KOKOMO, Ind. — The butterflies on the cover of Field: A Journal of Arts and Sciences are more than just beautiful flying insects. As creatures known for adapting through their life cycles, they were the perfect choice to represent Indiana University Kokomo’s academic year during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Drew Thompson, the art director, chose to create the butterfly-coated cover by focusing on the self-reflection and growth she went through during the pandemic.
“Despite all the negative, there were still some positive moments that came from it such as adaptation, growth, and creative perseverance,” the senior said, reflecting on her last issue before graduation. “I think we really showed that throughout the whole journal.”
Social distancing couldn’t stop the creatives behind Field from publishing the annual release. Despite the challenging times, the journal received its most submissions ever.
Editor-in-chief Jim Coby, assistant professor of English, shared Thompson’s excitement about the new volume’s contents.
During Field Live!, a Zoom conference of creators and contributors discussing their work, he noted it was a deliberate choice for the sixth volume to be the most eclectic collection of work yet.
“This new issue of Field contains, I believe, some of the finest writing and art that we’ve ever published,” he said. “I’ve been continually impressed by the talents of the IU Kokomo students as I’ve read and reread, viewed and reviewed pieces.”
Aside from traditional art, sculptures, music, poems and research, Field’s most recent iteration has QR codes. These codes can be scanned with a smartphone to take the user to YouTube pages of video art submissions and even a podcast. Coby hopes this trend can eventually bring music recordings into the Field fold.
Not only was Savannah Cooper a copy editor for this issue, but the junior also contributed two pieces of work, including the poem she discussed at Field Live! entitled “City of Ruin.” She composed it in 2019, before she transferred to IU Kokomo.
“I didn’t want to give in-depth pictures but rather a feeling of this place that was crumbling or was about to fall into ruin, but people weren’t quite realizing it yet,” she said about the motivation behind her engaging piece.
Junior Hannah Harrell was also honored to have her art piece, “Floating”, included. A communal act of creation between Harrell and her grandmother was not only a creative outlet, but a reunion.
“We do art together a lot, so it was a lot of fun,” she said about collaborating with her grandmother. “It was right after quarantine, so it was the first time I saw her in quite a while, so we did art.”
Copies of Field are available in the Main Building, outside of room 235. For more information, visit iuk.edu/field.
Education is KEY at Indiana University Kokomo.