exhibit art inspired by Europe
Inspired by the art and architecture of France, University of Florida engineering students showcased their artistic sides last week during downtown Gainesville’s Artwalk.
The exhibit, “UF in Lille – Engineering and Arts in France,” is a mixed-media collection of art from dozens of UF engineering students who studied abroad last summer in Lille, France, an area known for its baroque, Dutch-inspired architecture.
As part of the city’s monthly Artwalk, dozens of engineering students displayed their works on Friday, Jan. 31, at City Church of Gainesville.
The study-abroad program was hosted at Université Catholique de Lille, where students took either physics 2 with calculus and the associated lab or materials science with the lab. But the program also required students to take one of the three art classes offered: Engineering Arts Sketchbook – the French Perspective, Digital Engineering Design, or Honors Summer in the city.
Sarena Samuels, a second-year mechanical engineering student, smiled proudly Friday night next to her drawings on the gallery wall as she chatted with her friends who also participated in the trip. Her sketches depict European architecture in rich detail.
She was nervous ahead of the trip, worrying about the heavy course load. After her time in Lille began, she realized she would be just fine.
“It didn’t feel too heavy,” she confessed. “It was pretty balanced.”
Samuels’ time was balanced between materials science, her sketch class, and the many excursions to places like London and Paris.
Her classmate, Ece Sarioglu, a second-year biomedical engineering student, also enjoyed the trip because of the ability to travel around France and Europe. Lille’s architecture influenced her sketches, which were hung across the exhibit.
“It was kind of inspired by what I would see around me,” she said.
Sarioglu has never been into drawing and felt honored to show her work.
“It meant a lot to me that people seemed to enjoy the gallery and specifically compliment my artwork,” she said. “It felt inspiring, and I hope that the next class of students will also be able to experience that feeling!”
Some engineering students came to the gallery to catch a glimpse of their upcoming summer. The Lille program will take place again this summer with a new cohort of freshman and sophomore students.
Josue Clark, a first-year mechanical engineering student, decided to sign up for the upcoming summer’s trip because he’s always wanted to study abroad.
“I just want to go to Europe again and be able to pursue my studies,” he said.
Clark attended the show with his friend, fellow freshman Charles Denson. Denson studies civil engineering and knew he couldn’t pass up this trip, especially since it lined up perfectly with his schedule.
“Sometimes you never know when you’ll get an opportunity back,” he said. “I just wanted to jump on this, and I’m really excited to go to France.”
Phillip Jackson, an instructor in the department of engineering education, attended the trip to teach the digital engineering design class.
Over the course of a month, he taught students to use the artist software package Blender to create two-dimensional drawings, three-dimensional models, and video renderings of architecture in Lille. The software enabled students to bring out the “creative and artistic sides” of engineering models, Jackson said.
Students whose artistic ambitions align more with expression through cultural experience had the opportunity to take an honors course centered around the late celebrity chef Julia Child’s biography “My Life in France.” These students produced articles about their travels and food diaries inspired by Child.
Second-year nuclear engineering student Shanie Sediuo, who’s articles were not displayed at the gallery, but would later be published online, figured it would be more fun to take physics 2 in France instead of in Gainesville, but she ultimately found herself following in Child’s footsteps and becoming enthralled with French cuisine.
“She learned to fall in love with it, and the course was encouraging us to do the same thing,” she said.