Emily Kammerud enjoys exploring various media to create figure studies and still lifes. You won’t find her drawing inspiration from bowls of fruit or live models, however—her muses reside in the morgue where she works for the Department of Pathology at the UW’s School of Medicine and Public Health. Originally pursuing the sciences, Emily obtained her Bachelor of Science in Commercial Art with an emphasis in Fine Art. She’s returned to the science scene while continuing to foster her creative roots as a part-time freelance artist and former gallery assistant at Ephraim Pottery. Working as a Medical Program Assistant, Emily enjoys the rare opportunity to weigh the creative with the morose, a subject often met with intense aversion.
Kammerud will use the award to support It’s Okay to Look. The project explores death through both an artistic and educational means, offering the viewer an aesthetic response to the macabre showcased through an online platform, making the subject of death more palatable and encouraging of curiosity, thus letting viewers know, it is indeed, okay to look.
Read about other Creative Arts Awards Recipients: https://artsdivision.wisc.edu/programs/arts-awards/2022-recipients/
