J. Neil Lawley—Website (2012)

Professional Website (Artist/Academic)

(Web Designer • Videographer • Editor)

S Y N O P S I S

J. Neil Lawley—Professional Website—www.jneillawley.com

I designed and built this multimedia website to assist my colleague, Assistant Professor J. Neil Lawley (Department of Art), in documenting the extraordinary teaching experiences he creates for his students outside of the classroom.

During the fall semester of 2012, I followed his 3D-Design students closely as they ventured outside of the traditional walls of the sculpture studio. I shot video in locations ranging from the forest, the fish pond, and the campus swimming pool. Professor Lawley’s creative ideas and innovative teaching methods keep his students motivated.

Traditionally studio art classes have always been centered on the academic art studio space designed for large-scale instruction. As pedagogical models of teaching art have evolved it is worthwhile to consider the possibilities of expansion beyond the typical insular classroom space. How do students respond to working in various environments such as public spaces and alternative sites? This website documents the many possibilities of teaching studio art outside of the traditional four walls of the classroom and the impact these experiences have on the development of the student artist.

What began as an idea for a documentary quickly morphed into a website to showcase Professor Lawley’s teaching, service, and professional development. Using the “self-hosted” version of the popular WordPress publishing platform allowed for creative flexibility and greater design decisions, while providing a solution which Professor Lawley could easily learn to use on his own for future updates.

An unexpected benefit of the project has been that several of Neil’s sculpture students have since taken my Intro to Video class as an elective.

Letter from Assistant Professor Neil Lawley