Sean Derry
For IUP faculty member Sean Derry, finding innovative ways of making things is part of the challenge and the appeal of art. Learn more about him in this week’s Meet Our Faculty feature.
What is it about the art field that initially drew you in—and ultimately keeps you interested?
Art is an ever-expanding discipline that challenges me to develop new ways of working with materials and continually tests my ideas.
Why do you enjoy teaching in this discipline?
Studio Art courses teach students creative problem-solving techniques and new ways of making things that positively impact our world. Having the opportunity to witness a student’s skill growth and the sense of accomplishment they gain by creating a thing they didn’t know was possible is incredibly rewarding.
What advice would you give students about how to succeed in college?
- Make your classes work for you; don’t work for them!
- Consider your goals for the future and capitalize on the ways your assignments are relevant to these goals.
- Create strong relationships with at least two faculty members who will write you a good letter of recommendation.
Tell us something most of your students may not know about you.
As a teenager, I competed in Nordic skiing and was on Alaska’s Junior Olympics team.