Hailing from Alaska, art major Abraham Fields ’24 first found a love for art in high school. When it came time for him to choose a college, he started his search with Christian schools in California. After he found that California wasn’t the right place for him, his parents, who’d known people who’d gone to Covenant, suggested the school to him. Upon finding he liked the school, he enrolled, studying art with a 2-D and a graphic design concentration. 

In his art classes, he has enjoyed learning different practices and mediums in art. Coming from high school art classes where students were more or less free to do whatever they wanted, he was surprised how much college art classes were dependent on prompts. While this was surprising to him, he’s found it’s been a good way to learn.

After having several classes with Art Professor Jeff Morton, Fields has appreciated the way Morton cares for students. “He balances art teaching but also caring about students and where they are in the day,” Fields said. 

As a Covenant art professor, Morton has enjoyed being able to be around the discipline of art while in community with colleagues of different disciplines. He has found that students in his department often come in thinking they’ll find a certain style, but ultimately find that they have a question they are trying to answer that the methods they learn supplement. He does not have a specific favorite class to teach but enjoys various aspects of different classes.

Fields has also found it difficult to name a single class as his favorite. While he especially enjoyed drawing concepts, he notices that several different prompts in different classes have been rewarding. He has also enjoyed the informal, hands-on nature of his major; he likes having the ability to move around rather than just sitting at desks and writing essays. 

While these aspects of the major are rewarding, Fields said it can be difficult to have four-hour classes early in the morning and to have to choose between the many appealing options.

Through his time at Covenant, he has learned to see the value of art in the Christian life. “It is a good thing to create, with God being the Creator,” Fields said. He has found that learning art at Covenant has helped him understand the world and how to connect with God and others, rather than just express himself as his high school art classes taught.

Outside his art studies, Fields loved taking Doctrine with Dr. Hans Madueme. When not in class, he can be found making a podcast called, “The Combscast” with his hallmates, which he describes as, “fun and craziness.” He can also be found with Covenant’s improv team, The Laugh Track. 

Going forward as an art major, Fields looks forward to the freedom of more advanced classes and his capstone project.

This article originally appeared in the April 7, 2022 issue of The Bagpipe.

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