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Maya Freelon ’05 (Durham, N.C.) is exploring oil painting with glazes and acoustic wax techniques in an intensive independent research project. She’s investigating the works of noted masters like Henry O. Tanner and her great-grandfather, Allan Randall Freelon Sr., who employed similar techniques.
For her independent study, titled “Exploration of Art with a Focus in Painting,” Freelon is producing a series of paintings on canvas and masonite board and will create an historical representation of her grandfather and great-grandfather, a famous painter in the Philadelphia area who lived 1895-1960.
Curlee Holton, associate professor of art and director of the Experimental Printmaking Institute, is advising the study.
“Maya is a very enthusiastic and gifted student,” Holton says. “Watching her develop as she struggles and achieves is satisfying for me as a teacher.”
“I decided to do this project because I wanted to expand my skills in painting,” explains Freelon, who plans to major in art. “Professor Holton suggested that I take an independent study so that I could have more one-on-one attention and create a class that would specifically deal with the painting techniques I want to explore.”
“This opportunity is one of the main reasons I came to Lafayette — the support from the faculty is amazing and I am able to create a class that is perfect for me,” she adds. “At a larger college or university this would not be possible, especially not in my first year.”
A graduate of Williston N. Hampton High School, Freelon is a member of the Association of Black Collegians and Nia, a women’s organization which celebrates ethnicity, gender, and sisterhood. She acted in For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf, a student-directed play performed in celebration of Black History Month. She participates in the Phoneathon and Kids in the Community, a service program of the Landis Community Outreach Center. Freelon, who worked as a printmaking assistant last semester, is applying to be a resident adviser next year.
Maya Freelon ’05 fulfilled a variety of responsibilities as an EXCEL Scholar working with Curlee Raven Holton, professor of art and director of the Experimental Printmaking Institute.