Kelly McGowan is a fourth-year Visual Arts and Technology major from Little Falls, NJ. She is the founder of the Stevens Poetry club, and she is also a sister of Sigma Delta Tau. Her hobbies include photography, poetry, embroidery, and watching movies.
Kelly has been interested in photography since middle school. Later in high school, she started exploring the Adobe programs, like Photoshop and InDesign. She claims that she has always been stronger at the digital side of art but still loves hands-on crafts, like embroidery, collage-making, and water coloring. Her favorite artist is Pipilotti Rist, a Swiss experiential video and installation artist, and her favorite poem is “Hurling Crowbirds at Mockingbars” by Buddy Wakefield.
One of Kelly’s favorite things about Stevens is the Visual Arts and Technology department. “It’s a small, tight-knit creative community, with an art studio and a lab where I can hide away to get work done,” she says. “I’ve always felt at home here. I also love how close Stevens is to New York City. Especially for art students, it’s awesome to have such close access to some of the world’s best art museums.”
While at Stevens, Kelly has had many design projects. Among her favorites is one in which she hung posters she had designed around the school with envelopes that included poems she had written about self-love. She says, “It was an attempt to brighten strangers’ days and to inspire them to be kinder to themselves.” Another one of her favorite projects was one where she designed the branding for her own earring company. Kelly made earrings out of recycled materials such as bottle caps, Legos, and game board pieces. “My current creative endeavor is my senior year-long capstone project,” she discloses. “I am creating an installation of a bedroom full of objects I make out of sewn and embroidered fabric.”
As a fourth year on the brink of graduation, Kelly has come across a few pearls of wisdom throughout her years as a Visual Arts and Tech major. She has learned that in studio art classes, pursuing projects and concepts that you are really passionate about will make the projects so much more enjoyable to work on. She says that there will be times you feel uninspired and stuck, but that it is important to try to form some habits to get you out of that. She suggests turning to Vimeo or Behance for inspiration, or keeping a daily journal where you can collage, draw, and get the creative juices flowing each day.
Poetry Club has been another way for Kelly to channel her creativity. The creation of the Club was inspired by the OnPoint Music and Arts Festival at Stevens in Fall 2016. “I just wanted that creative energy to continue.” She added, “My high school poetry club was also a big inspiration. We would meet monthly in the library on Friday nights and take turns reading poetry behind the stacks of books.” Kelly hopes that the Poetry Club continues to serve as a safe place for students to share their words with each other. She said, “I hope it continues to offer a creative outlet for students to express themselves, especially when they need a break from the stresses of schoolwork. Our Poetry Nights are also really special, and I hope they continue to hold their magic for years to come.”
Looking to the future, Kelly shares that her ultimate dream job would be a nature photographer for National Geographic or a videographer for Planet Earth. “Traveling the world taking photographs of animals would be the best thing ever,” she exclaims. “One of my current life goals is to visit 30 countries before I turn 30. I’m 21 and only at 9 countries so I guess I have a lot of traveling to do.”
Among her favorite quotes is this one by Sarah Williams: “I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.”
For those interested, Poetry Club meets every other Tuesday at 9 p.m. in Peirce 218. The next meeting will be Tuesday, March 12.
Be First to Comment