Michelle Smithbauer's project connects art and nature

For her Art in Nature course, environmental studies major Michelle Smithbauer recently drew a red maple leaf in four different ways to represent the four principals of art: shape, value, color, and line. As part of the honor's option of this course, Smithbauer was to donate that artwork to the environmental studies program which may be used in some form or fashion in the future. Says Smithbauer, "Dr. Carolyn Mahan told me that she appreciates the leaf drawings because they represent our major, since environmental studies promotes looking at the environment in different perspectives, just as I looked at the maple leaf with different perspectives. I thought that was a really neat interpretation of my art and I agree, the leaves do relate to our major in that respect."