A recent art exhibit at the Creative Hub Gallery of the Department of Fine Arts proves that you can take things lightly and be playful and creative at the same time. Even if you do not have a visual arts background, you can still be an artist. 

That was the goal of the summer-long Faculty Upskilling Art Workshop held recently at the Department of Fine Arts Creative Hub which culminated in the exhibit that was held on July 21–26, 2025 at the same venue.

Through the workshop, a combined group (see photo below) of Fine Arts and General Education faculty members assigned to teach Art Appreciation courses was introduced to printmaking, photo transfer techniques, and terracotta sculpture.

Their works produced in the workshop were then curated into a show whimsically entitled “Patik-Putik Estetik Atik-Atik.” The exhibit also included digitally-rendered caricature self-portraits, character studies, and other works in the Digital Illustration workshop.

For the facilitators Bea Therese Bajarias, Lucilo Sagayno, Radel Paredes, and Rex Reubens Fernandez (who handled the Digital Illustration workshop), the goal was to help participants overcome the experience of being intimidated by art by treating it like a game or something that you take lightly and have fun doing.

Indeed, as the works on the walls of the gallery show, that’s just what the workshop participants achieved, with most of them surprised that they actually created a lot of art all in one summer.

by Radel Paredes, USC Department of Fine Arts