“You did so great! You finally got a bowl!” exclaimed Southeast senior and ceramics major Seraphina McAteer, who had been assisting Dr. Benjamin Heu, professor of art and design, in leading the workshop.

“I’ve been at it since … What time did we get here?” the high school student responded, doing the mental math as she sat back down at the wheel.

“9 o’clock?” McAteer replied, praising the student’s focus and dedication. 

More than 140 students from 11 schools all over Missouri traveled to Southeast on Oct. 22 to attend the Department of Art and Design’s first Innovation Dock event. 

The one-day event was designed to immerse students and teachers in creative time with Southeast faculty and students through a series of workshops across mediums and art disciplines in University studios. Students learned new methods, techniques and technologies, while teachers participated in a book-binding workshop and had one-on-one access to pieces from the Rare Materials Teaching Collective, led by associate professor of art and design, Dr. Joni Hand. 

Workshops included mixed media portraiture, small scale casting, smart-phone photography class, mobile animation, interior design, printmaking and more. Students were presented options for different courses in advance, and each workshop held about 15 students. The visiting students were served lunch and got to take home their artwork. 

“Innovation Dock gives students access,” said department chairperson Nancy Palmeri. “A lot of students are first-generation college students in these high schools … and they’ve never seen or been to a college campus before or had access to professors. So we’re really trying to let people in this area know that we’re their neighbors and we’re here to offer them opportunities.”

Justin Miller, professor of art and design, taught mixed media portraits during Innovation Dock, and said the event was a mutually beneficial opportunity.

“For one, it gives high school students an opportunity to come in and see what it’s like to be in a college environment, see our studios, get to work with faculty,” Miller said. “They get to really kind of get immersed, at least for a day, in what it’s like to be in college. And it’s a great opportunity for a lot of our students, too, because they get this opportunity to see what it’s like to teach and guide.”

Amber Huckaba, a Southeast senior studying oil painting, was on hand to help assist during the Innovation Dock workshops. 

“You always pull inspiration from other creative minds, so it’s really enjoyable for me,” Huckaba said of working with the budding artists. 

Adjunct faculty and Catapult print shop coordinator Blake Sanders said the event is great for students because it exposes them to new forms of art they may not have experienced otherwise.  

“It’s a nice way for students who are already geared towards creativity to have a whole day devoted to it in a way they normally don’t get to,” Sanders said. “Especially in a medium like printmaking, nobody comes to college to be a printmaker — they find it along the way. So if we can hook them before they get here, that’s even better.” 

Tyler Hartman, 18-year-old Risco High School senior, said he attended the workshop on smartphone photography. 

“It taught me more about how cameras work, what angles would be good for certain pictures and how lighting and color and contrast work together,” Hartman said. “It was enlightening.” 

For high school teachers, Innovation Dock was an opportunity for their students to explore a love of learning and art in a new way.

“For a lot of our students, this is their first time on a college campus,” said Deborah Besher, Meadow Heights High School art teacher and Southeast alumna. “For those who are juggling, asking, ‘What do we do next? What is our next step?’ this gives them that home feeling and puts faces to the place and that’s really important to us.”

Asked what she wanted her students to take away from Innovation Dock, Besher said “hopes and dreams.”

“I want them to have pockets full of aspirations once they walk out of here today,” Besher said during the event. “They are dreamers, they are inspired, and I want them to kind of open that parachute and fly for their future.” 

Sandra Doty, West County middle and high school art teacher, brought students from the high school art club to Southeast for Innovation Dock. Doty said she wanted to expose the students to techniques and art mediums that weren’t available at their school. 

“Where we’re from, some of these kids don’t get out a lot. Traveling this far is kind of a big deal,” Doty said, “and to actually put them on a university campus, where they can see and experience this, really opens up their horizons.” 

Asked what she hoped her students would take away from the event, Doty said she hopes they see “their options are limitless.” 

Palmeri said the University is committed to making Innovation Dock an annual event and keeping it free to the community.