Today@Sam Article
Commencement Spotlight: Madeline Reynolds
Dec. 4, 2024
SHSU Media Contact: Campbell Atkins
Madeline Reynolds
Sam Houston State University senior Madeline Reynolds knows this all too well. This semester, she has set out to illuminate the community subjects she paints, as well as her own personal process, through “Conversations,” an ambitious project she has championed on the verge of earning a bachelor’s degree in studio art.
“Art gives people a new story to tell. Since the beginning of time, we have been storytellers,” Reynolds said. “I wanted to take people in my community that I know, that I didn’t know, or who are known by others into my studio, sit them down and have a conversation about them.”
Reynolds has done this upwards of 40 times since the summer, honing her methods as she goes. She spends anywhere from two-to-four hours painting her subject while discussing anything that might happen to come up. She only allows herself to work on the portrait during this timeframe, recording the entire process from start to finish.
“I wanted it to reflect a regular conversation, not an interview,” she said. “The conversation goes where it goes. We might talk about what you had for breakfast that morning, or we might talk about something very intimate. Because people were so real with me, I was much more willing to be real about myself and the mistakes I made throughout the process.”
Her subjects can all be found in the SHSU or greater Huntsville community. They include random people she has approached on campus, prominent business figures and even local leaders such as SHSU President Alisa White.
“I can relate to pretty much anyone. You can always find something you have in common,” Reynolds said. “It seems to me that people too often focus on the differences they have with others.”
When the session concludes, she will cut together highlights from the conversation to create a short video depicting the process for her social media accounts. Fittingly, she is consolidating all of her community subjects together as one to display at her senior exhibition at the Satellite Gallery in Huntsville on Dec. 5.
“These are people who have their own perspectives, morals and opinions. I’m sewing them together with all of the other faces in the community,” Reynolds said. “But art isn’t just about the final product. It’s about the experience and that person being a part of my process.”
The videos, which feature the subject as well as the portrait on screen, allow viewers inside access to her process from start to finish. It also enhanced her skills in the studio as well as her ability to connect with others.
“I knew that I wasn’t going to be great when I started, but I didn’t care,” she said. “I hope it inspires people to be willing to start something, even if you’re not good right away, because all things take practice.”
Reynolds admits she struggled with this in the past. Before transferring to SHSU, she first studied psychology. While she always considered art a hobby, she was still secure inside her own comfort zone and had trouble branching out to try new things.
She ultimately transitioned to studio art at Sam, but the biggest shift came in how she approached her new environment. While she was establishing her identity as an artist during her second year as a Bearkat, she also began embracing the multitude of people and organizations that made up the community she grew to love.
“I felt like I was lacking a community. I knew it was there, but sometimes you have to go out and find it yourself. I then began experiencing these vastly different people and smaller sects of the community, which is what led me to the project I’m working on now.”
A massive part of this was her involvement in the Brazilian Jujitsu Club, of which she is now vice president. The club helped her realize the vast commonalities of individuals from different walks of life, which later transferred to her project.
“What I really enjoyed about our Jujitsu community is that I got to meet a lot of different people that I wouldn’t have met otherwise,” she said. “We all have different backgrounds and majors, but we all like to fight."
She was also a part of the Chess Club as well as Soul Lifters, the oldest collegiate gospel choir in the state of Texas.
“No matter where I end up after this, I have learned the value of community here in that it promotes growth,” she said. “A healthy community breeds opportunity and allows us to build each other up as a whole.”
While Reynolds is currently working on a number of projects that keep her extremely busy as she approaches graduation, it was her interest in differing individuals and social behavior in general that led her to choose “Conversations” as her senior showcase.
“It felt strange to make it about me, that just didn’t seem impactful enough,” she said. “If I am going to spend my time on something, I want it to be meaningful not just to myself, but to other people. A community of individuals is something more universal that everyone can relate to and feel like they’re a part of. Personally, it has helped me meet people, make connections and gain new perspective.”
It has also greatly enhanced the artistic talent she has always harbored as she prepares to embark on the next phase of her life and enter the professional sphere.
“For a long time, I was waiting around for nothing to tell me to do something,” Reynolds said. “I’ve seen so much progress in my ability to paint people. I can only imagine what it will look like as I continue doing it."
Looking forward, “Conversations” has greatly influenced her future aspirations as she prepares to secure her diploma.
“I have this unique perspective because I’ve heard so many different outlooks from so many different sources,” she said. “I would love to bring this concept to other communities and leave a piece of my art with them, as well.”
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