Weaving her own creative tapestry at Skidmore College

When searching for a college in the United States, Lisa Shan ’28, a sophomore from Beijing, China, knew she wanted a school that valued creativity as much as strong academics. At Skidmore College, she found a close-knit and welcoming community that encouraged her to explore a wide range of interests, from the arts to the sciences.

“The main reasons I came to Skidmore were the close community, the emphasis on creativity, and how welcoming everyone was,” says Lisa, a studio art major with a concentration in fiber arts.

Lisa was also drawn to Skidmore’s distinctive liberal arts approach, which combines opportunities to explore many disciplines with hands-on learning experiences. Skidmore is located in Saratoga Springs, New York, a great college town accessible to New York City, Boston, and Montreal.

“I knew I didn’t want to go to art school because I’m a person with a lot of interests,” she explains. “If I went to art school, I would only do art. A liberal arts college was a natural choice for me, and Skidmore has one of the top studio arts programs and fiber arts facilities.”

At Skidmore, Lisa has been able to develop her passion for fiber arts while also studying subjects like geosciences and economics. She finds this interdisciplinary environment invaluable to her growth as an artist.

“A lot of people in my art classes are also interested in studying other things,” Lisa says. “In my opinion, this is important for an artist because if you only have input from art class, it’s hard to innovate. I always try to explore different subjects and get input from different fields.”

Lisa's interest in textiles and weaving grew during her Scribner Seminar, Connecting Threads, taught by Professor of Art Sang-Wook Lee. The first-year course explores the history of textiles through multiple disciplines, including anthropology, economics, and art history.

This fall, she continued to explore textiles in Wearable Art, another course taught by Professor Lee. In that course, Lisa began exploring wearable art as a medium for storytelling.

“Wearable art is about telling your story and creating innovation,” she says.

Now a sophomore, Lisa has already had multiple opportunities to showcase her work. One of her wearable art pieces was displayed this fall at the Skidmore Shop, where members of the campus community could view it up close. Constructed entirely from envelopes addressed to her family and friends back home, the piece explores the emotional complexity of being far from home and the longing that comes with missing loved ones.

Students in the Wearable Art course also presented their final projects in a fashion show hosted by Skidmore’s Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery. Lisa was among 16 students whose work was presented.

Her work has even reached an international audience. Through Professor Lee, Lisa had the opportunity to exhibit a woven piece inspired by a traditional Chinese embroidery technique at the International Fiber Arts Festival at the Hangaram Design Museum in Seoul, South Korea. Her family traveled to Seoul to see the exhibition in person.

Lisa chose Skidmore for its strong sense of community, but as a first-year student from another continent, she still had some questions.

“One thing to remember is that you’re definitely going to find your people,” Lisa says.

For Lisa, that sense of community has come from many places, including her art classes, joining the Ultimate Frisbee team, and participating in International Student Orientation. This year, she served as a mentor for incoming international students at orientation.

“You definitely don’t want to miss this!” Lisa advises. “International Student Orientation is so fun and such a great way to make friends.”

During winter break, Lisa is returning to Beijing to intern at a fashion studio, where she plans to apply the innovative approaches to wearable art and textiles she has developed at Skidmore. She says the college’s interdisciplinary environment continues to inspire her and challenge her to grow as a thoughtful, creative artist with a global perspective.