Going
Online
/Offline
With
Evelyn
Wang

A Parsons School of Design student discusses Zoom university, finding motivation, and designing tattoos.

By Shravani Bagawde

September 28, 2021


Option 2
Option 3
What has it been like to transition from a year of college online, to now, on campus?

It is a complex feeling to go back on campus to study. I mean, overall, online year study is a unique and unforgettable experience for me, and the whole class of 2024. The pandemic started during my high school spring break, and we were asked to go back home and take the rest of our senior year courses online. People who chose to stay in the U.S. and local students still had a simple graduation ceremony, but most international students did not. It was a pretty sad and complicated feeling - ending a four-year study informally. Then, we did not have the college orientation and the whole first-year classes in person. Everyone is a member of “zoom university,” lol. Though I feel the online year was not what I wanted or how I pictured my college life, I spent more time with my family. I had never been home with them for such a long time, a year and a half. Things got balanced - school and family. So, for me, the transition is from home to school to back to normal.


What impact has the last year had on your creative process?

Well, to be honest, I learned a lot of things in the virtual world. My strengths, or rather, I like to do 3D stuff with my hands, such as sculpture and pen drawing. However, I explored digital illustration, photography, and making videos through my classes last year. The answer to this question would be that the virtual medium has certainly impacted my creative thoughts.


What are you anticipating for the most, now that you are in person?

I expected to have more focused and effective study in classes because, you know, the zoom classes were easy to be distracted from your surroundings. I also hope the in-person class can help me to learn more about the fascinating people around me. It did already, to do group work physically together in the same time zone is much better than the online one.


Has there been any shift in the kind of work that you create?

I am not quite sure how you define a “shift” in the artwork. In my opinion, “shift” is a change of meaning or medium of expression. If that is so, I do shift every time and anytime. I cannot stay with one single medium and idea for a work, which means I am constantly changing my thoughts. For example, if we did a project related to the ocean, I might start it with the color blue on the canvas. Then as time passes, I lose my ideas or patience, and I will burn the canvas and let it be what I wanted it to be, then add three-dimensional materials to do a wave or a plastic bag. Again, I can not control my thoughts to follow the sketch, demo, make, and finish. I could not tell what it would be at the end, but the artwork would meet the requirements.


What were ways that you coped or had fun as a design student during an online year?

Oh yes! I learned how to tattoo last year. I even had my online classes in the tattoo studio!! It was the place that helped me calm down to create and finish homework and tattoos. I fell in love with tattoos now. Come check out my works!


Any important takeaways from experiencing a virtual year of school?

Any important takeaways from online classes? I want to say it is a flexible model for people to get an education. Studying anytime, anywhere is an incredible experience. And, I learned how to manage my time more efficiently by spending my time on both school and family.


Did you feel any burnout or struggles with motivation?

I was lost in my high school junior year. I was asked to do art through assigned tasks, which had nothing to do with my personal feelings or expressions. My favorite teacher changed my mind entirely when he initially asked us to make things with no limitations. I got a C for the first half-semester, and I put all my feelings into ceramics. And, I discovered that natural resources, such as trees and flowers, are my motivations. They are unlimited and varied all the time. I have found a way to do art, and now I am here, at Parsons.


Did you find yourself leaning more towards analog or digital work?

I feel there is half and half. As I mentioned in the previous answer, my interests are real life works, but my major is communication design in the virtual world. I want to explore the digital world now; still, I love sculpture and tattoos.


How did your personal art interests/hobbies guide your creative process during this time?

My art interests are sculpture and tattoos. Both of them take me a long time to create, and I can do them all day without going out with suffocated face masks.


Are there certain aspects of online learning that you would like to maintain/reintroduce?

Well, I think the hybrid learning model should be maintained for every institution because the pandemic isn’t over yet, and it may exist in the long term. Online learning ensures people’s participation no matter where they are.