Studio art major Jessica Uhler is attempting a highly original senior project centered on clothing design.
For her senior project, Uhler is making a total of seven dresses that are inspired by flowers. She has a dress based upon the Morning Glory, which is her mother’s favorite flower, and she has one based off the White Lily, which is Zeta Tau Alpha sorority’s flower, of which she is a member.
“This project is unique to Baker because nobody has ever done anything like this before,” Uhler said.
Uhler said her senior show will showcase the dresses but not in a traditional fashion show sense. She said she does hope to have models for her dresses so they are not just art pieces that simply hang on the wall.
“The hard thing to do is finding girls who can give me two hours of their time right around finals,” Uhler said.
In addition to her textiles work, she is taking sculpture, and her other interests include photography and ceramics.<br/>Senior Katy Kendrick is in the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority with Uhler and remembers taking a photography class with her sorority sister and sitting on Uhler's bedroom floor while Uhler described the technical terms of a camera to her.Senior Katy Kendrick is in the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority with Uhler and remembers taking a photography class with her sorority sister and sitting on Uhler's bedroom floor while Uhler described the technical terms of a camera to her.
Senior Katy Kendrick is in the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority with Uhler and remembers taking a photography class with her sorority sister and sitting on Uhler’s bedroom floor while Uhler described the technical terms of a camera to her.
“She was very helpful to me,” Kendrick said. “She offered to loan me her camera and told me all about the professor.”
Uhler has recently begun to look into graduate schools, but she is not sure what her future career path will be yet.
“I’m just going to see where things take me,” she said.
Professor of Art Inge Balch has known Uhler for several years, and she is also Uhler’s adviser. Balch said Uhler made some very nice functional pieces when she had her as a student in ceramics class.
Balch said Uhler came to her with the idea for the dresses at the end of last semester.
“I am a textile major, so I know what she wants to do,” Balch said. “I hope the audience will see more than just a person who can sew dresses.”
Balch will pre-approve Uhler’s senior show like she does with every other art major. Balch said the dresses need to look as good on the inside as they do on the outside.
“It is exciting, and she is doing a fine job,” Balch said.