2007 Newspaper Feature
In 2007, while completing an undergraduate honors thesis Scaling Reality, this article documented an early intersection of art and geology in my practice. Looking back nearly two decades later, many of the questions explored then—scale, mineral structures, and the relationship between science and perception—have continued to evolve into the interdisciplinary research presented through Divinities of Light.
Times Picayune
New Orleans, LA
Art Student Honored by Faculty at UNO
Renaissance woman has varied interests
by Kat Stelly
Contributing Writer
Times Picayune, New Orleans, LA
May 31, 2007
Britney Penouilh, a junior at the University of New Orleans, was recently honored at the College of Liberal Arts honors convocation with the 2006-07 Overture to the Cultural Season Scholarship.
UNO faculty selected Penouilh for the award.
Penouilh, a fine arts major, has had her work displayed in gallery exhibits and was a prize winner in the UNO Svenson Undergraduate Student Drawing Competition. She is the daughter of Wendy Hebert of Marrero and Brad Penouilh of Westwego, and graduated from Fisher High School in 2004.
Penouilh said that her interest in art began as a 7-year-old drawing scenes from Disney movies. As a teenager, she took as many art classes as possible, both in school and from local teachers.
While still in high school, she began to make money by selling portraits and painting murals. She considers drawing her strongest skill, but she also paints and “dabbles” in sculpture, and she has added making and selling jewelry to her business repertoire.
Her versatility extends beyond the world of art. A weekly class keeps up her interest in dance, and the energetic student has tried out any number of jobs: dispatcher at a trucking company, clerical help at a legal firm, waitress at a diner, retail sales and more.
This trait may serve her well when she graduates. Penouilh hopes to carve out a career that marries her old love of art with a new passion: geology.
“I took a class in historical geology, and I was hooked,” she said. The scientific aspects of studying the earth intrigued her, and the raw beauty of rocks and minerals appealed to her artistic side.
The thought of traveling to exotic locations to study and collect specimens also attracts her. “I love to travel,” said Penouilh, who has made trips to Greece and Death Valley while at UNO. “That really intrigues me about geology.”
It didn’t take her long to decide that a double major in fine arts and geology would be a great combination. Throw in a minor in marketing for good measure, and you get a slightly delayed graduation, but some very interesting career plans.
Penouilh likes the idea of mixing graphic design skills with a geology background to create simulations that would be both interesting and educational, the type of thing you might see on the Discovery Channel. She’s also interested in creating textbooks. On the entrepreneurial side, she figures that collecting her own minerals and gems will be a tremendous asset to her jewelry design. “I guess I want to do everything,” she said.
Her teachers have no doubt that Penouilh has the talent and drive to go far.
“It was the unanimous decision of the faculty that she deserved this award,” said Lawrence Jenkins, chairman of the department of fine arts. “The entire department is proud of her. She’s a very good student.”