Stone Lampley is a senior art education major with a minor in disability studies.

Working as an intern for professors on campus, he aims to become a teacher who is better equipped with the skills to advise students with disabilities.

“There’s a weird fear among teachers that they’re scared to teach kids with disabilities, and I didn’t want to fit into that little box,” Lampley said. “I want to be able to teach blind kids how to paint if they want or be autistic support if I needed to be.” 

However, Lampley’s passion for art doesn’t stop at teaching, as he has redefined what one may think of as a sculpture by using cardboard as a material. Using a common material to create sculpture pushes the boundaries of what is fine art. The idea was brought to Stone by professor Steve Dolbin. 

Lampley said he felt that a lot of artists get hung up on themes to their work rather than creating. He said that by making what he felt like making, he could identify the ideas within his pieces afterward. 

“Texture was a big factor to these pieces. When you have a lone piece of cardboard, you don’t see much texture. But when you laminate multiple together and cut into them, you start seeing different layers of the corrugation, which allows more texture,” Lampley said.  

Recent works of Lampley’s have been both academic pieces and personal projects. For school, he is working on a piece inspired by Pablo Picasso, using balloons and multiple faces to represent his signature style. In addition to this, he is working on a large painting of a woman with a skyline in her head as a personal project. 

“I would think memories and family, life really, inspire me a lot, sometimes, depending on how I’m feeling, I guess. I don’t know, it just kind of comes to you,” Lampley said about his inspiration.

For a while, Lampley did not expect that he would go to college. 

“I’m dyslexic so I always thought, ‘Oh, I’m not gonna be smart enough for college or whatever,’” Lampley said. Now, he serves as both inspiration and a guide to his fellow college students as they navigate academic life. 

Lampley continues to pursue his passion while working toward teaching future generations of artists.

“I really love doing sculpture, but I do everything to keep myself well-rounded; not just for my own personal benefit but also for the kids I want to teach in the future,” Lampley said. He recognizes that students come from all kinds of backgrounds and have a variety of interests. By staying well-rounded and open minded, Lampley will teach others the joys of creating in their own ways.

Share