"Students keep the fire in my belly because I am inspired by them"
Tucked away in her studio on the north side of campus, Amanda Wojick delights in teaching her students how to make art and how to become artists.
“My job is to guide visual inquiry,” she said. “There is never a dull moment.”
In recognition of Wojick’s critical insight, creative curiosity, and dedication to her students, she was awarded a Herman Award for Specialized Pedagogy.
“Her classrooms are spaces of rigor and warmth — where thoughtful projects are seamlessly woven into high-quality course materials, historical context, and the broader art world,” Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Renee Irvin said when presenting her with the traditional wooden apple during spring term.
Wojick said she was “totally shocked” when she received the award.
“Over here in the sculpture world, we’re really off the beaten path,” she said. “We're such a small corner of the world compared to the whole university.”
Wojick, a professor of art and co-chair of sculpture in the Department of Art, has been at the UO since 2001. Previously, she was the department head and Ann Swindells Chair, and has served as director of Graduate Studies, as well as resident director of UO study abroad programs in Siena, Italy, and Athens, Greece.
Wojick is a sculptor who has been making and exhibiting her work for 25 years. She works at the intersections of sculpture, collage, and painting. Her recent projects engage landscape, history, commemoration, and the cultural space of the home. She works with varied materials, including steel, paper, wood, and canvas that she transforms into abstract spaces.
Her students’ success attests to her teaching excellence. In the past year, her students were accepted into two prestigious, highly competitive national programs: the Yale Norfolk School of Art and the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture Residency Program.
“I’m a good guide at helping students gradually enter the field and sink into the history and think of themselves as artists,” she said.
She also enjoys working with students who aren’t specializing in the arts. For their part, students say they appreciate her enthusiasm and her way of providing direct, sometimes difficult feedback.
“Amanda greatly helped my learning progression through providing real world examples, while giving me the openness and space to foster my own creative work flow,” said one student.
“I feel I was pushed to move closer to my intuition and imagination in the process of making,” said another. “You are an amazing teacher!”
One luxury of working in a small studio – she has 15 students in a typical class – is that she is able to work closely with her students.
“You’re not getting that same attention in many other academic fields,” she said. “Students cannot be invisible. You can’t fake it. The art has to be made.”
A peer reviewer who observed Wojick in the classroom wrote that she is “excellent and inspiring in her interactions with students ... she both engages their interests while setting goals that are appropriately challenging ... she is extremely effective in her methods.”
“It’s kind of amazing,” Wojick said. “Students keep the fire in my belly because I am inspired by them. With everything going on in the world, they find new ways to communicate and make these incredible pieces of art.”
“I feel very lucky – I never feel like I don’t want to go to work.”
Wojick earned her bachelor’s degree at Colgate University and a master’s in sculpture at Bard College and a second master’s at Alfred University. After working at Colgate as a visiting assistant professor, she moved out West for a job at the UO, and figured she would be here for just a few years.
“Here I am 25 years later,” she said. “It’s been a good adventure.”
— Tim Christie, Office of the Provost Communications