Cohort 6
Amy Schmierbach EDUCATION • MFA in Printmaking Illinois State University • B.A. in Printmaking and Graphic Design Southern Illinois University
ENROLLED • Cohort 6
LOCATION • St. Hays, Kan.
Amy Schmierbach is a visual artist, a teacher, and an activist. She is a professor of art at Fort Hays State University, a regional state university in northwest Kansas. Community engagement and service learning are both fundamental personal goals for Amy. Amy’s creative endeavors encompass both private and public practice. Each of these practices informs and depends on the others for survival. Her work focuses on society’s ongoing search for inner balance and connection with others. She expresses meditative rituals through formalized and repetitive processes such as printmaking, drawing, weaving, and embroidery. These techniques in her social practice work promote greater mindfulness and tranquility in the community. Amy and her students engage in artistic collaboration with local community organizations, school districts, senior living centers, and children and adults with intellectual and developmental needs. These art collaborations emphasize cultivating empathy for underserved populations, raising awareness of inequities in our social systems, and developing leadership skills, so that her students engage in community-based activities after graduation. Grants from the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, Surface Design Association, and FHSU undergraduate research initiatives have been awarded to her community-based art projects. The result of these collaborations has been displayed throughout the state of Kansas. Amy received a BFA in Printmaking from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, and an MFA in Printmaking from Illinois State University. For her dedication to research at FHSU, Amy received the prestigious President’s Distinguished Scholar Award in 2011. Amy received the Master Educator Award for Foundations in Art Theory and Education FATE in 2019 for her dedication to innovative art studio classroom instruction. Amy’s work has been exhibited throughout North America and has received numerous grants to support her practice.
UW-Stevens Point
64
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