A handful of years ago Brianna Evelo was walking the halls of Powell High School, where her artwork was a common sight, whether it be for the art department or on carriers for the robotics team.

Now a Bachelor of Fine Arts student at the University of Wyoming, Evelo was walking Ireland’s charming lands for just over two weeks in July.

She had never been outside of the United States and when one of her professors, Billi London Gray, a visiting assistant professor in the department of visual arts, presented students with the opportunity to study abroad in Ireland it caught Evelo’s attention. She ran the idea by her parents and with their support she began preparing for her trip to the Emerald Isle.

This was both a way for Evelo to get her first out of country experience, “at a somewhat cheaper price” thanks to scholarships, and a way to complete art history and studio classes using an accelerated program. As a result, Evelo has a few credits out of the way and her senior year is set to go a little more smoothly. Because Evelo is earning a BFA, a more specialized degree, she will have to propose an idea for artwork to UW faculty, create the piece and display it in the spring. When that’s all done, she’s considering taking her education further and getting a master’s degree in sculpture, potentially becoming a professor. 

The trip, starting July 13, coincided with the Galway International Arts Festival, which allowed the students to see galleries and performances tailored to the festival.

The festival program includes Irish and international work of the highest quality, featuring theater, music, visual arts, opera, street spectacle, dance, discussion and comedy, according to the festival website, as well as a major discussion platform on creativity and innovation.

The festival has been included  by The Guardian in a list of five best summer festivals in Europe. Last year’s festival saw upward of 600 performances at 32 venues with over 400,000 patrons attending.

It was a pleasant surprise that many of the artists Evelo and the other students went to see on their trip were sculptors, she said. She had expected painters and photographers, so “it felt really good to me that there’s a lot of representation in sculpture, because sometimes at the University of Wyoming, they prioritize painting over sculpture.”

Outside of classwork the students were able to journey to the Aran Islands for a bike tour and see the Book of Kells in Dublin. They also saw an interpretive dance play, which was a new experience. “At first I was a little thrown off, and it was interpretive dance, but it was a really, really good play … you almost couldn’t take your eyes away,” Evelo said. 

In addition to getting a taste of Ireland, the students did watercolor sketches out in the open as they roamed Galway — learning this skill was a highlight for her. 

For their sketches the professor would let the students roam Galway to find their scene, Evelo said. Many of the sketches were of architecture or landscapes with some people scattered in the scene; “we would just find a good spot to sit and just sketch for a few hours,” she said. 

It was fun to experiment with a medium she was less familiar with and still get an end product that feels like her artwork, she added. Evelo was also able to sharpen her critiquing skills, something she needs if she does pursue a master’s.

“I’m a perfectionist, so a lot of my work is very slow and meticulous. Whereas, a lot of our assignments, we had a quick turnaround, they were due 7 p.m. that night,” Evelo said. “So I kind of had to learn how to sketch quickly and color quickly. So I really got to learn how to use watercolor to the best of my ability.”