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Hi, I'm Eric Lee.
I'm an artist.
I'm an abstract painter.
I'm working on a project with the students here at the
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
I'm really looking forward to a project that we're going to
do together based on my type of art, but
produced by the students.
This is some of my artwork around me.
One of the things that is a hallmark of my work is the way
that different colors interact, and the way that the
lines overlap and that personalities overlap.
And I think the diverse student body here, coupled
with the diversity of skills that'll come to the process of
producing it, are going to really evidence themselves in
the final project.
We're going to produce a number of panels.
We're still deciding on how many panels that will be above
a fireplace here at the institution.
They'll be coming down to my studio, giving them a chance
to work in an actual working artist's studio.
And I think as long as each person brings who they are to
the piece, there's no way it won't be successful.
I met Eric at the art fair in the square at Madison during
the summer.
And as soon as I met him, I was attracted to his energy
and enthusiasm.
And after speaking with him for just a couple of minutes,
and looking at his beautiful art work, I knew there were
going to be some great opportunities for a
relationship between him and UW-Whitewater.
And so, after talking for a brief time, we decided to
develop a partnership where he would collaborate with some
students that would come together to create a permanent
art piece for the University Center, and that would be
permanently displayed in the Warhawk Connection Center.
I was walking through the UC, and a friend of mine told me
to go upstairs.
She was like, you're going to like it, just go upstairs.
Don't argue with me.
Go upstairs.
I get upstairs, and there he is.
And I'm just like, oh, oh wow.
Well, let's do it.
These opportunities only come once in a lifetime.
So to work with a nationally renowned artist that came to
Whitewater to show his work, and then picked to help him
with an installment was--
man, that's just--
it's great.
We arrived to Eric's studio.
He kind of showed us around a little bit.
And we got started right away.
It was very difficult to get started because of everyone's
different perspectives, and we are trying to find a common
ground to kind of go off of.
It's a problem-solving exercise at first, because
they have to develop an idea, a theme, how they're going to
approach the project.
It is a particularly complicated project in that
there are so many people participating in a single
piece of art.
So their first hurdle is to figure out how they're going
to approach the problem even prior to
solving to solving it.
This project definitely relates to LEAP.
It's a high-impact practice.
Certainly, they were needing to tap into their creative
problem-solving skills, communication skills,
decision-making.
And it was just great to see them work through that the
entire time that we were at Eric's studio.
What I hope they get out of it is an appreciation for what
they're capable of.
The planning started with when Andrew came up with the idea
that we should do a collaborative piece inside of
the collaborative piece.
So it was like, OK, why not represent Whitewater in the
most literal but abstract sense by the doing the hawk.
And not only did they like that idea, we also started the
draft and everything right away.
We started to work on the individual panels.
There was one panel that was left out, so I took my piece,
redid it to fit the middle piece, and to actually
incorporate that, the empty panel.
It was very democratic, the back and forth of the
conversation went a way that seemed healthy.
And that was something that I have to learn to do better.
And this thing-- and a lot of artists have
to learn to do better.
You think of it your way, and the only way is your way.
Being able to learn from a lot of different minds, or a lot
of different artist's minds--
even people that aren't in art majors to see their
perspective on life when it comes from art.
You see a lot of different things in people, and the
things that they like, and the ideas that they hold us as
individuals when they do their artwork.
Now I have a mark not only in my life as a student, but on
the campus.
I'll have something that that'll be displayed forever,
until they come and change it again.
So that's definitely one of the things that
I was focused on.
And this is the final piece behind me.
I'm really happy the way the piece turned out.
I think it really represents the university well.
The students collaborated.
The piece is cohesive, and yet maintains the individual
nature of the students.
So I'm really happy to have been part of this.
It's been a wonderful event, a wonderful affair doing work
with the students.
That's about it.