By Allison Seidel

As the stress of midterms and projects continues to increase across the University of Maryland campus, one thing has kept students calm: the art of sketching. 

Artist Ikumi Kayama teaches a sketching class at Stamp every Thursday from 4:30-6:00 p.m. this semester. The class includes sketching objects and  various locations that showcase the campus’ natural beauty.

Last week, the location was Hornbake Plaza. Students were seen sketching pictures of the trees in front of the Bio-Psychology Building, the H.J. Patterson building from a distance, and  other area scenes. 

Kayama, a longtime artist, has always been interested in sketching and other forms of art. “I started seeing the importance of sketching when I was trying to get better at the drawing,” Kayama said. 

This is Kayama’s second year teaching this specific course at UMD, but she has been teaching sketching since around 2013. Outside of this University, Kayama has her own studio that focuses on medical drawings and sketches. Since 2008, she has been creating scientific illustrations that are used in instructional materials about human anatomy and biology.

Kayama’s hope is that this course will show students to “kind of be in the moment.” She wants students to focus on what is in front of them, rather than think about what is going on elsewhere in their lives. 

She emphasized the importance of “getting away” from one’s work. “Sketching to me is not the result but the journey that’s important,” she said, adding that it is a great way for students to remember that they “don’t have to get everything right the first time.” The sketching class is a memorable idea that students will keep with them as they move on into other careers. 

Leena Moses, a third-year doctoral student in the Behavioral and Community Health program in the School of Public Health and a participant in Kayama’s class, explained that she wants to gain some sketching skills as a way to relax. 

“I’m not an art major or anything, so I don’t have aspirations of becoming an artist, but I do want to work a different part of my brain that’s a little bit artistic,” she said.

Moses wasn’t really interested in art  as a child, but during the COVID-19 pandemic she resorted to drawing as a way to pass the time.. Her favorite thing to sketch is fruit, which she became interested in during the pandemic. 

Danyi Zeng, another participant and a first year master’s student, explained that the sketching class gives her a new way to “see the campus.” After sitting outside and looking at the campus from a different perspective, Zeng noticed “the curves of the stairs, and the layers that all have meanings — visually or culturally or functionally.” 

Zeng considers art to be “a total combination of rationality and feelings,” and uses that to channel different skills in the sketching class. Zeng has always liked to sketch eyes. “I think it tells so much, once you draw eyes, you have a figure,” she said. Zeng also believes that the core part of being an artist is “to see the world in your own eyes.”

Featured image: A student draws in her sketchbook while sitting outdoors. Photo by Allison Seidel