Student Feature: Mich Dillon

 

The LEC loves to add color to its walls, and we have recently been working with a UWM student to do just that. Mich Dillon has created a wonderful, colorful sculpture (Murmuration)  to brighten our Touchdown & Launch Space, and we wanted to highlight him for some insight into his creative process.

About Mich: My name is Mich Dillon, Im a senior at UWM that will be graduating this may with a BFA in digital studio practice with an emphasis in sculpture. 

Q: What projects are you currently working on?

Mich: Some of the things that I am currently working on are my BFA Capstone. I’m making an installation piece that will be a self-portrait in sculptural form and will also include a video and auditory component. I just finished installing my first commission piece which I installed at the LEC. I also just wrapped another installation for the Sculpture Department’s survey of work which I had three pieces in speaking about how the environment shapes things.  

Q: What has your journey been like? How did you get to where you are now?

Mich: Going to school has been a life changing experience. At first, I didn’t think I’d be going to college at all but with the help of my grandma I was able to pay for the first year and put me on the right track to continue at UWM. I first started off as a Psych major with the intent to work with kids and help people communicate. Throughout the program I found that I had many things to address about myself before I could help other people. I dropped out and I took two years off to help my grandpa. After he passed, I knew I needed to get back into school, but I needed to do something for myself not for other people, and Digital Studio Practice is where I landed. I love music and anime, so I wanted to learn how to create digitally to combine those two interests. In the process of taking intro level classes I had to take a 3D concepts class with Mary Roley and she got me out of my shell into the art space. After taking 3D concepts I took Intro to Sculpture. Within that class I was able to get out a lot of extra energy and emotion in the sculptural process. This allowed me to calm my mind and say the things that I couldn’t with my words. This also introduced me Glenn Williams and Emily Belknap, and the rest is history.

Q: What advice would you give to others interested in following your path?

Mich: Some advice I’d give to people that are coming up as artists and don’t always feel like they fit in, whether it’s based on how you look or how you act; surround yourself with people that support you and if you can’t tell if you’re around those people or not you need to ask yourself, who are you and what do you want? Whatever those answers are, ask yourself if the people around you are helping or hurting you with growth. We as people are here to grow and to do that we must connect and the only way to connect is love and the only way to love someone else is to love yourself.

If you are interested in seeing Murmuration for yourself, come to the LEC’s Touch Down and Launch Space – Room 203a.