Eli Olson, ’17 chose to take Interactions with Color this spring because it gave him a chance to let his creative juices flow. “I haven’t been able to make an art project like this since middle school,” he said.

The course, taught by Will Mentor, focuses on the different ways that color can be manipulated in order to make the viewer perceive different things. You can put a square of the same exact color on two different sheets of colored paper and the square’s hue will appear to change.

For the final project students were allowed to create whatever they wanted, as long as they used the concepts that were learned over the semester and glued their work onto a piece of plywood that would serve as a sturdy background.

Olson chose to take an unconventional route by gluing strips of colored paper into a grid that is protruding from the wooden surface. He isn’t sure why he chose to do this, but he is happy with the work that he has produced. The fine attention to detail reminded him of when he used to make model airplanes. “As an environmental studies major it’s nice to spend some time in such a different classroom setting.”